On 10 July 2026, the Joint Science Conference adopted and published the new “Federal-State Agreement on the Funding of the National Research Data Infrastructure”. This confirms that the NFDI will continue beyond 2028 and will be funded in a new form from 1 January 2029. The agreement initially sets out a framework. Numerous specific details will be decided over the next two years. We would like to briefly explain what this decision means from the perspective of NFDI4Chem.
A long-term, financially reliable foundation
The federal and state governments have agreed on a funding period from 2029 to 2038 and will jointly provide up to 98.7 million euros annually for this purpose. The German Science Council had recommended an institutional approach, and the BLV is taking an important step in this direction with its ten-year funding programme. The funds will be shared between the federal and state governments in a ratio of 90 to 10. In addition, an innovation programme administered by the German Research Foundation (DFG) is planned, which is intended to identify and test new developments in research data management. These decisions represent a clear and financially significant commitment to research data management, particularly at a time when budget cuts are being made in many areas.
The technical work remains with the communities
In future, specialist work will take place within departments with stable funding, which will organise, coordinate and take responsibility for their activities and service portfolio independently. Each department will be led by a voluntary spokesperson elected from a member institution, in conjunction with a coordination office within the NFDI Association. Control over content therefore remains in the hands of the specialist communities.
This involves a structural change. The individual consortia are taking a back seat, with work being consolidated into a maximum of eight “departments”. For us, this means exploring, together with scientifically related natural science consortia, what a joint work programme and a coordinated range of services might look like. We are already engaged in dialogue – in some cases very close – with a number of other consortia, through inter-consortium workshops and regular discussions. Above all, we see this as an opportunity to visibly contribute our strengths in chemical research data to a larger network.
Services can continue to be operated on site
The agreement clearly regulates the operation of services. Operators enter into cooperation- or data transfer agreements with the NFDI e.V. and receive funding for this. We can continue to provide our services with the support of our existing, competent staff continue to provide.
Active involvement rather than prescribed guidelines – including in the area of monitoring
The plan is to carry out regular, performance-based monitoring of the services using what are known as performance indicators. The details of this are yet to be finalised. For us, the design aspect is more important than the monitoring aspect. Decisions on the inclusion of new services and the allocation of resources are taken within the NFDI’s governing bodies in collaboration with the relevant academic departments. The communities and other stakeholders in the data infrastructure can play an active role in shaping these decisions. This is precisely where our input will be needed.
The transition begins in December
On 1 December 2026, a transition team comprising up to six individuals from the fields of academia and research management will commence its work. By the end of 2028, its main task will be to draft the new articles of association for NFDI e. V. and to oversee the transfer of the existing consortia to the academic departments. Funding has been secured for this transition and the process will be supported from 2029 to 2032.
All in all this therefore sets out a clear direction to follow. Many detailed questions remain unanswered, and their resolution will also depend on our commitment. Let us use this perspective to bring contribute and to further expand our services, so that they in the further-developed NFDI find their place.
Oliver Koepler, Christoph Steinbeck
