The Helmholtz Association

The reform of the Association

The core of the fundamental reform of the Helmholtz Association was the introduction of "programme-oriented funding". The funding for the Centres is oriented to their programmes. The objective is the development of a new quality of cooperation between the legally independent Helmholtz Centres. By means of the reform, the considerable potential and large resources of the Association are to be used more effectively and its orientation to performance and results is to be strengthened. Increased cooperation and competition between the Centres are strategic objectives which will both be optimized.

For this purpose and against the background of an increasingly close networking between knowledge-oriented basic research and industrial applications, the mission and work priorities of the Helmholtz Centres were restructured and focussed on six research areas, namely energy, Earth and environment, health, key technologies, the structure of matter as well as transport and space.

Within the framework of programme-oriented funding, the scientists of the Helmholtz Association develop programmes in each research area which combine contributions by research groups on central topics and different Centres in an interdisciplinary way. The programmes are evaluated by international groups of experts and assessed for their scientific quality, competence and strategic importance. The results of the evaluation then form the basis for funding decisions taken by the Federal Government and the Länder.

This reform was launched in autumn 2001. All six research areas were evaluated between 2002 and 2004. About 350 internationally renowned scientists, more than half from abroad, participated in the evaluations. All programmes of the Helmholtz Association are meanwhile under way. Experience with the evaluations and the ongoing programmes to date show that the new programme-oriented funding procedure proves to be valuable. All in all, the procedures have strengthened the responsibility of the Helmholtz Centres themselves and sharpened their profile as well as increasing national and international visibility of the Helmholtz Association.

Financing

The Helmholtz Association is the largest German research organization. Its total budget is about €2.2 billion p.a. About €1.6 billion of this total amount are co-financed by the Federal Government (90%) and the host Länder (10%) as institution-based support. About 24,000 employees work in the Helmholtz Centres.

Within the framework of the "Joint Initiative for Research and Innovation", initiated by the Federal Government and the Länder, the major German research institutions can expect an increase in funds of at least 3% p.a. For the HGF, this means an increase of about €50 million next year alone. This Joint Initiative entails the special obligation for the HGF to further enhance and intensify cooperation with the institutions of higher education.

The President's Impetus and Networking Fund

As an important formative element on the part of the President, the Impetus and Networking Fund was established to implement the strategic objectives of the Helmholtz Association. Besides the resources raised under the ongoing programmes, the Centres can apply for funds from this Fund. It is financed by a contribution from each of the Centres within the framework of the 3%-increase for the Helmholtz Association agreed within the Joint Initiative for Research and Innovation. Funding is provided in particular for activities of the Helmholtz Centres for networking with institutions of higher education, for international networking and for the qualification of young scientists. Examples of the funding tools developed are "Virtual Institutes" together with institutions of higher education as well as young researcher groups of Helmholtz Association and institutions of higher education. The Fund also contributes to the programme to support spin-offs and to the establishment of pupils' laboratories at the Centres.