On June 16, 2016, the German Federal and State Governments agreed on a follow-up programme for the Excellence Initiative, which is due to expire in October 2017.

The “Strategy of Excellence” for top-level research, which has been agreed for an indefinite period of time, comprises funding amounting to 533 million Euro per year. From 2019 onwards, at least eleven institutes of higher education are to be promoted as “Universities of Excellence”, with those universities selected subject to an external evaluation every seven years. The prerequisite for being funded as a university of excellence is that at least two clusters of excellence are approved for the same university; this requirement rises to at least three clusters of excellence for networks of universities.

Graduate schools, clusters of excellence and institutional strategies that are currently being supported will receive bridge financing for a maximum of two years from November 1, 2017. This will serve at the same time as their potential completion funding.

You can find more information at:
https://www.medienservice.sachsen.de/medien/news/204363

Spiegel Online from June 16, 2016:
Neue Milliarden für Elite-Unis: Nachfolger der Exzellenzinitiative abgesegnet