Social challenges
Globalization, digitalization, worldwide migration, demographic ageing, internal polarization or geopolitical crises – these and other challenges cannot be solved by solely technical means, but can be better overcome by employing the expertise of the humanities and social sciences. For this reason, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) supports research on the topics of social cohesion, social innovation, cultural diversity and cultural heritage. You can find out more about this at social challenges.
In order to strengthen cohesion, innovative capacity and cultural heritage, the BMBF supports research in the humanities and social sciences, especially for practical applications. To ensure that they are actually adopted and implemented, policymakers, administrations, civil society and business must be involved in the research process. The BMBF therefore also supports the mutual transfer of knowledge between science and society, for example, by means of Citizen Science or real laboratories.
Scope for academic research
Secondary subjects, Käte Hamburger International Centres or Digital Humanities – the BMBF Framework Programme opens up a wide range of perspectives to researchers and young academics, and, at the same time, opens up new possibilities for experimentation and freedom in which they can choose their own research topics and advance academic development. This opens up new freedom for science.
International Humanities and Social Sciences
Merian Centers, HERA programme or regional studies: Many funding formats are explicitly aimed at strengthening research in the humanities and social sciences in international contexts, as research on social challenges does not stop at national borders. Read more at International humanities and social sciences.
The same applies to powerful research data infrastructures at both the national and European level, which provide researchers from different disciplines with relevant data.
Funding will be given especially to research projects which
- strengthen the mutual transfer of knowledge between research, politics and society,
- enable the structural development of the humanities and social sciences, and
- their internationalization.
