Increasing Germany’s innovative power, enhancing the quality of education and supporting international cooperation in education, science, research and technology are the goals pursued by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The Ministry runs a research portal with information on German Research Maps and Research Reports issued by the Ministry ("Research 2004" and "Facts and Figures").

The Max Planck Society for the advancement of the Science is an independent, non-profit organisation established in 1948. Presently 78 Max Planck Institutes carry out basic research in the areas of natural science, social science, the arts and humanities. The Max Planck Society takes on new and promising directions in research that universities are not able to accommodate sufficiently, if at all. Max Planck Institutes complement the work of the universities in important fields of research. 78 Institutes, research centres, laboratories and project groups employ approx. 12,200 people, among them about 4, 200 scientists and scholars. In addition, there are about 9, 600 doctoral candidates, post-doctoral fellows and guest scientists from abroad. The 2004 budget is estimated to total EURO 1,32 billion, 85% of which is provided through the federal government and the individual German states

With its 15 National Research Centres and annual budget of approx. 2.1 billion Euro the Helmholtz Association is Germany’s largest research organisation. The 24.000 employees produce top-rate scientific results in six research fields: energy, earth and environment, health, key technologies, structure of matter, transport and space. The HGF identifies and takes on the grand challenges of society, science and economy, in particular through investigation of highly complex systems.

The DFG serves all branches of science by funding research projects and facilitating cooperation among researchers. The DFG-Website gives a good overview on research promotion and careers with special focus on young scientists. Information on science and invitations for tender are to be found there equally.

The Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Leibniz e.V. is an umbrella research organization made up of 80 non-university research institutes being demand-oriented and interdisciplinary centers of competence. The Leibniz Association aims particularly at providing a flexible and fast response to new scientific needs. Leibniz Institutes are grouped into five sections. They cover humanities and education, economic and social sciences, life sciences, physical sciences and environmental research.

The Fraunhofer Gesellschaft undertakes applied research of direct utility to private and public enterprise and of wide benefit to society. Its services are solicited by customers and contractual research partners in industry, the service sector and public administration. The FhG maintains over 80 research units at more than 40 different locations throughout Germany.