The Prototype Fund supports software developers, designers and other creatives in transforming their ideas from a concept to a software prototype. Whether it’s about society, education, environment or tech sovereignty – together we explore and test new ways for technical and social innovations.
As individual developers or small interdisciplinary project teams, you will receive up to €47,500 over six months from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. With this funding, you can write code and develop a first prototype of your software. We will also connect you with tech and other relevant communities, support you with coaching, and advise you on project implementation, communication, and sustainability.
We explicitly encourage all people who belong to groups that have been underrepresented in software development to apply for the funding. You can contact us at any time during the application period.
In the German-language Trendbericht, we had a closer look at digitization in medicine. You can, but do not have to, address the topics in the report in your application.
We are looking forward to submissions that will explore the questions raised in the Trendbericht. However, all other ideas are also welcome in this open call. Open call means that you can send us all project ideas related to the field of Public Interest Tech and our four funding priorities Civic Tech, Data Security, Data Literacy and Software Infrastructure. For a good idea of what this looks like in practice, check out the 315 current and past projects.
Following our mission statement, all innovations in the public interest must remain adaptable and accessible. That’s why we only fund open source projects. If you have questions about the application process or funding, you can find the answers in our FAQ and our funding criteria.