The WIFU Foundation's project funding programme supports researchers at universities across Germany in carrying out scientific research projects focusing on family businesses and entrepreneurial families. The aim of the funding is to enable curiosity-driven, interdisciplinary research and to sustainably strengthen the transfer of scientific findings into entrepreneurial practice.
The WIFU Foundation is currently funding the following research projects (selection):
The WIFU Foundation has been supporting the scientific open-access journal Junior Management Science (JUMS) since 2024. The aim is to make excellent theses by young scientists visible and to sustainably strengthen research on family firms and entrepreneurial families.
Thanks to the funding, special issues on family business topics could be published, and the new JUMS department „Family Businesses and Entrepreneurial Families“ was established. The department is headed by Prof. Dr. Anne Katarina Heider (Wittener Institute for Family Business).
From 2025, the WIFU Foundation is supporting SPOTLIGHT, the digital family business magazine from the Centre for Family Entrepreneurship and Ownership (CeFEO) at Jönköping International Business School (Sweden). The platform connects current scientific research on family businesses with practical analyses and recommendations for action for entrepreneurial families and decision-makers.
The aim of the funding is to strengthen the dialogue between science and practice and to sustainably support family businesses with well-founded, international knowledge.
Researchers at universities and other scientific institutions across Germany can apply for project funding from the WIFU Foundation. The prerequisite is that the applying institution must either be non-profit and tax-exempt or be a public corporation (e.g., a university or a university of applied sciences).
The WIFU Foundation supports scientific research projects focusing on family businesses, entrepreneurial families, and ownership and assets within an entrepreneurial context. Eligible for funding are, among others, business administration, economics, law, history, sociology, or psychology research projects. Special emphasis is placed on knowledge-oriented research that exhibits both scientific rigour and practical relevance for family businesses.
The awarding of project funding takes place in a two-stage selection process.
In the first stage, applicants submit a two- to three-page project outline. Following a positive review, a brief presentation and discussion format takes place.
In the second stage, a full project application with further documentation will be submitted. The final funding decision will be made by the WIFU Foundation's Board of Trustees.
The funding is generally granted for a maximum of twelve months. An extension is possible by agreement.
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