Facts and figures

The majority of the external funding comes from the Academies’ Programme, which was set up to fund long-term research projects with a duration of 12 to a maximum of 25 years. The German government and federal states have been supporting the programme since 1979/80. Currently worth approximately EUR 60 million per annum, this is one of Germany’s top research programmes for the humanities. 

Coordinated by the Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities, the Academies’ Programme employs a staff of around 900 working on 144 projects at 199 locations. The current (2016) level of funding under the programme is EUR 62.9 million. The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities is involved in 25 programme projects at 25 locations spanning Bavaria, three other German states and Switzerland. In 2015, it received EUR 9 million in programme funding. 

Most of the academy’s wealth from endowments and legacies, which was quite considerable in the early days, was largely eroded as a result of inflation during the 20th century. The money remaining was used to set up two funds, with the proceeds supporting the academy’s research endeavours.