Open Calls
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Additional Funding Measures

We fund accompanying projects, although to a lesser extent and mainly within the framework of our existing programmes. The maximum funding amount per accompanying project is €100,000. The initiative for such calls comes from the WWTF.

Earlier calls

The call “ME/CFS Call 2026 - Fellowships" call opened for submissions on 14th October 2025. This call was open for early career ME/CFS researchers to conduct a six month research stay at a research organisation in Vienna, Lower Austria or abroad. The ME/CFS Fellowship programme aims to strengthen the ME/CFS community by supporting excellent young scientists and promoting the exchange of expertise. 

Funding volume: 233.171 €
Number of applications: 7
Awarding procdure: Jury Decision
Jury meeting: 11.3.2026
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: 31.3.2026

Contact person: Benjamin Missbach

Chris Ponting (Chair) | University of Edinburgh, UK
Alba Azola | Johns Hopskins Hospital, US
Resia Pretorius |Stellenbosch University, SA
Elisa Oltra | Catholic University of Valencia, ES
David Putrino | Icahn School of Medicine - Mount Sinai, US
Keith Geraghty | University of Manchester, UK

Funded projects

Understanding ME/CFS

The call “ME/CFS 2024 - Understanding ME/CFS” invited researchers in Vienna who seek to conduct a cutting-edge research project (15 months max.; max funding per project € 100,000) that aim to advance our understanding of etiopathogenesis, diagnostics and/or therapy of post-acute infectious diseases, namely ME/CFS. This call was co-financed by the WE&ME Foundation and WWTF in equal shares. WWTF funded a total of seven excellent projects.

Funding volume: € 695,445
Number of applications: 19 proposals
Awarding procedure: single stage selection process by international expert panel
Jury meeting: September 12 and 13th, 2024
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: 9th of October 2024

Contact person: Benjamin Missbach

Chris Ponting (Chair) | University of Edinburgh, UK
Nancy Klimas | University of Miami, US
Eliana Lacerda | London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK
Elisa Oltra | Catholic University of Valencia, ES
David Putrino | Icahn School of Medicine - Mount Sinai, US
Keith Geraghty | University of Manchester, UK

Funded projects

WWTF calls often require societal and economic relevance in addition to scientific excellence. This call provided the opportunity to further explore this avenue. The overall aim of a NEXT call is to help create ideas which show how results from WWTF funded research can be transferred to the next level of exploitation and utilization. A NEXT project should focus on one main transfer activity.

The possibility to apply was only open upon invitation for the previously funded WWTF projects of following calls: ESR17, LS17, CS18, LS18, ICT19, LS19 and Vienna Research Group leaders from 2017-2019 that are still in Vienna.

Funding volume: 447.140 €
Number of applications: 18
Awarding procdure: Selection by expert panel 
Jury meeting: 21.2.2023
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: 22.3.2023

Contact person: Petra Steinkogler

Irene Fialka (Chair) | INiTS, AT

Eva Czernohorszky |  Wirtschaftsagentur Wien, AT

Stefan Harasek | Patentamt Österreich, AT

Peter Krall | Unternehmensberater, AT

Peter Nussbaumer | Lead Discovery Center, DE

Andreas Wildberger | FFG, AT

Funded projects

Support for the elaboration of a tailor-made strategic roadmap for embedding Digital Humanism in organizations.

In order to support the elaboration of strategies/roadmaps for the implementation of the ideas of Digital Humanism in organizations, the two funding organizations WWTF and Vienna Business Agency launched a joint call for proposals for the first time. Companies were funded by the Vienna Business Agency, research institutions by the WWTF. The cooperation of different players from business, science and civil society was a prerequisite to participate in the call.

Submission deadline: 12.7.2022

Guiding question: What does the respective research institution or company want to achieve in the next few years in order to further develop digitialization in the sense of enlightenment and humanism, based on a human-centered approach? The funding aims to support the development of strategic roadmaps on how to embed Digital Humanism  in the respective organization.

17 projects have been funded, 11 by the Vienna Business Agency and 6 by WWTF. The statisic below contains only the funding volume awarded by WWTF.

Funding volume: € 229.324,16
Number of applications: 42 proposals (in total)
Awarding procdure: Selection by an expert jury comprised of local and international members
Jury meeting: 8.9.2022
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: 4.10.2022

Contact person: Petra Steinkogler

Geraldine DE BASTION | konnektiv, DE

Anita EICHINGER | Wienbibliothek, AT

Klemens HIMPELE | Stadt Wien, AT

Jeanette HOFMANN | Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung, DE

Hanna KRASNOVA | Universität Potsdam, DE

Clara NEPPEL | IEEE, AT

Georg REINISCH | Allgemein beeideter und gerichtlich zertifizierter Sachverständiger, AT

Hannah WUNDSAM  | Austrian Startups, AT

Funded projects

Without much anticipation, COVID-19 affected Europe in a dramatic speed at the beginning of March 2020. Scientific expertise was and still is important to deal with the crisis, however, to base it on evidence, data is needed. Furthermore, data had to be collected swiftly in a very dynamic development. The WWTF Rapid Response Call aimed at supporting data collection in a crisis at its peak. As a result, we developed and exected a call within 10 days. 

We thank two private donors (one of which is the MEGA Bildungsstiftung) who help sponsoring this call as well as the City of Vienna which match the private contributions.

Read the evaluation of the call online. 

 

Funding volume: € 1.058.321,65 

Number of applications: 40 
Awarding procdure: The process focussed on speed while maintainig quality assurance. Rectorates of universities and heads of research institution in Vienna made an internal preselection of applications.

In the final step, the call jury selected the projects for funing in an online meeting. 

Jury meeting: March 30, 2020.

Corona Booklet Reflexion aller Fördernehmer*innenread online

Contact person: Michael Stampfer

 

 
  • Thomas Dorner | Medical University of Vienna
  • Irene Fialka | iNiTS
  • Klemens Himpele | WWTF Advisory Board & Municipality of Vienna
  • Helga Nowotny | ERA Council Forum Austria & Austrian Council
  • Fritz Ohler | formaly technopolis
  • Rudolf Winter-Ebmer | JKU Linz

 

 

Funded projects

Funding volume: 246.230 €
Number of applications: 12
Awarding procedure: Selection by expert panel
Jury meeting: 16.5.2019
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: 11.6.2019

Contact person: Petra Steinkogler

  • Members of the call jury:

  • Irene Fialka (Jury Chair) | Innovation into business (INiTS)

  • Eva Czernohorszky | Wirtschaftsagentur Wien/ Vienna Business Agency

  • Wim Fyen | KULeuven Research & Development (LRD)

  • Stefan Harasek | Patentamt Österreich (ÖPA) / Austrian Patent Office

  • Peter Nussbaumer | Lead Discovery Center, Dortmund

  • Andreas Wildberger 

Funded projects

WWTF calls often require societal and economic relevance in addition to scientific excellence. This call provided for the first time the opportunity  to further explore this avenue. The overall aim of the NEXT call is to help create ideas which show how results from WWTF funded research can be transferred to the next level of exploitation and utilization. A NEXT project is focusing on one main transfer activity.

Funding volume: 195,990 €
Number of applications: 17
Awarding procdure: Selection by expert panel
Jury meeting: May 22, 2017
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: June 12, 2017

Contact person: Petra Steinkogler

For more information see the NXT17 Call fiche

Members of the call jury:

 

  • Irene Fialka (Jury Chair) | Innovation into business (INiTS)

  • Eva Czernohorszky | Wirtschaftsagentur Wien/ Vienna Business Agency

  • Wim Fyen | KULeuven Research & Development (LRD), ‘Lcie’ (Leuven Community for Innovation driven Entrepreneurship)

  • Stefan Harasek | Patentamt Österreich (ÖPA) / Austrian Patent Office

  • Hannes Leo | CEO & Founder of Discuto & cbased

  • Joachim Seipelt | austria wirtschaftsservice (AWS), Entrepreneurship | Schutzrechte | Seedförderungen

 

 

Funded projects

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