Text+: Research Data Infrastructure for Text- and Language-Based Research Enters Next Phase
No. 23.6 - 13.07.2026
On 10 July 2026, the Joint Science Conference (GWK) approved approximately €6 million in funding for the Text+ research data infrastructure for a further two years. The Göttingen State and University Library (SUB Göttingen), which participated as a co-applicant institution during the first funding phase, will now serve as the applicant institution on behalf of the University of Göttingen, assuming responsibility for the financial, organisational, and strategic development of the initiative. In this role, SUB Göttingen is helping to further strengthen Göttingen as a key hub within the German National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI).
The Göttingen Campus is now involved in 17 disciplinary and methodological NFDI consortia. During its second funding phase, Text+ will further develop and consolidate the research data infrastructure for text- and language-based research data established in recent years, and strengthen its integration into research practice.
“The continued funding of Text+ sends a strong signal for research data infrastructures in Germany and for Göttingen as a research hub. Text- and language-based data form an essential part of our cultural heritage and, at the same time, provide a key foundation for the quality of language models and artificial intelligence. Together with the three other NFDI consortia in the ‘Humanities@NFDI’ group, the second funding phase will enable us to consolidate the structures we have built together, establish our services on a sustainable basis, and further advance the vision of a common ‘One NFDI’,” says Professor Philipp Wieder of the University of Göttingen, Spokesperson for Text+.
The second funding phase, beginning in October 2026, will focus on operating a stable and high-performance infrastructure, consolidating and further developing core research data management services, and ensuring the long-term preservation and availability of research data. At the same time, Text+ will align its services even more closely with the needs of its research communities, and further strengthen cooperation with partners within and beyond the NFDI. The FAIR Data Principles, which promote the findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reuse of research data, remain central to the services provided by Text+.
The German National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) was established by Germany's federal and state governments in 2019 to support the development of reliable structures for research data management. Its aim is to make research data from all fields of research accessible, interoperable, and reusable in the long term. The NFDI consortia span a broad range of disciplines, from the humanities, cultural studies, and social sciences to engineering, the life sciences, and the natural sciences. Research communities work alongside universities, libraries, computing centres, archives, and other research infrastructure organisations to develop standards, services, and advisory support for sustainable research data management.
The decision to continue funding Text+ comes at a time when the NFDI as a whole is undergoing further strategic development. In July 2026, Germany's federal and state governments laid the foundations for the long-term continuation of the NFDI beyond 2028. The aim is to establish a more coordinated, sustainable, and high-performance research data infrastructure in Germany. Text+ will continue to make an important contribution to this effort by supporting research in the humanities and cultural studies.
Contact:
Professor Philipp Wieder
Spokesperson for Text+
University of Göttingen
Göttingen State and University Library
Platz der Göttinger Sieben 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Phone: +49 551 39-30104
Email: philipp.wieder@gwdg.de
Internet: https://gwdg.de/en/research-education/researchgroup_wieder/