Gr\"o{\ss}e als Erfolgsgarant? Zur Bedeutung der Organisationstruktur f\"ur die Einwerbung von Drittmitteln der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft

TL;DR

This study investigates how university organizational structures and resources influence the success rate of securing DFG research funding in Germany.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence on the impact of organizational factors like size and personnel on funding success, using a Bayesian analysis approach.

Findings

Institution size positively correlates with funding success.

Availability of academic and non-academic personnel influences funding outcomes.

Organizational conditions are significant in evaluating third-party funding success.

Abstract

Research funding through third-party financing is of considerable importance for the German science system. The funds of the German Research Foundation (DFG) serve as the central focus due to the high reputation of the foundation. However, it has not been clarified yet to what extent the chances of successfully acquiring these funds depend on the structure of the university as an institution. The present study analyses DFG funding in the context of university research and examines the role of organisational conditions in the acquisition of funding. Several factors, such as size of the institution, equipment, and teaching activities, are analysed. The empirical study focuses on four subjects and investigates the correlation between funding success and conditional factors using a Bayesian approach. Results reveal the considerable relevance of the factors size as well as provision of academic and non-academic personnel. This implies that the organisational conditions are to be taken into account while evaluating third-party financing success.