The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Germany’s foremost research funding organization, has unveiled an extensive analysis on the disciplinary composition and interdisciplinary connectivity within the 70 Clusters of Excellence currently supported under the federal and state governments’ Excellence Strategy. This latest evaluation coincides with the announcement that 45 of the existing clusters will secure renewed funding, while 25 new clusters will be introduced at the start of the second competitive funding phase in 2026. Employing an innovative data story format to present their findings, the DFG offers a comprehensive overview of the subject areas engaged in these clusters and the networked interplay that shapes their increasingly interdisciplinary research landscapes.
An essential revelation from this investigation is the close alignment between the clusters’ subject profiles and the broader distribution of ongoing DFG-funded research. The broad disciplinary range underscores the Excellence Strategy’s role in nurturing a diverse portfolio of scientific inquiry, with nearly 90 percent of the teaching and research fields (TaR) represented at German universities actively participating in cluster projects. The robustness of this involvement demonstrates the strategy’s effectiveness in maintaining a wide disciplinary base while fostering cross-field collaboration in cutting-edge research endeavours.
Professor Dr. Katja Becker, President of the DFG, emphasized the significance of this detailed statistical analysis, underscoring that the Clusters of Excellence rest firmly on a comprehensive disciplinary foundation. Reflecting on the interdisciplinary nature that permeates these clusters, Becker highlighted the network map of subject interconnections as a particularly illuminating feature. This network demonstrates not only the breadth of disciplinary integration but also identifies central hubs within the system, with artificial intelligence emerging prominently as a pivotal node driving interdisciplinary research connectivity in the latest funding round.
The analysis begins with a comparative evaluation of the Clusters of Excellence’s subject-specific focuses against the general landscape of DFG-funded research across all disciplines, as catalogued in resources such as the triennial Funding Atlas. This comparison reveals a striking congruence, particularly noticeable in the humanities, social sciences, biology, and most engineering sectors. The field of physics distinguishes itself with a notably higher representation in the clusters relative to general DFG funding, accounting for 17 percent of cluster projects compared to just 8 percent overall. Conversely, the domain of medicine appears slightly underrepresented within the clusters compared to its footprint in general funding, signaling nuanced differences likely informed by the clusters’ thematic priorities.
When juxtaposed with the preceding funding phase, changes in subject area prominence remain subtle, reflecting the renewal of 45 clusters from the original cohort. Noteworthy shifts include a marginal increase in the representation of social and behavioural sciences, medicine, materials science, and engineering disciplines, while fields such as chemistry and mechanical and production engineering exhibit a somewhat reduced presence. Nevertheless, the overall distribution remains remarkably stable, indicating a sustained strategic consistency that balances continuity with adjustment to evolving scientific landscapes.
A more granular focus on the disciplinary backgrounds of Principal Investigators (PIs) across the clusters reveals further insights into the academic diversity underpinning the Excellence Strategy. Data encompassing 1,740 PIs from various institutions allowed the association of researchers with their respective subject areas, utilizing the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) classification system covering 69 teaching and research fields. Initial comparisons with the distribution of German university professorships—available for 59 TaR fields—demonstrate that fields with substantial professorial numbers tend to be well-represented among cluster PIs. Biology and physics/astronomy emerge as particularly prominent, with 88 percent of all officially recognized fields represented in the clusters, highlighting the broad disciplinary participation integral to the Excellence Strategy’s framework.
The analysis reveals substantial disciplinary breadth within individual clusters as well. On average, each cluster engages approximately 6.5 different teaching and research fields, though the extent of this interdisciplinarity varies across the four major scientific domains. Natural sciences clusters generally feature participation concentrated among two to four fields, suggesting moderate disciplinary breadth. In stark contrast, the humanities, social sciences, and engineering fields exhibit wider integration; several clusters in these domains incorporate researchers from ten or more distinct fields. This considerable disciplinary diversity speaks to the complex research challenges addressed and the necessity of converging multiple perspectives within single clusters.
Addressing concerns about potential bias toward large subject areas in the Excellence Strategy, the DFG’s data indicate only minor disparities in the representation of smaller subjects within the funding landscape. Larger domains, characterized by a greater number of local research institutes, understandably show a slightly higher representation within the 70 Clusters of Excellence. However, the difference is marginal and there is no indication of systematic exclusion of smaller subjects. This inclusive approach reinforces the Strategy’s commitment to fostering comprehensive scientific exploration irrespective of institutional scale.
Delving into the structure of interdisciplinary collaboration, network analyses visualize relationships among roughly 200 subject areas represented by more than one PI within the clusters. These interdisciplinary networks maintain a recognizable organization based on the DFG’s research field groupings, underscoring the persistence of disciplinary identities even amidst integration. Of exceptional interest is the central positioning of Artificial Intelligence, which now occupies a more prominent role compared to the first funding round. Its centrality indicates extensive co-participation with a broad array of other fields, reflecting AI’s pervasive influence across numerous scientific sectors.
Equally notable is the presence of several humanities and social sciences disciplines as crucial bridging subjects in the interdisciplinary network. Fields such as “Specialised Sociologies,” “Philosophy,” and “International Law” act as connectors, facilitating cross-domain cooperation by linking traditionally distinct research areas through their involvement in overlapping clusters. This bridging function exemplifies the sophisticated interplay between disciplines requisite for addressing complex research problems spanning social, legal, and technological dimensions.
The adoption of the data story format represents a significant enhancement in science communication and data transparency. Users can interact dynamically with graphics and tables, exploring facets of the data in depth. Furthermore, the availability of raw underlying data for download empowers researchers and policymakers alike to conduct bespoke analyses tailored to their interests, fostering an environment of open inquiry and continuous insight generation.
Taken together, these findings portray the Excellence Strategy as a well-calibrated initiative that sustains a wide disciplinary reach while advancing interdisciplinary collaboration, thereby cultivating a vibrant ecosystem of research excellence. The clusters serve not only as hubs of specialized knowledge but also as dynamic nodes within a national scientific network, integrating diverse scholarly perspectives and driving innovation across Germany’s research landscape into the future.
Subject of Research: Interdisciplinary involvement and subject area distribution in Germany’s Clusters of Excellence under the Excellence Strategy.
Article Title: Mapping the Disciplinary Landscape: Insights into Germany’s Clusters of Excellence and Their Interdisciplinary Networks
News Publication Date: Not explicitly provided (assumed 2024 based on analysis of ongoing funding and comparison with 2024 datapoints)
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Keywords: Research programs, Scientific organizations, Science policy, Science communication, Science careers, Clusters of Excellence, Interdisciplinarity, Artificial Intelligence, German Research Foundation, Principal Investigators
