If you wish to apply for a grant from Stiftung Mercator, please read the information on Grant Application Requirements and eligibility criteria to see whether your project is eligible for a grant. If you have any further questions, please refer to our FAQ for applicants.

We employ a two-stage application process to ensure that all applications can be processed as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

1st stage: draft application proposal

Please initially submit only a draft application proposal containing the following information:

• Applicant (name, job title, institution, address, phone number, e-mail)
• Project title
• Brief project description (1,000 to 3,000 characters)
• Explanation of the extent to which the project meets Stiftung Mercator’s funding criteria
• Grant amount requested from Stiftung Mercator

No application deadlines

You can submit your grant application to Stiftung Mercator at any time. There are no generally applicable application deadlines. Please e-mail your draft application proposal to info (at) stiftung-mercator.de or to the relevant project manager. You will then be sent confirmation of receipt.

Preliminary assessment by Stiftung Mercator

Once we have received your draft application proposal, it will be evaluated. This can take up to six weeks. Please do not send enquiries to Stiftung Mercator during this evaluation phase because we cannot provide you with any further information until the preliminary assessment has been concluded. We will contact you if we require any further clarification.

2nd stage: full application proposal

If your application passes the preliminary assessment, we will invite you to submit a more detailed full application proposal.

In addition to the information provided in the draft application proposal, the full application proposal should contain the following details:

• Grant application form
• Detailed project description
• Measurable project objectives
• Details of the social impact of the project (information on impact orientation at Stiftung Mercator, in particular in our research funding, can be found HERE)
• Details of all project participants (specifically co-applicants, project leaders, cooperation partners, other funding providers)
• Detailed budget plan (please use the template provided by Stiftung Mercator)
• Timetable and milestones
• Details of project evaluation
• Details of the project’s sustainability

Please send your full application proposal and all necessary attachments by e-mail, and the signed application form by post, to the relevant project manager.

Assessment by Stiftung Mercator

Your full application proposal will then be assessed at Stiftung Mercator. We may ask you to revise your full application proposal. In many cases, we also commission an independent peer-review examination of your proposal. We will contact you if we require any further clarification.

Final decision by the Advisory Board Committee or Executive Board

The final decision on the grant application is made by the Advisory Board Committee or – if the grant amount is less than 50,000 euros – jointly by the Executive Board and the chairperson of the Advisory Board Committee of Stiftung Mercator.