Service
Mission, Vision, Research Focus
ZiF wants to provide the following opportunities for researchers:
- offering ideal working conditions and professional infrastructure to allow for interdisciplinary and international collaboration on-site, free from everyday (academic) duties
- making space for creativity and focus for the fellows by taking over most of the administrative organisation regarding stay, travel, events, outreach, catering etc.
- inspring, mediating and hosting interdisciplinary cooperation
- encouraging groups to further develop the term Interdisciplinarity and the practice of it for themselves
Why ZiF – Testimonials
»Our time at ZiF has been wonderful. [...] ZiF has an incredible infrastructure, like the apartments, the meeting rooms; and the ZiF staff is so supportive.«Mariana AssisFederal University of Goiás, BRA
»It is like coming home.«Clive OppenheimerCambridge University, UK
»I can highly recommend applying here at ZiF [...]. It's just a perfect environment for interdisciplinary research.«Tina HegerLeuphana University Lüneburg
You can find more testimonials about ZiF on our YouTube channel or our other Social Media channels. Everything is linked here.
Research in Groups
Formats
Call Visiting Group (as PDF)
Deadline: 29 October 2026
Expected next deadline: Spring 2027Call Resident Group (as PDF)
Deadline: 29 October 2026 (for residencies currently planned between March and August 2028)
Expected next deadline: Spring 2028Call Long-Term Group (as PDF)
Expected next deadline: Spring 2027
Design: Büro Paschetag/C. Mehl Visiting Groups
- Duration: one stay at ZiF of 1 to 3 months
- Funding Amount: up to EUR 50,000 to cover the costs for travel and accommodation as well as workshops and conferences; personnel expenses (buy-outs) cannot be covered.
Visiting Groups can, for example, explore new research topics and partnerships, finalise interdisciplinary publications or conduct small research projects during a joint stay at ZiF.
Would you like to stay at ZiF longer? Do you need a higher funding amount? Look at our Resident and Long-Term Groups!
Design: Büro Paschetag/C. Mehl Resident Groups
- Duration: one stay at ZiF of 4 to 6 months
- Funding Amount: up to EUR 400,000 to cover the costs for travel and accommodation as well as workshops, conferences, and personnel expenses (e.g. in the form of buy-outs)
Resident Groups may conduct more extensive research projects, which require intensive collaboration over an extended period, during a joint stay at ZiF.
Additional offers for Resident Group is our Elinor Ostrom Fellowship.Would you like a shorter stay? Look at our Visiting Groups or at our Long-Term Groups for a series of coherent, interrelated meetings with several shorter visits to ZiF!
Design: Büro Paschetag/C. Mehl Long-Term Groups
- Duration: several visits to ZiF over a period of up to three years; these recurring visits may add up to a total of ten months.
- Funding Amount: up to 200,000 EUR to cover the costs for travel and accommodation as well as workshops and conferences; personnel expenses (buy-outs) cannot be covered.
Long-Term Groups offer great organisational freedom and flexibility to meet the needs of long-term projects; the set-up of the group work is based on the needs of the individual project idea. An overarching project design and coherent approach to planning the group are essential for a successful application.
Would you like to stay for longer and in a row? Look at our Visiting or Resident Groups!
Service & Infrastructure at ZiF
Universität Bielefeld/P. Ottendörfer Working at ZiF – Research Support
At ZiF we have different conference rooms, ranging from a big plenary hall that can fit 150 people to smaller rooms for 10 people. We also have a Coworking Space called Nexus, where you can organise more 'active' events that need flexibility, whiteboards, modular furniture etc.
Every research group has its own meeting room for the regular working meetings, a few office spaces in the building and the possibility to book other rooms depending on availability.
Find an overview of all our conference and working spaces here.
We also have an IT support in our team who can help you with anything related to internet and software access etc.
zifadmin@uni-bielefeld.de (Link to the IT support)
Living at ZiF – Accommodation & Campus Life
Research groups are accommodated at ZiF, in spacious apartments varying in size and number of rooms, depending on the family or persons accompanying you. In our experience, being that close to working and leisure spaces benefits the working atmosphere and the bond between group members immensely and is usually one of the aspects resident groups appreciate a lot after having been at ZiF for some time.
To make the experience of living and working at ZiF even better, we have spaces for leisure and bonding experiences like a swimming pool, a billards/darts room, a fellow room with couches, games etc., a gym, and a playground.
Funding & Financial Support
Fellowship Allowances
Guidelines for Additional Project Costs
Elinor Ostrom (Partner) Fellowship
Bureaucratic Processes – Visa, Residence, Insurance
Communicating your Research – Outreach Support
An important part of conducting excellent research is to communicate its processes, findings, conditions, and challenges.
Our approach to science communication is to utilise multifaceted ways and channels of communication to show the variety and diversity of research projects at ZiF, such as press releases or newspaper articles, lectures and panel discussions, or Social Media like YouTube, LinkedIn, BlueSky, Instagram, the podcast "InterSpaces", and the blog "Interdisciplinarity".
We support you with all these endeavours and are approaching you anyway regarding your wishes and preferences, but please feel free to contact us if you would like to realise a certain communication idea or format.
zif-wisskomm@uni-bielefeld.de (Link to the Science Communication team)
Events & Conference Organisation
There is an assigned assistant from our Group & Conference support team for every research group. They are in charge of the administrative processes regarding the organisation of your stay, the invitations of your guests, the organisation of events, conferences etc.
We try to take over a lot of the organisational side of things to enable our fellows to focus on research and joint collaboration as much as possible.
ZiF Glossar - A to Z
ZiF Glossar - Research in Groups
| Topic | Beschreibung |
|---|---|
| Funding | Most of the relevant information about funding - what we do and do not fund, what is expected from members of the groups etc. - can be found in the current Call for Applications. Please, always check out the current call. We also have an FAQ section on our website where you could find answers to questions beyond the call. Beispiellink |
| Funding | As Bielefeld University's Institute for Advanced Study, ZiF supports interdisciplinary and innovative research projects. Find information on all of our funding opportunities, ranging from the main format "Research in Groups", to the postdoc network "Das Junge ZiF" and the Workshop format. |
| Infrastructure | Here you will find an overview of ZiF's conference spaces and their equipment, ZiF campus, including the pool and surroundings, and the residential areas (apartments). |
For further questions please contact:
Dr. Daniela Noll-Opitz
Dr. Nadine Sutmöller
zif-proposalsupport@uni-bielefeld.de
ZiF Office Hours
Monday to Friday 8:30 – 12:30
Additional office hours are available by prior appointment.
Lodging Management
Monday to Thursday 9:00 – 15:30
Friday 9:00 – 14:00
Facility Management
Monday to Thursday 9:00 – 15:30
Friday 9:00 – 14:00
If you cannot reach the ZiF staff in an emergency, please contact the University's Facility Service.