Continuation of the DAM

Positive signal for German marine research: On November 28, 2025, the Joint Science Conference (GWK) decided to extend the agreement to fund the German Marine Research Alliance (DAM) for an initial period of two years – in preparation for the DAM’s permanent establishment as announced in the coalition agreement.

In the press release announcing the decision, the committee writes:

Today, the Joint Science Conference (GWK) discussed the extension of the administrative agreement on the establishment and promotion of the German Marine Research Alliance. The agreement, which was concluded in 2019 between the federal government and the northern German states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein, is currently valid until the end of 2025. Based on an external evaluation that gave a positive assessment of its effectiveness and achievement of objectives to date, the DAM will now be continued in its current form for a two-year transition phase until the end of 2027, with the option of an additional one-year extension until 2028, in preparation for the consolidation announced in the coalition agreement.

“The German Marine Research Alliance is a model for joint research funding by the federal and state governments. The experts are enthusiastic about science from northern Germany. I am therefore delighted that we will continue to provide reliable funding and enter into negotiations on permanent financing. This will enable us to lay the foundations for addressing key societal challenges such as coastal protection, energy transition and marine conservation on a sound scientific basis,” said GWK Chairman and Lower Saxony Minister for Science and Culture Falko Mohrs at the GWK meeting in Berlin.

Dorothee Bär, Deputy Chair of the GWK and Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space, emphasises: “Together with the northern German states, we are taking a step towards implementing one of the goals set out in Germany’s High-Tech Agenda: the consolidation of the German Marine Research Alliance. The seas and oceans play a central role in global climate processes and are among the most important ecosystems on Earth. They influence the lives of millions of people. With the research missions of the German Marine Research Alliance, we are preserving and pooling knowledge for the preservation of this basis of our existence. This should also give German marine research even greater international significance.”

During the transition phase, the DAM will continue to be jointly financed by the federal government and the participating states. The federal government will provide up to €15 million annually for DAM activities in the form of project funding, and the participating states will contribute €3.75 million.

Joint commitment to coasts, seas and oceans

“We are delighted about the backing and support from the GWK! The decision to extend and the planned continuation of the DAM give us the planning security we need to seamlessly continue our commitment to the sea,” explains Joachim Harms, Chairman of the DAM. The aim of the DAM is to provide practical knowledge on socially relevant marine issues as a basis for political and social decisions. “We would like to express our sincere thanks to the members of the GWK for their confidence in German marine research and for joining us on the path towards a more sustainable approach to coasts, seas and oceans.”

In the GWK, founded in 2008, the federal and state governments deal with all issues of common concern relating to science and research policy strategies, science funding and the science system. Members of the GWK are the science ministers and finance ministers of the federal and state governments.

GWK PRESS RELEASE ON THE EXTENSION OF THE DAM:

to the press release

Header picture: Guille Pozzi | Unsplash