The legal basis of the FWF’s activities is the Research and Technology Funding Act (Forschungs- und Technologiefördergesetz, FFTG), which has been in effect since 1967. Pursuant to the provisions of this legislation, the FWF was established for the purpose of funding research that is:
- Project-based, in line with the highest international standards, and for the most part thematically open
- Serves to generate knowledge and to expand and deepen scientific knowledge
- Not conducted for profit
The law also defines the FWF’s most important executive bodies, competencies, and decision-making principles. The full text of the Research and Technology Funding Act is available online (in German) in the Legal Information System of the Republic of Austria.
FWF Funding Guidelines
In compliance with federal regulations, the FWF has drawn up a set of general funding guidelines [LINK TO FWF] that apply to all FWF funding programs. These guidelines set out the procedures for establishing funding programs, determining the minimum content of funding programs, outlining measures to prevent multiple funding, defining objectives and indicators, and conducting evaluations.
Program-specific application guidelines
In addition, all program-specific requirements and regulations are defined in the program-specific application guidelines. These relate to formal application requirements, qualification requirements for principal investigators, evaluation criteria and procedures, limitations on the number of current projects, cost categories and equipment acquisition regulations, reporting requirements, and exceptions to the restrictions on multiple funding.
Program-specific application guidelines are available for download on the information page for each individual program.