Application
Application
Funding opportunities
Information for Applicants
Would you like to submit a research project to the Wilhelm Sander Foundation? Here you will find all the important information about requirements, funding opportunities and the application process.
Funding opportunities
Information for Applicants
Would you like to submit a research project to the Wilhelm Sander Foundation? Here you will find all the important information about requirements, funding opportunities and the application process.
Who can submit an application?
Scientists are eligible to apply if they have:
- a completed scientific university education (usually a doctorate / PhD)
- a position at a university or publicly funded research institution in Germany or Switzerland.
What do we support?
We support innovative projects in clinical and experimental cancer research. Individual grants are at the core of our funding activities. We take a bottom-up approach: you develop your research idea independently, and we create the financial conditions for its implementation.
Who can submit an application?
Scientists are eligible to apply if they have:
- a completed scientific university education (usually a doctorate / PhD)
- a position at a university or publicly funded research institution in Germany or Switzerland.
What do we support?
We support innovative projects in clinical and experimental cancer research. Individual grants are at the core of our funding activities. We take a bottom-up approach: you develop your research idea independently, and we create the financial conditions for its implementation.
Important note: Projects outside the field of cancer research can only be funded in justified exceptional cases. The current funding priority is explicitly on cancer research.
Application process overview
Applications must be submitted digitally via our Research Funding Portal. Please register there as an applicant. You will then receive an email from us with the option to activate your user profile (check your spam folder if necessary). Once you have successfully registered, you can submit your application online and track all further steps digitally. We recommend that you complete the entire application in English.
A brief project outline (max. 4,600 characters including spaces) is sufficient for a preliminary enquiry. This allows us to check whether your planned research project fits within the current funding spectrum of the Wilhelm Sander Foundation and to give you initial advice on submitting an application. The preliminary enquiry helps you to better classify your research project in advance without having to prepare a complete application.
If you have any questions, please take a look at the list of exclusion criteria, consult our FAQs or feel free to contact us.
If you wish to submit a revised application or a continuation application, no preliminary enquiry is required.
Once your preliminary application has been approved, you will be able to submit your application via the Research Funding Portal. The initial data you entered in your preliminary application will be transferred to the portal. Of course, you can change any of the information you have entered at any time.
The Research Funding Portal will then guide you step by step through the application process.
Our application guide or the information on renewal applications will be helpful when submitting your application. Our FAQs below also answer many questions.
Once we have received your complete application, it will be forwarded to external reviewers for evaluation as part of an independent peer review process.
During the usual processing time of four months, we kindly ask you to refrain from making any enquiries, as we are unable to comment on the current status.
We will inform you immediately by email as soon as a decision has been made.
Further information on the Foundation’s review process can be found here.
If your application is approved, you will receive an email notification with the terms and conditions of approval (funding agreement). If you are required to submit any documents, we will inform you of this in the notification letter. Once we have received all the necessary information and documents, you will receive a separate email with the relevant information about the start date and duration of your funded project.
Here you will find all the documents and forms you need to carry out a research project with the Wilhelm Sander Foundation.
For reasons of sustainability, we kindly ask you not to submit any project-related documents by post.
Note on funding amounts: The Wilhelm Sander Foundation funds individual projects with varying amounts, depending on the research objective, methodology and resource requirements. The amount requested should be between €150,000 and €200,000. Funding for staff, equipment, animal costs and consumables is generally possible. Please note that no basic institutional funding is provided.
Application process overview
Applications must be submitted digitally via our Research Funding Portal. Please register there as an applicant. You will then receive an email from us with the option to activate your user profile (check your spam folder if necessary). Once you have successfully registered, you can submit your application online and track all further steps digitally. We recommend that you complete the entire application in English.
A brief project outline (max. 4,600 characters including spaces) is sufficient for a preliminary enquiry. This allows us to check whether your planned research project fits within the current funding spectrum of the Wilhelm Sander Foundation and to give you initial advice on submitting an application. The preliminary enquiry helps you to better classify your research project in advance without having to prepare a complete application.
If you have any questions, please take a look at the list of exclusion criteria, consult our FAQs or feel free to contact us.
If you wish to submit a revised application or a continuation application, no preliminary enquiry is required.
Once your preliminary application has been approved, you will be able to submit your application via the Research Funding Portal. The initial data you entered in your preliminary application will be transferred to the portal. Of course, you can change any of the information you have entered at any time.
The Research Funding Portal will then guide you step by step through the application process.
Our application guide or the information on renewal applications will be helpful when submitting your application. Our FAQs below also answer many questions.
Once we have received your complete application, it will be forwarded to external reviewers for evaluation as part of an independent peer review process.
During the usual processing time of four months, we kindly ask you to refrain from making any enquiries, as we are unable to comment on the current status.
We will inform you immediately by email as soon as a decision has been made.
Further information on the Foundation’s review process can be found here.
If your application is approved, you will receive an email notification with the terms and conditions of approval (funding agreement). If you are required to submit any documents, we will inform you of this in the notification letter. Once we have received all the necessary information and documents, you will receive a separate email with the relevant information about the start date and duration of your funded project.
Here you will find all the documents and forms you need to carry out a research project with the Wilhelm Sander Foundation.
For reasons of sustainability, we kindly ask you not to submit any project-related documents by post.
Note on funding amounts: The Wilhelm Sander Foundation funds individual projects with varying amounts, depending on the research objective, methodology and resource requirements. The amount requested should be between €150,000 and €200,000. Funding for staff, equipment, animal costs and consumables is generally possible. Please note that no basic institutional funding is provided.
Frequently asked questions
Answers to FAQs about the application process can be found here:
Frequently asked questions
Answers to FAQs about the application process can be found here:
FAQ – Preliminary enquiry
A preliminary application may be submitted if the following requirements are met:
- You have completed a doctorate / PhD.
- You are employed at an institution in Germany or Switzerland for the entire duration of the project.
Please note: Financing your own position is not permitted.
Processing a preliminary enquiry usually takes one to two weeks. If we have any questions about your proposed research project, we will contact you.
No, there are no fixed deadlines for preliminary enquiries. They are processed on an ongoing basis.
In principle, staff funding, consumables, equipment, animal expenses, cooperation costs and other project-related funds can be applied for in the preliminary application.
There is no fixed upper limit for the amount of funding. The average funding volume is currently between €150,000 and €200,000 for a funding period of two years, which the committees use as a guideline when making their decisions.
The estimated costs should be specified as precisely as possible in the preliminary enquiry. We will then provide you with initial feedback on the planned funding volume.
Lump sums can be specified within the individual cost categories (e.g. consumables: €20,000). Staff positions must always be estimated individually. The costs specified in the preliminary application will be transferred to the subsequent application, but can be adjusted at any time.
Yes, the preliminary enquiry can be submitted entirely in English.
FAQ – Preliminary enquiry
A preliminary application may be submitted if the following requirements are met:
- You have completed a doctorate / PhD.
- You are employed at an institution in Germany or Switzerland for the entire duration of the project.
Please note: Financing your own position is not permitted.
Processing a preliminary enquiry usually takes one to two weeks. If we have any questions about your proposed research project, we will contact you.
No, there are no fixed deadlines for preliminary enquiries. They are processed on an ongoing basis.
In principle, staff funding, consumables, equipment, animal expenses, cooperation costs and other project-related funds can be applied for in the preliminary application.
There is no fixed upper limit for the amount of funding. The average funding volume is currently between €150,000 and €200,000 for a funding period of two years, which the committees use as a guideline when making their decisions.
The estimated costs should be specified as precisely as possible in the preliminary enquiry. We will then provide you with initial feedback on the planned funding volume.
Lump sums can be specified within the individual cost categories (e.g. consumables: €20,000). Staff positions must always be estimated individually. The costs specified in the preliminary application will be transferred to the subsequent application, but can be adjusted at any time.
Yes, the preliminary enquiry can be submitted entirely in English.
FAQ – Application
An application may be submitted if the following requirements are met:
- You have completed a doctorate / PhD.
- SYou are employed at an institution in Germany or Switzerland for the entire duration of the project.
Please note: Financing your own position is not permitted.
Information on our funding areas can be found in our exclusion criteria and in the application guidelines. A preliminary enquiry also offers you the opportunity to classify your planned research project without having to submit a full application.
If we have any formal questions, we will contact you directly before the application is sent for evaluation. The average processing time is four to five months. In individual cases, it may take longer due to delays in the evaluation phase. Once a decision has been made, we will inform you immediately by email.
No, funding applications can be submitted at any time. They are decided on regularly during committee meetings or by circular resolution.
No more than twelve months should pass between an encouraged preliminary enquiry and the submission of the corresponding application.
We recommend submitting the application entirely in English. The individual input fields in the Research Funding Portal should also be completed in English.
When submitting an application, funding can be requested for staff funding, consumables, equipment, animal expenses and cooperation costs, as well as other resources. Travel and publication costs can only be requested separately once the application has been approved.
There is no fixed upper limit for the amount of funding. The average funding volume is currently between €150,000 and €200,000 for a funding period of two years, which the committees use as a guideline when making their decisions.
I am currently receiving funding from the DFG, Cancer Aid, etc. – can I still submit an application?
As a rule, we exclude double and mixed financing. A project submitted to us or funded by us may not be supported by other third-party funding providers at the same time or submitted to them for funding. If you are awaiting a decision from another institution, we ask that you delay your submission to us. Before granting approval, we check for possible overlaps with other funding providers. Funding for topics that do not overlap in terms of content can run in parallel.
No. Principal and co-applicants must be permanently employed at an institution in Germany or Switzerland; third-party funding is not permitted. However, funding for doctoral / PhD positions may be requested.
Travel and publication costs cannot be submitted together with the application. However, they can be applied for separately during an ongoing, approved funding project. The relevant application documents can be found in the download area on our website.
Yes, all data from the preliminary enquiry can be manually adjusted in the application. Cost changes, such as increased staff funding or the elimination of cooperation costs, can be taken into account.
The average approval rate is around 30%.
Yes, you can enter relevant information and upload additional documents in the Research Funding Portal.
FAQ – Application
An application may be submitted if the following requirements are met:
- You have completed a doctorate / PhD.
- SYou are employed at an institution in Germany or Switzerland for the entire duration of the project.
Please note: Financing your own position is not permitted.
Information on our funding areas can be found in our exclusion criteria and in the application guidelines. A preliminary enquiry also offers you the opportunity to classify your planned research project without having to submit a full application.
If we have any formal questions, we will contact you directly before the application is sent for evaluation. The average processing time is four to five months. In individual cases, it may take longer due to delays in the evaluation phase. Once a decision has been made, we will inform you immediately by email.
No, funding applications can be submitted at any time. They are decided on regularly during committee meetings or by circular resolution.
No more than twelve months should pass between an encouraged preliminary enquiry and the submission of the corresponding application.
We recommend submitting the application entirely in English. The individual input fields in the Research Funding Portal should also be completed in English.
When submitting an application, funding can be requested for staff funding, consumables, equipment, animal expenses and cooperation costs, as well as other resources. Travel and publication costs can only be requested separately once the application has been approved.
There is no fixed upper limit for the amount of funding. The average funding volume is currently between €150,000 and €200,000 for a funding period of two years, which the committees use as a guideline when making their decisions.
I am currently receiving funding from the DFG, Cancer Aid, etc. – can I still submit an application?
As a rule, we exclude double and mixed financing. A project submitted to us or funded by us may not be supported by other third-party funding providers at the same time or submitted to them for funding. If you are awaiting a decision from another institution, we ask that you delay your submission to us. Before granting approval, we check for possible overlaps with other funding providers. Funding for topics that do not overlap in terms of content can run in parallel.
No. Principal and co-applicants must be permanently employed at an institution in Germany or Switzerland; third-party funding is not permitted. However, funding for doctoral / PhD positions may be requested.
Travel and publication costs cannot be submitted together with the application. However, they can be applied for separately during an ongoing, approved funding project. The relevant application documents can be found in the download area on our website.
Yes, all data from the preliminary enquiry can be manually adjusted in the application. Cost changes, such as increased staff funding or the elimination of cooperation costs, can be taken into account.
The average approval rate is around 30%.
Yes, you can enter relevant information and upload additional documents in the Research Funding Portal.
Downloads for applicants
Here you will find all the necessary documents for submitting your application.
Application guidelines
Exclusion criteria
Information on continuation applications
Please always use the foundation’s current templates and send us all documents exclusively as PDF files by email. If you have any questions, please speak to your contact person in the funding department.
Application guidelines
Exclusioncriteria
Notes on continuationapplications
Please always use the foundation’s current templates and send us all documents exclusively as PDF files by email. If you have any questions, please speak to your contact person in the funding department.
Do you have any questions?
Please feel free to contact our representatives in the funding department.
Maximilian Habersetzer
+49 89 544 187-0
stiftungsbuero@sanst.de
Do you have any questions?
Please feel free to contact our representatives in the funding department.
Maximilian Habersetzer
+49 89 544 187-0
stiftungsbuero@sanst.de