Long Description:
Austrian Science Fund (FWF – Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung)
The FWF is Austria’s central body for the promotion of basic research and aims at strengthening science and the humanities in the country. The FWF invests
in new ideas that contribute to an advance in knowledge and thereby to further developments. The Austrian Science Fund is equally committed to all branches
of science and the humanities and is guided in its operations solely by the standards of the international scientific community.
The responsibilities of the FWF are the promotion of
High-quality scientific research, which represents a significant contribution to society, culture and the economy,
Education and training through research, because support for young scientists represents one the most important investments in the future,
Knowledge transfer and the establishment of a science-friendly culture via an exchange between science and other areas of society.
The aims of the Austrian Science Fund are a continued improvement of science in Austria and an increase of its international competitiveness, an enhancement
of the qualifications of young scientists and to strengthen the awareness that science and the humanities represent a significant aspect of a country’s culture.
The FWF firmly sticks to a bottom-up approach, i.e. the scientists define the topics and the content of the proposed research without any interference from
the FWF or any other third party. Grants provided by the FWF clearly define research projects of a limited duration.
The merit of a proposed research is determined by peer review. More than 3,500 reviews from outside Austria are received each year. For its funding activities,
the FWF generally applies the principle of competition based on quality.
The FWF does not offer a programme scheme that is explicitly dedicated to environmental studies. Still, applying the bottom up approach, every basic research
is funded if the international peer review process provides strong evidence that the proposed research meets highest international quality standards and
is ground-breaking in the respective field.
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