Ministries
The Federal Government funds 58 research institutes that the Federal Ministries are in charge of. This departmental research is always directly related to the activity fields of a ministry. Its main task is to support the respective Federal Ministry’s activities and to provide the necessary scientific basis for the execution of sovereign tasks.
One example of a departmental research institute is the Robert Koch Institute, which is responsible for disease control and prevention. It is therefore the central Federal reference institution for both applied and response-oriented research as well as for the public health sector. Another example is the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM). BAM is responsible for the development of safety and reliability in chemistry and materials technologies, including legal regulations on safety standards and threshold values.[1]
The following Ministries foster science and innovation:
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV)
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU)
Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi)
Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
[1] Research in Germany: 
Federal Research Institutions
Image: Inauguration of the 7-Telsa magnetic resonance imaging on 20 January 2009 in a new research building at the Max Delbrück Center for Modecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch (Siemens AG, Medical Solutions) are observing. (Photo: David Ausserhofer / Copyright: MDC)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV)
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU)
Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi)
Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
