How to apply?

When evaluating applications, the jury pays particular attention if the projects fit into our two funding focus areas, being:

Data security
Data security tools focus on protecting sensitive data from loss, unauthorized access or manipulation. This could be an easier or more secure access to VPN encryption, a software testing tool or an application that implements security by design in another way.

Software infrastructure
Software infrastructure refers to the tools, e.g. code libraries or standardized implementations of protocols, that are necessary for developers to write programs for users and make them usable. Corresponding software projects are therefore generally not aimed at end users but at programmers. The same infrastructure elements are often used for a wide variety of cases. These versatile modules can be exchanged, reused and developed via code repositories. They form the foundation of all the applications we use every day.

The Prototype Fund only funds projects that meet the following criteria:

• You are an individual developer or part of a team of up to four people. You form a Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts (GbR) for the purpose of receiving funding. Payments to companies, associations, universities, and other institutions are not possible.
• Your idea is a software project and will be published under an open source license. It fits in with our funding focus areas.
• You are of legal age.
• As an individual developer, you are a resident of Germany, self-employed*, or a freelancer and pay your taxes here.
• For teams, your GbR must be based in Germany, but individual team members may reside in other EU countries.
• Your application must be submitted in full and on time via our application platform in either German or English. If you have any questions or problems, please contact us as soon as possible.

*or released from work by your employer for the duration of the project (pro rata). This means that you can continue to be employed part-time.

Our jury evaluates the projects in terms of innovation, social added value, technical feasibility, and potential for sustainable development. It submits its funding proposal to the BMBF.

jury members

To apply, you must answer a few questions on our application platform. These are as follows:

• Project title
• Briefly describe your project
• Which social issue do you want to address with the project?
• How do you want to realize your project on a technical level?
• Have you already worked on the idea? If so, briefly describe the current status and explain the planned new features.
• What similar approaches already exist and what will make your project different or better?
• Who are the potential users of your project and how do you want to reach them?
• Briefly outline the most important milestones that are to be implemented during the funding period.
• Are you applying for funding as a team?
  For teams: Names of the team members (binding statement)
• In English: Which software projects have you worked on so far?
  For open source projects, please provide a link to the repository
• How many hours in total do you (or does the team) plan to work on the realization of the project during the 6-month funding period?
• Experience, background, motivation, perspective: What should we know about you and take into account when assessing your application?
• Do you apply for the four-month Second Stage funding extension after the six-month regular funding ends?
• If you would like to apply for an extension: Tell us briefly what your project needs to move beyond the prototype stage and how you intend to build your project sustainably over the four months.
• Briefly outline the most important milestones that are to be implemented during the four-months funding extension period.

In addition, you can/must provide some information, e.g., for account creation. These questions may change again at the start of an application phase.

Last updated: May 2025 – subject to change.

Before applying, you should carefully check if you've completed the following:

• I have read the Prototype Fund website and I am familiar with the new focus and structure of the fund.
• I am applying for a software project.
• I am not applying as a company, institution or association, but as a private individual. My team consists of a maximum of four members.
• My application is entirely written in German or English.
• I have written my application in such a way that even someone who is not an expert in my field can understand what I want to do.
• In doing so, I answered the questions: What (do I want to do?), How (will I implement my project?), Why (is this needed?), Who (is my target group?).
• I have considered whether Second Stage funding might be useful for my project. If so, I have applied directly for this funding. I understand that I cannot receive Second Stage funding later if I do not apply for it now.
• I had my application read by an external person. An external view can provide good indications that, for example, something is not clear or important information is missing.
• I have provided a link to a website (Github/Gitlab/Bitbucket or similar). This helps the jury to understand that I am competent to implement the project.
• I have described the technical implementation of my project in concrete terms: specific tools, programming languages, libraries, architecture, etc.
• I have identified my target audiences and thought of how to reach them.
• I have listed the milestones for the implementation of the project. "1/ Backend, 2/ Frontend" is not sufficient for the application.
• I have checked whether there is already an open source version of my project. It is better to acknowledge the existence of similar projects and explain how your project differs from them than to pretend they don't exist – or to refrain from applying if you realize that your idea is not significantly different from existing tools.
• I have assessed that my project can be implemented in the number of hours I have indicated.

The BMFTR’s funding decision is based on a recommendation from our jury. The jury supports us with its knowledge and experience in the areas of IT security, infrastructure, software building blocks and Open Source. The jury evaluates the numerous submissions in terms of their prospects of success, meaningfulness and added value for society.

The jury proposes 25 to 30 projects per round for funding.

At the start of the application phase, you will find the link to the application platform here on the website. Answer all the questions on our application platform and click on “submit for review”. You will then receive an automatic e-mail to set your password for the application platform.

If you need support or something is not working properly, you can reach us here: info@prototypefund.de.

Our application manual (in German, English version is currently being updated) will guide you step by step through the application questions.

Not at all. Using the application form, you can briefly and clearly describe to the jury what you would like to implement: in concise texts that explain the core of your idea, describe the effort involved in the project ( is a team needed?) and make clear the connection to our funded focus areas.
If your project is selected by the jury, you will then have to submit a somewhat more extensive formal application in accordance with the BMFTR’s funding guideline. We will help you with the application and organize a joint application workshop for this purpose.

Yes.

Yes, but the Prototype Fund project should be clearly distinguishable within the project and have an independent degree of novelty, for example, if you plan to expand or supplement your project with a module. In any case, it must be clearly recognizable what will be developed during the funding period.

No. The Prototype Fund only funds software projects – however, we do have a sister project, the Prototype Fund Hardware:

More Information

No. Teams must join together as a GbR to receive funding.

As a student, you must observe the working student rule: You cannot work on the project full-time while studying full-time, but only for a maximum of 20 hours per week during the semester for a period of six months.

The following applies to those of retirement age who are interested in funding: Only those who have reached the so-called standard retirement age are allowed to earn an unlimited amount in addition to their statutory pension. The standard retirement age is defined in the Sozialgesetzbuch VI (§ 35 Sentence 2 SGB VI) and is reached at the age of 67. Those who retired earlier are subject to income limits.

Teams must form a Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts (GbR). No other legal form is permitted for teams that receive funding through Prototype Fund.

All team members receiving funding from the Prototype Fund must be registered as resident in the EU. However, the registered office of the GbR (and the place of residence of the managing director) must be in Germany. Teams selected for funding by the jury submit the formal application as a civil-law association (GbR). The applicant is always the GbR – all persons who are to receive funding must be united in the GbR: subcontracting to third parties is not permitted. You appoint a project manager or another partner as managing director, who legally represents the GbR externally (and, for example, participates in the application workshop and signs the appilcation).
We will provide you with a template for setting up a GbR when you submit your application – only then is it necessary to set one up. If you want to be funded as a team, you should also identify the individual components of the project and assign them to the people in the team.