Q & A Volkswagen Foundation: "Pioneering Research – Exploring the Unknown Unknown"

The Volkswagen Foundation supports groundbreaking and risky research ideas with high scientific relevance with the funding initiative "Pioneering Research – Exploring the Unknown Unknown".

“Pioneering projects must fulfill the following criteria:

• radically explorative basic research

• new scientific ground

• research off the beaten track

• high scientific relevance

• high knowledge potential with the expectation of achieving important scientific breakthroughs or even triggering a paradigm shift

• if successful, providing impetus for the specialist community or even beyond

• conceptually or methodologically risky

The funding initiative is open to post-doctoral researchers and professors at German universities and other research institutions. International researchers can be included as Co-PIs. Each person may participate in only one short proposal, either as PI or as Co-PI.

The funding initiative is deliberately designed to be broad and flexible: We are looking for projects from all constellations and disciplines; collaborative projects are also possible. The Foundation provides up to 1.3 million euros for a funding period of at least 3 to a maximum of 5 years. The budget should reflect the requirements of the project and the project constellation and may e.g. include funding for the PIs’/Co-PIs’ own position(s).”

Applications may be submitted by 27 August 2026, 2:00 p.m. CET.

Further information may be found here, including details on two online Q&A sessions scheduled for 11 June and 16 July 2026.

If you have any questions about the call, please contact the person specified in the call.