Research for Civil Security

Research for Civil Security — Stichtag

Funds German projects in cyber and defense technologies that strengthen civil security applications.

Eligibility · Germany, Austria

Research for Civil Security is a standing programme of the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), governed by the Bekanntmachung of 24 June 2024, running through 30 June 2027 with a possible extension to 31 December 2033. The programme finances application-oriented R&D that closes concrete capability gaps for user organisations operating in civil security—including police and emergency services, critical-infrastructure operators, municipalities, and civil-society groups. Funding is structured across five action fields: population protection, hybrid threats, secure supply, population resilience, and enabling safe living. Two submission modules are available: Modul Anwender (user-led projects, two-year duration, two to four consortium partners, with an end-user organisation in the lead role) and Modul Unternehmen (company-led projects, three-year duration, with companies collectively receiving more than 50% of the grant budget). The programme runs twice-yearly Stichtage on 15 March and 15 September; this entry covers the 15 September 2026 cutoff.

Single-applicant projects (Einzelvorhaben) are not eligible—all funding requires a consortium of at least two partners. Foreign partners may be included in justified cases for up to 20% of the total grant budget. Companies participating in the Modul Unternehmen are expected to co-finance at least 50% of their eligible costs from their own resources. A separate bilateral German-Austrian track for projects with KIRAS (Austrian security research) partners runs on a once-yearly 15 March cycle. No published per-project award cap is defined; award size depends on project scope and consortium configuration. The 15 September deadline is a Vorlagefrist (target date) rather than a strict Ausschlussfrist—late concept papers may be deferred to the next Stichtag but will not slip past the final date of 15 September 2029.

Concept papers are submitted by the consortium coordinator via the appropriate online tool to the Projektträger. Proposals should identify a specific, named user organisation with a demonstrated operational gap, articulate the R&D approach to closing that gap within the module's duration constraints, and clearly assign roles between user and technology partners. Strong submissions quantify the security benefit and demonstrate a practical adoption pathway for the developed solution. Companies in the Modul Unternehmen must provide evidence of their co-financing capacity and show that more than half of the project funding accrues to the company partners.