You can use the following questions to help you formulate your proposal:

• Which need, problem, or challenge in the cross-sectional field of sustainability does my idea focus on and what does this mean for the FU climate emergency declaration or the FU sustainability mission statement?
• Why is my project necessary?
• What would happen if we did not undertake my project?
• Who is concernced with the topic our project is trying to address, and what are their approaches to solving it?
• What are key findings from my exploration phase and what solution(s) or recommendation(s) did I develop?
• How innovative is my idea compared to existing approaches?
• How appropriate and feasible is my idea?
• What exactly do I want to achieve?
• Who is my target group, and what positive change do I want to create?
• How can I tell if my project goal has been achieved?
• Roughly outlined, what is my project timeline within a year?
• What methods or approaches do I use to address the problem, or needs?
• When are the project results expected to be available?
• What measures do I want to implement?
• Who, from a current perspective, would be important for a successful implementation (e.g. professors, departments, administration)?
• Does my proposal offer opportunities for collaboration?
• How will my idea inspire lasting or long-term change and activity at Freie Universität Berlin?
• Are there options to allow the idea to grow after the official funding phase?

Note: You are also welcome to use the readiness check for your idea development.

The Unit for Sustainability & Energy is available to answer your questions.

In addition, we offer seminars and workshops on various topics that provide basic to in-depth knowledge. Information on seminars and workshops can be found here.

An online information event in German language will take place on October 07, 2026, from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. Please inform Sabine Heckmann if you are interested in an English-speaking talk. We will be happy to organize that.

The following criteria will result in exclusion from evaluation and will not be assessed.

Applications will be dismissed if they:

• do not meet the formal criteria (e.g., the person submitting the application is not a member of Freie Universität Berlin, or documents such as the budget/cost estimate are missing);
• are submitted after the deadline;
• do not provide a sufficient or plausible description;
• do not meet the funding goals (e.g., your idea already exists);
• to finance own salaries;
• No start-ups will be funded. However, it is possible to submit or implement ideas that subsequently lead to a business start-up. For this purpose, interested parties can contact the offices of Profund Innovation at Freie Universität, which is dedicated to supporting startups. For further information, please visit www.profund.fu-berlin.de.

Funding can be allocated to individual applicants as well as teams. You can collaborate across divisions/departments or institutions.

It is important that you specify one person as the primary contact, applicant for your proposal, and is responsible for the project implementation. Please provide the names, job titles/status group, institutional and/or departmental affiliation, and contact details of your team members, too.

When thinking about the scope of your idea, you should consider the kind of skills and knowledge, as well as the amount of effort that will be required in order to plan and implement it. With regard to feasibility, make sure that your idea is appropiate for the identified problem, or need and that you have an assessment of the resources required as well as potential risks.