About the programme

Together for better education

Good education is key to individual and societal development. It is the most important resource for a self-determined lifestyle, for personal development and social participation. It strengthens progress, democracy and prosperity and is a basic prerequisite for finding constructive and creative answers to societal change and its current and future challenges, such as the digital and social-ecological transformation. With scientifically sound findings on education and educational biographies, empirical educational research is an essential building block for enabling the best possible education and participation for everyone.

With the first two Framework Programmes for Empirical Educational Research (2007 – 2024), the former Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), now the Federal Ministry for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMBFSFJ), has made a decisive contribution to establish empirical educational research in Germany and to scientifically address current challenges in education and society. Over the next seven years, the framework programme’s focus will be on providing research findings for tackling key challenges in the education sector and on strengthening the impact of the funded research. With this focus, we aim to initiate targeted further development of the education system. Research funding in the framework programme is aligned, bundled and tailored to produce innovative, reproducible and actionable knowledge. This strengthens the evidence-orientation of decision-making in education policy and contributes to a sustainable improvement in the quality of educational practice.