Österreichischer Wissenschaftsfonds FWF

alpha+ Foundation of the Austrian Science Fund FWF receives donation of €4.5 million

Learn more: Zero Emissions Award – Austria's Largest Private Award for Climate-relevant Basic Research Launches

The Weiss Award, Austria's largest privately financed research award in the field of meteorology, goes to Bernadett Weinzierl from the University of Vienna. Administered by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), the award of around €400,000 from the Weiss Science Foundation will enable physicist Bernadett Weinzierl to better detect and research microplastics in the atmosphere.

Learn more: Weiss Research Award: Detecting Airborne Microplastics

Austria's basic research community is growing, and with it the funding provided by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). Investments increased again in 2022, reaching €273 million, and 743 projects were funded at Austria's research institutions. Currently, 4,842 scientists and scholars are conducting their research with FWF funding, and their discoveries help lay the foundations for progress, innovation, and prosperity. The FWF Distinguished Professor program, the third pillar of the excellence initiative excellent=austria, will start in 2023. The Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) will be providing the FWF with €1.124 billion for the 2024 to 2026 budget period.

Learn more: More Cutting-Edge Research

The FWF Distinguished Professor program, the third pillar of the excellent=austria initiative, is scheduled to launch in September of 2023. The new program is intended to strengthen promising research fields by recruiting and appointing world-leading researchers to Austrian universities, as well as to further increase the international visibility and attractivity of Austria's universities.

Learn more: FWF Distinguished Professor: Third excellent=austria Funding Program on the Horizon

With the FWF Annual Report, we not only offer you an insight into the past funding year, but also invite you to look back on some special moments in research. You’ll also find links to listen to the highlights of our discussion series “Was die Welt zusammenhält” and get to know successful researchers in our video portrait series.

Learn more: A Year of Research on 90 Pages

The alpha+ Foundation’s Rückenwind funding bonus, financed on a nonprofit basis, gives private individuals and organizations the opportunity to support cutting-edge research. Thanks to the support of new partners, seven young researchers in the Erwin Schrödinger program will receive a Rückenwind funding bonus this year.

Learn more: alpha+ Foundation Rückenwind Bonus for Internationally Active Researchers

Since 2019, the FWF has been gradually switching the administration of its funding programs to the new PROFI mode. Starting in 2024, the FWF will be providing a new instrument to support open-access publishing: the FWF open-access block grant.

Learn more: FWF Open-Access Block Grant Starting in 2024

In its first decision round of the year, the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) awarded approximately €129.5 million in funding for 163 new research projects. A current list of the approved projects is now available online.

Learn more: FWF Grants €129.5 Million for Outstanding Projects

Cutting-edge research is an expedition into the future. Through excellent=austria, Austria plans in the coming years to send promising research teams on a journey to gain innovative insights into all fields of knowledge.

Learn more: Austria’s First Clusters of Excellence

With the initiative excellent=austria, Austria is opening a new chapter in basic research: Starting in summer 2023, five Clusters of Excellence will be kicking off cooperative projects on an unprecedented scale at 11 different locations. The FWF and the participating research institutions are providing a total investment volume of €135 million to finance cutting-edge research on future-oriented topics for the first five years of the planned ten-year duration. Science Minister Martin Polaschek and FWF President Christof Gattringer announced the long-awaited funding decisions in Vienna.

Learn more: A New Dimension in Research Funding: Austria's First Clusters of Excellence Awarded

How can supermarket shopping become more climate-friendly? Agriculture and industry aren’t the only players if we want more sustainable food systems, we also need science. Starting in February, the FWF will be funding researchers who work together with citizens to discover new ideas and approaches in the field of Sustainable Food Systems. This funding is part of a joint initiative with austria wirtschaftsservice (aws) and is financed by the Fonds Zukunft Österreich.

Learn more: Generating Knowledge for More Sustainable Food Systems