Based on the proposals of the nine-member international expert commission, an international pool of reviewers corresponding to the final proposals has been established, which will evaluate the full proposals to be submitted independently of the expert commission. Representatives of the 8 finalists are invited to a hearing with the international Expert Commission at the beginning of July to present and discuss their research projects. Based on the expert reports and the hearing, the commission will make a recommendation as to which 3 groups should receive funding. The decision on granting or rejecting a funding application will be made by the Federal Minister of Education, Science and Research on the basis of the ranked funding recommendation of the scientific expert commission.