ZEW Economist Bastian Krieger on Funding Excellent Research at German Universities

Since its introduction in 2006, the funding of German universities through Excellence Programmes has been a cornerstone of science policy. Starting in 2025, a total of 533 million euros annually is supposed to be allocated to a selected number of universities. The aim of this funding is primarily to enable international top-tier research at German universities. However, the impact of research funding on the German economy is also becoming increasingly significant.

The establishment of excellence clusters, the largest funding line supporting selected research fields at universities, has been shown to bolster the innovation capacity of regional businesses. However, this effect was only measurable in regions where a greater number of clusters were simultaneously supported. A positive effect from another funding line could not be discerned at this stage.

Our study’s findings thus support the call for an increase in the financial resources allocated to the Excellence Programme or the consolidation of existing funds to a smaller number of universities, at least if the aim is to generate tangible economic effects in a region. In this regard, the findings also affirm the previous decision to discontinue funding graduate schools and raise the question of whether funding university strategies will have a demonstrable long-term effect.

A clear impact of the Excellence Initiative on the research performance of universities and researchers has so far been difficult to demonstrate. This is partly due to the long-term nature of the research process. The results of research funding often take significantly longer to unfold than the duration of a funding programme. Therefore, after nearly two decades of the Excellence Initiative, there is an opportunity for a scientific re-evaluation of the early phases of the Excellence Initiative.”