By its statutes the DFG is a registered society under the civil law with its head office in Bonn. It was founded in 1920. The DFG serves science in all fields by financing research projects, by promoting cooperation among researchers and coordinating basic research. It also advises parliaments and public authorities on scientific matters, cultivates relations between science and economy and promotes cooperation between German and foreign scientists.
Special attention is paid to promoting young scientists.
The most important boards of the DFG are the General Assembly, which establishes the general guidelines for its work, the Senate as scientific policy-making body and the Grants Committee, responsible for all decisions concerning financial support for research projects.