Grant Requirements

Projects are chosen first and foremost on the basis of whether they will help us achieve the concrete targets in our four thematic fields. All submitted grant applications should be oriented towards at least one of these thematic fields and contribute to the achievement of its objectives.  

• Digital Society: We want digital technologies in Germany and Europe to be developed and used in accordance with democratic rights and values. Find out more about our activities in the thematic field of Digital Society.
• Europe in the World: We want to strengthen cohesion within the EU and through international understanding to contribute to the proper functioning of its relationships with key countries (especially China and Turkey). Find out more about our activities in the thematic field of Europe in the World.
• Climate Action: We want Germany to become greenhouse gas-neutral by 2050 and to help the EU as a whole to assume a global leadership role in climate action. Find out more about our activities in the thematic field of Climate Action.
• Participation and Cohesion: We promote the social and societal participation of socio-economically disadvantaged people, strengthen social cohesion through spaces for dialogue and opportunities for political participation, and safeguard trust in our democracy by supporting key institutions and local politics in their resilience and future viability. Find out more about our activities in the thematic field of Participation and Cohesion.

In addition to the aforementioned thematic criteria, we also assess every grant application according to the following strategic criteria:  

• Quality: Only applications that meet the highest quality standards within their respective field have any chance of receiving funding. The applicants must demonstrate proven expertise in the relevant thematic field.  

• Systemic impact: Foundations are most likely to achieve success if they pursue objectives aimed at bringing about long-term social change. For this reason we are not interested in individual measures but above all in projects that will have systemic impact. To ensure that our funding has a lasting effect, it is important for us to know at the time of application how the project in question will be anchored long-term within the system after the end of our funding phase.  
• Funding period: Bringing about change in society takes time. We therefore prefer to fund longer-term projects whose contents and organization are monitored intensively and which have a long-term effect on the funded institution and system.  
• Evaluation: Preference is given to funding projects which are scientifically monitored and evaluated throughout the funding phase.  
• Cross-sector action: Foundations can particularly exploit their specific advantages as neutral actors when they work at the interfaces between the various sectors of society. This is why we particularly support applicants who involve institutions from other societal sectors working in the same thematic field (for example political decision-makers, ministries at federal and state level, scientific and academic institutions, associations and organizations).  
• Regional projects: The Ruhr region is the home of our founding family and as such the region in which application of Stiftung Mercator’s strategy is given preference.