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Open source developers; applying for funding

If you are a programmer who wants to develop open source software as a creative solution to a social problem, you can be funded to do so under certain conditions.

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Heinemannstraße 2
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53175 Bonn

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10829 Berlin

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Heinrich-Konen-Straße 1

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Procedure details

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, BMBF for short, uses the "Software Sprint" to fund projects by free, creative programmers who want to find solutions to socially relevant issues.

The basic idea is that people can use software to participate in society or to deal with data and information in a self-determined way. A pool of software models (prototypes) is to be created in the funded projects. The aim is to lay the foundations for further innovations. In addition, a culture of trial and error and the exchange of experience are to be supported.

You can apply for funding as a programmer alone or in a small interdisciplinary team. Your software solution should clearly surpass the current technological state of the art and be thematically related to one of the following points:

  • social participation, transparency, and citizen engagement
  • data visualization and storytelling, i.e., narrative sharing of knowledge
  • new approaches and means to create, share and use data
  • Data parsimony, data security and privacy
  • Data analytics to make valid decisions and design processes

At the end of your project, you are expected to make the source code of your project freely available on an open source platform. The result of your funded project will become part of a collection of innovative software prototypes, the "Prototype Fund".

The project usually lasts 6 months. Its total cost must not exceed 50,000 EUR. Of this, you will individually receive up to 95 percent of the costs as funding. Only project-related personnel and overhead costs are considered for funding. You must be at least 18 years old and reside in Germany.

There is no entitlement to the funding. Rather, the granting authority decides on the basis of its dutiful discretion within the framework of the available budget funds.

You are eligible to apply if you are

  • are a self-employed programmer,
  • are at least 18 years old and
  • have your residence in Germany.

You can apply alone or as a small interdisciplinary team.

  • Required Documents

    Um sich zu bewerben, erstellen Sie in einer 1. Verfahrensstufe über ein Bewerbungsformular eine Projektskizze. Diese Projektskizze enthält folgende Angaben:

    • Ihr Thema,
    • Ihre Kontaktdaten (Name, Adresse, Telefon, E-Mail-Adresse),
    • die Laufzeit des Vorhabens,
    • die Höhe der Gesamtkosten und des Förderbedarfs,
    • eine Kurzzusammenfassung der Ziele und des Lösungswegs,
    • aktueller Technologiestand und Neuheit des Lösungsansatzes, angestrebter gesellschaftlicher beziehungsweise technischer Nutzen, Abgrenzung von verwandten Ansätzen,
    • Darstellung Ihrer Person bezüglich Ihrer bisherigen Erfahrungen und Projekte,
    • Ihre Arbeitsplanung, gegebenenfalls mit Arbeitspaketen und zeitlichem Ablauf,
    • eine Auflistung der Personenmonate (die Summe der Monate, die alle Projektbeteiligte arbeiten) mit Personal- und gegebenenfalls Gemeinkosten,
    • Verwertungsperspektiven der Ergebnisse unter Open-Source-Lizenz, zu erwartender Praxiseinsatz sowie Anschlussmöglichkeiten.

The application procedure has 2 stages.

Stage 1: Project outline (short project description).

  • You submit your outline in digital form on the Prototype Fund internet portal.
  • Your project outline will be evaluated according to the following characteristics:
    • technical relevance to the funding guideline,
    • approach and novelty of the idea,
    • social benefit,
    • qualification of the applicant, own preliminary work,
    • Prospect of successful exploitation, publication as open source.
  • External reviewers may be consulted for the evaluation.
  • All submissions are in competition with each other.
  • If your project idea is selected, you will receive a positive written request to submit the application (stage 2)

Stage 2: Application

You submit your application as follows:

  • Submit your application electronically via the easy-Online portal.
  • Call up the easy-Online Internet portal. There you will be guided step by step through the process of submitting your application.
  • Fill in all the fields required for the application and submit it.
  • If you have a qualified electronic signature (the necessary technical requirements include appropriate software or a reader), you can submit the application completely electronically.
  • If you do not have a qualified electronic signature, you must print out the application in addition to submitting it electronically, sign it, and send it to the project management organization in the next step together with the other application documents.
  • Once the application has been received by the project management organization, you will receive a confirmation of receipt.
  • The responsible person at the project management organization as well as the Prototype Fund will help you with questions regarding the application.
  • Applications will be evaluated and reviewed according to the following criteria:
    • Implementation of any conditions from the first stage and compliance with the financial framework recommended there for funding
    • Eligibility of the requested funds;
    • Necessity and appropriateness of the requested funds;
  • You will receive a decision on your application. If the decision is positive, you will receive a notification of funding by mail.

There are no costs.

You can submit your project outline at any time.
However, please note the evaluation deadlines for project outlines:

  • 30.09.2023
  • 31.03.2024

The submission deadline is not considered a cut-off date. However, project outlines received late may not be considered until the next following deadline.

The evaluation of the project outline usually takes 2 months from the respective submission deadline. (2 months)

Companies, universities, research institutes and other institutions are not eligible to apply.

  • administrative claim

Status: 25.08.2023
Editorially responsible for prodecure description: Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt
Source: Federal Portal