Overall Description

This funding topic supports innovative, integrated approaches to sustainable neighbourhood development and renewal. Projects should reduce resource consumption, protect natural resources, mitigate climate change and strengthen climate adaptation by addressing neighbourhoods as interconnected physical, environmental, social, economic and cultural systems.

The programme prioritises coherent solutions that create synergies between buildings, energy systems, infrastructure, green spaces and local communities while avoiding isolated measures with potentially counterproductive effects.

Funding Amount

• Typical DBU funding per project: €100,000–€400,000, excluding the applicant’s own contribution.
• Maximum per project: No fixed maximum; funding is assessed individually.
• Funding instrument: Earmarked, non-repayable grant.
• Co-financing: Applicants must generally provide and document an own contribution.
• Indicative funding rate: Cost-based funding is usually approximately 50%.
  • Companies generally contribute 75% of development-related project costs and 50% of research-related project costs. More favourable rates may apply to SMEs and cooperation projects.
• Grants up to €175,000 are approved by the DBU Secretary General. Larger grants require additional assessment and approval by the DBU Board of Trustees.

Submission Deadlines

• Deadline: No fixed deadline; project outlines and applications may be submitted at any time.
• Early submission is recommended because funding is competitive.
• Indicative assessment period: approximately four to six months for complete applications not requiring further clarification or expert review.

Submission Conditions

• Applications normally follow a two-stage procedure:
  1. Submission of a project outline through the DBU online portal, normally 3–10 pages.
  2. Submission of a complete funding application, normally around 20 pages, following an invitation from DBU.
• Applications and project reports must generally be submitted in German.
• Projects must be innovative, exemplary, environmentally beneficial and practically implementable.
• Proposals should present a coherent neighbourhood-level approach rather than isolated individual measures.
• Residents and relevant local stakeholders should be involved where appropriate.
• Projects must not begin before DBU approval unless early commencement has been expressly authorised.
• Applicants must generally provide an own contribution and document total project expenditure.
• Cooperation projects require a joint application and separate cost plan for each partner.
• Typical project duration is 18–36 months; longer projects are considered only in justified exceptional cases.
• Applicants must comply with DBU funding guidelines and applicable EU State aid rules.
• Investment-cost subsidies and subsidies for standard planning costs are generally not eligible.
• Pure investment projects, basic research without implementation potential and studies without a concrete implementation component are excluded.

Eligible Types of Businesses and Organisations

Funding is generally available to legal entities, including:

• Municipalities and other local authorities.
• Municipal and regional utilities.
• Small and medium-sized enterprises.
• Other companies.
• Housing companies and cooperatives.
• Architecture, engineering and urban-planning organisations.
• Infrastructure and energy-service providers.
• Universities and higher-education institutions.
• Scientific and research institutions.
• Associations and non-profit organisations.
• Educational and civil-society organisations.
• Other legally constituted organisations.

Natural persons and state institutions may be supported in individual cases following a separate assessment.

Eligible Countries

• Primary eligible country:
  • Germany
• International projects:
  • Limited funding is available for international projects, primarily in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe.
  • Projects outside these regions may be considered individually.
  • International projects must primarily be implemented abroad and substantially involve local partners.
  • DBU particularly supports cooperation between a German applicant and local international partners.