According to the Administrative Agreement (VV, Verwaltungsvereinbarung), the Universities of Excellence funding line serves "to permanently strengthen the universities or university consortia as institutions and to expand their international leading positions in research on the basis of successful Clusters of Excellence" (§ 1 VV). The Wissenschaftsrat (WR, German Science and Humanities Council) is responsible for administering the Universities of Excellence funding line, while the DFG (German Research Foundation) administers the Clusters of Excellence funding line (§ 2 para. 3 VV). Based on the Administrative Agreement, guidelines are presented that will form the basis of the individual evaluations of the Universities of Excellence and University Excellence Consortia in the Universities of Excellence funding line. The guidelines are based on procedural documents already published within the framework of the Excellence Strategy.