The research projects listed below were completed by the MGU Foundation (german) prior to the University's 2005 incorporation. These projects devoted themselves to the network of relationships between people, society and the environment from the point of view of sustainable development. In this sense, the MGU Foundation was already engaged in interdisciplinary, participatory research in which the implementation of the results was an integral part of the research process.

The MGU research brochure (german) from the year 2000 provides an overview of the program and gives an account of the research periods 1994-96, 1997-99 and 2000-2002.