Collaborative Research Centres are long-term university-based research institutions, established for up to 12 years, in which researchers work together within a multidisciplinary research programme. One funding period lasts four years. The Collaborative Research Centre/Transregio is proposed and supported jointly by two or three universities despite of the traditional Collaborative Research Centre that is based at one university. The programme is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation).

The duration of the 1^st funding period of CRC/TR 63 was 2010 to 2013.

The duration of the 2^nd funding period of CRC/TR 63 was 2014 to 2017.