Position paper by the DFG Executive Board on the future of the NFDI
In a paper published at the end of April 2026, the Executive Board of the German Research Foundation (DFG) set out its position on the future of the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI).
Key points at a glance:
- Sustaining and further developing the NFDI will require at least €115 million annually
- The science-led and community-driven nature of the NFDI is to be preserved
- The DFG Presidium calls for the assurance of a stable infrastructure
- Legal issues regarding the future structure of the NFDI are to be clarified within the framework of a new federal-state agreement from 2029
With regard to the upcoming negotiations in the Joint Science Conference of the Federal Government and the Länder (GWK), the DFG Presidium has set out its position on the future structure of the NFDI. The DFG Presidium emphasises that “strong growth in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), geopolitical tensions and massive dependencies on commercial actors” underscore the need for a sovereign and resilient data infrastructure in Europe.
The basis for the forthcoming discussions within the GWK is the Science Council’s 2025 report on the structural evaluation of the NFDI. The recommendations set out in the report relate primarily to the continuation of the NFDI, but also to a more centralised governance structure.
Various institutions on the Göttingen Campus are involved in 17 of the current 27 NFDI consortia. The Göttingen eResearch Alliance, as a long-established FDM hub for the Göttingen Campus, supports the NFDI on campus. For further information on the NFDI at the Göttingen Campus, please visit our NFDI information page or contact us directly at info@eresearch.uni-goettingen.de.
Source:
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). (2026, 29. April). DFG-Präsidium legt Positionspapier zur Zukunft der NFDI vor. DFG. https://www.dfg.de/de/aktuelles/neuigkeiten-themen/pressemitteilungen/2026/pressemitteilung-nr-13.