As a private research funding organization, we support researchers with creative ideas aimed at changing the world of science – something we have been doing for more than 60 years now. Our mission: We endow knowledge.

Visit our funding portfolio Who we are

We provide support in four profile areas

Bücherstapel

Understanding Research

Critically exploring and reflecting on the research system with a view to initiating positive change on areas such as career paths, governance, research and teaching.

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Androiden-Kopf mit technischen Geräten statt des Gehirns

Societal Transformations

Expanding knowledge about processes of transformation and developing possible courses of action together with stakeholders in civil society.

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Kompass

Exploration

Breaking into previously unexplored research territory with unconventional ideas and experimental approaches.

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hölzerner Schach-Springer (Pferd)

zukunft.niedersachsen

Funding program for top-level research in Lower Saxony.

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Umgeben von einer Gruppe Menschen macht ein Mann Notizen auf dem Laptop

Inken Dworak-Schultz

Story

Pharmacy from the Rainforest: Remedies for the Mind

To the Article on Ethnopharmacologist Fabien Schultz

Events

  • Expert meeting
  • Symposium

Wed, 9 Dec 2026, 11:00 a.m. to Fri, 11 Dec 2026, 2:00 p.m.

Not About, but With - How Transdisciplinary Research Succeeds! 

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  • Expert meeting
  • Herrenhausen Conference

Tue, 16 Feb 2027, 10:00 a.m. to Thu, 18 Feb 2027, 4:00 p.m.

Rethinking Neurodegeneration - Challenging established paradigms and exploring new paths

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Newsroom

Illustration with people sitting around an oversized compass
Funding Offer 13 October 2026

Apply Now: Scoping Workshops

This is about the future of your research area: What is the current status? What prospects are there for further development - and how can they be realised? With the "Scoping Workshops" the foundation offers space for discussion and intensive exchange. 

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Tastatur, Kopfhörer, Block, Stift und Kaffeetasse
Event 29 September 2026

Live Webinar on Our Funding Portfolio

Twice a year - at the beginning of each semester in April and October - the Volkswagen Foundation offers a free, one-hour live webinar in English on the funding portfolio. The next webinar is scheduled for 13 April 2027, 10 a.m.

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