On November 26, 2018, the Bundesrepublik Deutschland committed to funding initiatives aimed at making research data from various scientific disciplines systematically and uniformly accessible. This strategic move towards systematic and barrier-free standardization of data by researchers and academic institutions is designed to foster substantial efficiency gains and synergies between individual researchers and bespoke IT systems. In an era increasingly defined by digital infrastructures, this initiative is pivotal in shaping the future conduct of research.

Considering the project’s complexity and breadth, the German Research Foundation (DFG) employs a strategic approach by forming and networking consortia to administer the NFDI grants. These consortia play a critical role in ensuring that the funding reflects a broad array of stakeholders across various sub-disciplines, thus maximizing the expertise and acceptance of the developed solutions. 

An illustrative example is the NFDI-MatWerk consortium, which concentrates on Materials Science and Materials Engineering within the DFG subject classification system's areas 405 & 406. Since 2021 NFDI MatWerk is funded under the project number 460247524. The project details on the DFG website GEPRIS can be found here. The published proposal for NFDI-MatWerk can be found here. 

NFDI-MatWerk focuses on the integration and standardization of data from different sources, including both experimental and simulative data, as well as associated metadata. This infrastructure is essential to support innovative research by providing the necessary tools and frameworks for efficient data management and long-term accessibility.

The DFG's support underscores the importance of creating a unified infrastructure that addresses the challenges of data management in materials science and engineering (MSE). This funding covers the development of data storage solutions, the creation of metadata standards, and the implementation of secure data exchange protocols. It will also ensure that data management practices comply with regulatory requirements and national and international standards.