The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft , a publicly supported research organization, plans to invest €2.7 billion ($3.8 billion) in the second round of the Exzellenzinitiative. The Exzellenzinitiative, which provides additional funding to the country’s top research universities, awarded €1.9 billion in its first round. Second-round of funding is estimated to rise by 30%. The first call for projects will be issued next spring with funds to be distributed in the mid-2012. The national government will contribute 75% to the initiative’s cost, with the remainder supplied by the federal states.

Source: ResearchResearch.com