Branch Adlershof
Source: BAM
In 2016, the German Council of Science and Humanities (WR) evaluated the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) and made recommendations. On Friday, 31 January 2020, the Council issued a statement about the implementation of these recommendations since the prior evaluation of BAM. The interim results are positive.
In its statement, the German Council of Science and Humanities commended BAM on its implementation of the 2016 recommendations. For example, interdepartmental cooperation has been significantly strengthened by the introduction of themes and activity fields. At the same time attention has been paid to clear and transparent competences and a process for developing long-term research perspectives has been initiated. In addition, BAM has made great progress on the introduction of an overall communication strategy which considers various target audiences.
The Council explicitly welcomes that BAM has entered a digital transformation process. In addition, it acknowledges that its recommendations to merge the activities in the information technology area as well as to provide reference data have been implemented.
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Panne, BAM president: “The Council’s statement about the implementation of recommendations shows that we have already achieved a lot. It motivates us further to tackle the challenges ahead with the same determination and to position ourselves for the future.
However, the Council also raised concerns “that a highly respected institution such as BAM could not, despite a good number of applicants, fill its departmental management positions, apparently because the research institute’s framework conditions were not competitive”. The Council refers to the “Concept of Modern Departmental Research” adopted by the German federal Cabinet on 11 December 2007, which also stipulates flexibilities for German federal departmental research institutions in the areas of budget, personnel and construction methods.
The Council strongly supports the commitment of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) to improve the personnel and budgetary framework conditions with regard to the preservation and expansion of BAM’s scientific performance.
Please follow the link to view the full text of the Council’s statement (Germn version only):
Implementation of recommendations from the previous evaluation of the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), Berlin (Drs. 8269-20), January 2020