The funding programme “Current and Future Challenges of Democratic Societies” was published by the German Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) to strengthen interdisciplinary democracy research in the humanities, cultural sciences, and social sciences. The programme responds to growing political and societal concerns regarding the resilience, legitimacy, and future viability of democratic systems in Germany, Europe, and globally.

The framework programme highlights that democratic societies are increasingly confronted with major structural transformations and crises, including climate change, demographic developments, digitalization, artificial intelligence, geopolitical tensions, polarization, and declining public trust in democratic institutions. These developments challenge the problem-solving capacity of democratic systems and require new scientific insights into the interaction between society, state institutions, and democratic governance.

The programme aims to support both fundamental and applied research projects that investigate current and future democratic challenges from historical and contemporary perspectives. The BMFTR emphasizes the importance of generating system knowledge, orientation knowledge, and actionable policy recommendations that can support actors from politics, public administration, civil society, academia, and the broader public.

Key thematic priorities include the resilience of democratic systems, democratic culture, societal polarization, public trust, democratic participation, and the governance of transformation processes. The programme also addresses the role of technological innovation and digital transformation, especially artificial intelligence and digital platforms, in shaping democratic processes, public discourse, and political participation.

Projects funded under this programme may examine democratic institutions and processes at institutional, societal, and cultural levels. Research may focus on topics such as institutional adaptability, democratic norms and values, participation formats, societal attitudes toward democracy, media and discourse dynamics, and international comparative perspectives on democratic governance.

The programme strongly encourages interdisciplinary collaboration, participatory approaches, and cooperation between academia and practice-oriented stakeholders. Collaborative projects involving universities, research institutions, civil society organizations, foundations, associations, and public actors are particularly welcomed. Measures for science communication, stakeholder engagement, knowledge transfer, and dissemination of results to society and policymakers are mandatory components of funded projects.

Funding is provided as non-repayable project grants. Both individual projects and collaborative consortia are eligible. Projects may also include international networking activities and comparative international analyses. Eligible costs include personnel, travel, workshops, publications, public engagement activities, data acquisition, and measures related to science communication and stakeholder participation.

Applications are generally submitted through a two-stage evaluation process. First, applicants submit project sketches, after which selected applicants are invited to submit full proposals. The programme is administered by the DLR Project Management Agency on behalf of the BMFTR.

The framework programme remains valid until 31 December 2036 and serves as the legal and thematic basis for future thematic funding calls related to democratic societies and democratic transformation.

Opening: 18.05.2026

This funding opportunity represents an early draft that has not yet been officially approved by the European Commission. It is expected that details of the calls will change until finalization. The final, approved version is expected to be published by End of 2025. This draft is provided for informational purposes and may be used to preliminarily form consortia and develop project ideas, but it is offered without any guarantee.