ERC Starting Grants are intended to support the scientific independence of the grantees by establishing or consolidating a research team.

Funding body: European Research Council
Subject areas: All
Eligible applicants: 2-7 years after the doctorateFunding period: 5 years
Financial framework: Up to 1.5 million euros (in exceptional cases up to 2 million euros)
Remuneration: Depending on the host institution (usually like junior professorship or TVöD E 15)
Special features: EU-wide funding instrument. To apply, you need a "Host Commitment Letter" from your host institution stating that it is the "applicant legal entity" and offers you appropriate research conditions. Application via the European Commission's electronic submission system, should be in English.

ERC Consolidator Grants support excellent researchers whose own research group is in the consolidation phase.

Funding body: European Research Council
Subject areas: All
Eligible applicants: 7-12 years after the doctorate
Funding period: 5 years
Financial framework: Up to 2 million € (possibly up to 1 million add-on for large-scale equipment)
Remuneration: Depending on the host institution (usually like junior professorship or TVöD E 15)
Special features: EU-wide funding instrument. The application is submitted by a Principal Investigator together with a public or private host institution. A commitment from the host institution must be submitted with the application,

The Emmy Noether Programme aims to provide scientists in early career phases with a path to early scientific independence.

Funding body: German Research Foundation (DFG)
Subject areas: None
Eligible applicants: 2 to 4 years after doctorate, substantial international research experience
Funding period: 6 years
Financial framework: No financial ceiling
Remuneration: TV-L 15
Special features: Application possible at any time; junior professors can apply for group funding.

BMBF Junior Research Groups

Funding body: Federal Ministry of Education and Research
Subject areas: variable, e.g. health care research, materials and battery research, social-ecological research
Eligibility : 5-7 years after doctorate
Funding duration : usually 5 years (often with interim evaluation)
Financial framework: upper limits vary depending on the call for proposals
Remuneration: usually TV-L 14
Special features: strong application focus; structural integration of the group at the university necessary; funding only within the framework of specific calls for proposals (see above)

The Helmholtz Association would like to give excellent international research talents the opportunity to establish themselves successfully and permanently in science by establishing their own adequately equipped junior research group at a Helmholtz Centre.

Funding body: Helmholtz Association
Subject areas: Energy, Earth and Environment, Health, Key Technologies, Matter as well as Aeronautics, Space and Transport
Target group: 2 to 6 years after the doctorate, at least 6 months abroad
Funding period: 5 years
Financial framework: At least 250,000 euros per year
Remuneration: TVöD/TV-L E 14-15 or BAT 1b/1a Special features: Tenure option, accompanying training and mentoring programme, junior research group leaders to be appointed jointly by the Centre and the university.

The Max Planck Research Groups are aimed at excellent young applicants who have already held one or two postdoctoral positions and would now like to lead their own group and work independently in their research.

Funding organisation: Max Planck Society
Subject areas: According to the hosting institute
Eligible applicants: up to 7 years after doctorate (medicine 9 years), experience abroad desired
Funding period: 5 + 2 + 2 years
Financial framework: open
Remuneration: W2 (position similar to civil service law)
Special features: There are institute-specific research groups (advertised by the individual Max Planck Institutes), open-topic research groups (central advertisement) and Minerva groups (exclusively for female scientists). Application and letters of recommendation in English; application in electronic form; for central applications, contact the desired institute beforehand.

The Leibniz Junior Research Grroups are aimed at postdoctoral researchers with an excellent scientific career who aspire to a professorship or comparable scientific activity.

Funding body: Leibniz Association
Subject areas: Oriented towards the institutes
Eligible applicants: up to 5 years after the doctorate
Funding period: 5 years
Financial framework: up to €1 million
Remuneration: E 14 to E 15
Special features: Each Leibniz Institute may propose one (two) junior research groups to the Leibniz Association for funding each year. Good contacts and cooperation with Leibniz institutes are necessary to apply for a junior group.

The Fraunhofer Attract funding programme is designed to give young scientists the opportunity to further develop their application-oriented ideas at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.

Funding body: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Subject area: Industry-related and application-oriented research
Eligible applicants: Postdocs and professors
Funding period: 5 years
Financial framework : Max. 2.5 million euros
Remuneration: TVöD
Special features: Two application rounds per year, up to 8 groups are accepted annually. Candidates and institute develop the proposal together. Institute bears 50 per cent of the funding, head office the other 50 per cent. Group should generate its own income in the second part of the funding phase. Tailor-made further training programme, prospects for own group at the Fraunhofer Institute.

The Robert Bosch Stiftung would like to strengthen sustainability science in Germany and therefore announces the annual Robert Bosch Junior Professorship "Sustainable Use of Natural Resources".

Funding Body: Robert Bosch Stiftung
Subject area : Thematic area of sustainable use of natural resources
Eligible applicants: Early career researchers
Funding period: 5 years
Financial framework: 1 million euros
Special features: The research project should contribute to solving urgent environmental problems, and the findings should make a contribution to one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.