International differences in basic research grant funding – a systematic comparison. Studien zum deutschen Innovationssystem Nr. 9-2019

Using a structured systematic comparative approach, this study analyses differences in (basic) research grant funding between the main academic research funding agency of Germany (DFG) and the main agencies of five other countries (FWF in Austria, SNSF in Switzerland, NWO in the Netherlands, UKRI in the UK, NIH and NSF in the USA). A systematic survey of the literature was used to identify features of research grant funding which may impact on research outcomes(quality, quantity, direction of research, as well as productivity of researchers). We first point out structural differences between the DFG and the other agencies with respect to such features, before we summarise the potential impact of these differences on research outcomes.