An amendment to the German constitution will allow universities and researchers to receive direct and permanent federal funds, thus providing them with more secure funding. Presently, university budgets comprise mostly local government funding, and the federal funds universities receive can be used only for certain expenses. The federal government’s annual contribution to research funding is about €17 billion ($23.1 billion), while the states contribute €75 billion, for a total German R&D budget of 2.9% of GDP. However, the DFG, a funder of academic projects, receives over half of its budget from the federal government. Also, three-quarters of a €4.6 billion excellence initiative for university funding comes from the federal government. The changes will facilitate the contribution of €6 billion in government funds to science and education through 2017 and will be enacted by the end of this year. Allocation specifics of the new government funds have yet to be determined.

Source: Nature