The present activities of practically all partners of NanOp are supported by the German government and research foundations. Sub-groups of the partners are already closely cooperating within existing centers of excellence or research consortia.

Fundamental (nano-)material and some device oriented activities of most of the academic research groups in the areas of nanostructures and/or optoelectronics are or were funded via four centers of excellence (Sonderforschungsbereich) of the German Research Foundation (DFG) in Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, and Würzburg. No further funding of fundamental work will be required for these areas within NanOp. Similarly, optoelectronic device and systems oriented work of several groups is funded within networks of Photonics II (until 3/98), LASER 2000, FOROPTO, KomNet, and OptoSys programs (FBH, HHI, MBI, Siemens, TU Berlin, U Stuttgart, U Ulm). Other important funding is due to Volkswagen Stiftung in the frame of its Photonics program.

All Berlin groups cooperate in the framework of the Interdisciplinary Research Association Optoelectronics (IFVO, since 1998 Optoelektronik Konsortium Berlin, OKB), which was instrumental in writing this application (funded by the Senate of Berlin and BMBF).

Most partners of NanOp are members and participants in European bodies and programs, such as ACTS, PHANTOMS, TMR, NANOLASE, BriteEuram (project OPTIVAN), ESPRIT, MEL ARI (Focused Cluster in Nanoscale Integrated Circuits), INTAS and others. Several partners will be involved in the COST (Wavelength scale photonic components for telecommunications) action (in the process of being established by EU).