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Future Contract

Attractive degree programmes and high-quality teaching – the Federal Government and the Länder have committed to providing German universities with additional funding – on a national, long-term basis.

Opportunities

  • By providing for attractive conditions for students and high-quality teaching resources, we are training the academic professionals of tomorrow.
  • The Future Contract for Strengthening Studying and Teaching in Higher Education improves the quality of degree programmes throughout the German higher education system.
  • The unlimited duration of the programme ensures a reliable source of funding for higher education institutions and opportunities to employ faculty staff on a permanent basis.
  • The funding can be used flexibly and as needed to create more permanent faculty positions, to strengthen relevant departments, for digitalization projects, to improve transfer opportunities between training pathways or for equality-related measures.

High-quality education and teaching at all German higher education institutions, high-quality academic training for students and internationally competitive conditions are all prerequisite to training sufficient numbers of academic professionals for science, industry and society in the long term.

The heads of government at Federal and Länder level thus adopted the Future Contract for Strengthening Studying and Teaching in Higher Education on 6 June 2019. As a follow-up to the Higher Education Pact 2020, its aim is to enhance the quality of teaching and learning at higher education institutions across the country in the long term. At the same time, the course capacities built up through the Higher Education Pact in particular are also to be maintained. Almost three million students will benefit from enhanced study conditions and improved teaching quality at all universities throughout Germany.

Higher Education Pact 2020

The Federal Government and the Länder were thinking ahead when they adopted the Higher Education Pact 2020. They anticipated the demand for university places that grew rapidly in the mid-2000s and has remained high ever since. Everyone in Germany who wishes to go to university has been able to embark on a high-quality degree course. Thanks to the €39 billion in funding provided by the Federal Government and the Länder through the Higher Education Pact, universities have successfully increased their course capacities. In total, 1.63 million additional university places were funded between 2007 and 2020 from the Higher Education Pact. Read more about this here.

Financing the Future Contract

In 2021 and 2022, the Federal Government provided €1.88 billion each year for the Future Contract for Strengthening Studying and Teaching in Higher Education. On 4 November 2022, the Joint Science Conference of the Federal Government and the Länder (GWK) agreed to regularly adjust the funding budget between 2023 and 2027 (2023: €1.94 billion, 2024: €2.05 billion, 2025: €2.08 billion, 2026: €2.14 billion, 2027: €2.21 billion). This adjustment means that approximately €338 million in extra federal funding will be available over this period, in addition to what was already agreed upon.

In addition to providing basic funding for universities, the Länder contribute at least the same amount of extra financing. The Future Contract thus ensures that universities have access to approximately €4 billion annually to finance teaching and education.

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    Approximately €4 billion in additional funding are provided to higher education institutions annually.

Federal funding is allocated to the Länder in a transparent procedure on the basis of a formula that is recalculated annually. Click here for an overview of how Federal and Länder funds were distributed in 2024.

Aims and measures of the Future Contract

The long-term funding is specifically aimed at increasing the number of permanent higher education teaching positions. The Federal Government and the Länder see this as an essential factor for improving the quality of studying and teaching.

Further measures to increase quality are also stipulated, such as disseminating innovative learning and teaching methods or expanding counselling and guidance services. The Future Contract can thus also help to increase transfer opportunities within the education system and address an increasingly heterogeneous student body. Furthermore, the higher education institutions can use the funding explicitly to expand or support the development of individual types of institution or specialist departments.

The funds available under the Future Contract are also specifically intended to be used to introduce digital technologies into university teaching and education. This includes increasing the provision of digital teaching and the development of digital infrastructure at universities.

Implementing the Future Contract

The implementation of the Future Contract takes account of the diverse nature of the higher education sector. Every seven years, in agreement with the Federal Government, each Land will draw up a declaration of commitment setting out which specific strategic approaches they will pursue when using the funds, in order to achieve the jointly agreed objectives of the Future Contract. The Länder also define key indicators, which are used to monitor implementation and evaluate target attainment. The Länder declarations of commitment for the period 2021–2027 and additional information can be found here.

A multi-stage reporting process is used to monitor the implementation of the Future Contract and progress towards attaining the goals set out in the declarations of commitment made by the Länder.

  • Annual reports from each of the Länder on the provision and usage of the Future Contract funds as well as evidence that the Land funding has been provided in addition to basic funding.
  • Reports from each of the Länder every three years providing a qualitative assessment of the implemented measures and goals achieved, based on defined indicators.
  • Evaluation of the Future Contract by the German Science and Humanities Council every seven years.

Based on the evaluation’s findings, the Joint Science Conference will consult and take decisions on substantive and financial adjustments every seven years. The first evaluation will be undertaken in 2027.

How long will the Future Contract run for?

The Future Contract will run indefinitely. It entails the permanent provision of billions of euros to higher education institutions on an annual basis, in addition to the basic funding already granted. This creates financial planning certainty and allows higher education institutions to employ more teaching and education staff on a permanent basis.

How is the Future Contract different from its predecessor, the Higher Education Pact?

The primary motivation behind the Higher Education Pact was to tackle the sharp increase in new enrolments at university. The numbers have now stabilized, remaining high. The Future Contract therefore no longer focuses on expanding, but rather on maintaining university capacities and on the quality of studying and teaching.

What are the declarations of commitment made by the Länder?

The challenges in teaching and learning vary between each of the Länder in Germany. Each Land therefore draws up its own declaration of commitment which describes the strategic approaches and priorities it will pursue with regard to using the funds from the Future Contract. Read more about this here.

Which other measures can be implemented using funds from the Future Contract?

The Future Contract facilitates the implementation of a variety of measures to improve the quality of studying and teaching or to maintain university capacity – for increasing transfer opportunities, addressing heterogeneous student bodies, incorporating digital technologies or focusing on specific departments.

Further information

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