Funding Understanding Science
Funding from the Vienna Business Agency for the clear preparation and communication of research results to a broad audience in Vienna. Personnel costs, services, investments, and material and supply costs are eligible for funding. Submission period 01.01.2024–31.12.2026 with regular submission deadlines.
Discover your potential with AI support
- Find out if this grant matches your project
- Develop your application together with AI
- Get matched with many more suitable grants
Grant criteria
Funding objective
With the funding program Wissenschaft verstehen, the Vienna Business Agency supports communication measures to present research and scientific results in an understandable way for the general public, to build trust, and to inspire more people to pursue education and careers in the natural sciences.
Eligible expenses
- Personnel costs
- External services (development work, knowledge acquisition, fees)
- Acquisition costs for machinery, equipment, licenses, and intellectual property rights
- Material and supply costs
- Travel expenses for moderators and speakers
Non-eligible expenses
- Ongoing operating costs
Eligible to apply
- Companies
- Educational Institutions
- Interest Groups and Other Associations
- Non-profit Organizations
Funding requirements
- Located in Vienna
- Minimum project costs of 10,000 euros
- Compliance with the de minimis threshold
- Project start only after submission
Documents required for application
- Fully completed online application
- Application confirmation
- De-minimis declaration
- Most recent annual financial statement or income-expenditure statement
- Curriculum vitae of the project management
Evaluation criteria
- Clarity and innovative content of the communication measures
- Relevance and impact for the target group
- Scientific quality of the project
Description
With the Understanding Science Funding, the Vienna Business Agency strengthens science communication in the federal state of Vienna. This program is aimed at organizations that want to clearly prepare research results and scientific findings and make them accessible to a broad public. The goal is to convey complex scientific and technical topics in an understandable way, build trust in research and innovation, and in the long term inspire more people for scientific educational offerings as well as careers in research and technology. Professional communication formats promote dialogue between science and society and help increase acceptance of future developments.
Eligible for funding are companies, universities, universities of applied sciences, non-university research institutions, interest groups, and non-profit associations based in Vienna. Up to 75% of eligible expenses (max. 60,000 euros per project) are covered. This includes personnel costs, external services (e.g., development work, knowledge acquisition, fees), acquisitions of machinery, equipment, licenses and intellectual property rights, as well as material and supply costs and travel expenses for moderators and speakers. The project duration can be up to 24 months, with a minimum project size of 10,000 euros. Submissions are possible from 01.01.2024 to 31.12.2026; the next submission deadlines are 30.04.2025, 15.08.2025, 30.11.2025, and 15.03.2026. Compliance with the de minimis ceiling and project start after application submission are prerequisites. An independent jury evaluates based on innovation content, comprehensibility, relevance, and scientific quality. Required are a fully completed online application, application confirmation, a de minimis declaration, the latest annual financial statement or income-expenditure statement, as well as the CV of the project management.