Factsheet No. 6

By Muzinée Kistenfeger (science@british-embassy.de)

The Helmholtz Association (Helmholtz Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren, HGF) is one of Germany’s four non-university research organisations. It is the umbrella organisation of 15 national science centres (see Annex below), which between them have over 26,000 employees and an annual budget of ca € 2.3 billion, including € 1.6 billion provided by the Federal and Länder Governments on a 90:10 basis. The 15 national science centres cover a wide range of disciplines and research activities, from strategic to applied research. Some centres were founded in the mid-1950s as nuclear research facilities. Other, more specialised centres followed, for instance, in the area of cancer research, biotechnology, computer science, molecular medicine and environment.

Budget and Spending Priorities

The total budget of the Helmholtz Association amounted to € 2.34 billion in 2006. Two thirds of the budget was provided by the Federal and Länder Governments in the form of institutional funding, while the remaining one third came from external public and private sector sources. In 2003 the association had moved from institute-based towards programme-oriented funding in order to increase competition and the exploitation of synergies between the individual centres. Currently, some 80% of the Helmholtz Association’s budget are spent on priority programmes, while the remaining 20% are allocated in the form of institutional funding. The costs of the Helmholtz Research Centres for R&D amounted to €1.6 billion in 2006. The spending priorities in terms of institutional funding included:

• Structure of matter (€ 351 million)
• Earth and Environment (€ 296 million)
• Health research (€ 287 million for biomedical research, medical engineering)
• Transport and aerospace (€ 266 million)
• Energy research (€ 261 million for nuclear fusion, renewable energy, nuclear safety)
• Key technologies (€ 106 million for materials; biotechnology, process engineering, microsystems, information technology, nanotechnology, superconductivity)
• Research not bound to programmes (€ 39 million)

For 2007, there was a planned decrease in funding for structure of matter (down to ca € 313 million) and an increase in non-programme-bound research to at least € 100 million.

Structure and Research Strategy

The Helmholtz Association’s Senate established in 2001 comprises members from other research organisations, universities, trade unions, industry and government. It considers the budget and makes recommendations on research priorities. It also elects the President and the six Vice-Presidents supporting the six research fields. The Assembly of Members is a central decision-making body developing strategies and programmes. Professor Jürgen Mlynek, formerly President of the Humboldt University Berlin, was elected President of the Helmholtz Association in 2005. The individual research centres also work together in various co-ordinating committees and working groups, designed to improve collaboration between the separate institutes.

With its access to large-scale equipment, including particle accelerators, supercomputers, research ships and aircraft, the Helmholtz Association enjoys a privileged position in carrying out basic research and assisting other research facilities. It plays a leading role in long-term research addressing consumer, health and safety issues, such as radiation protection and nuclear waste disposal. Other research fields include medical and genetic research, environmental and climate research. Its cross-centre research programmes compete with one another.

The Helmholtz Association focuses on strategic areas, which reflect objectives set by government. It is involved in the administration of federal research programmes on behalf of the Federal Government and in technology assessment studies commissioned by the German Parliament. The Association also plays an important role in the European Research Area and 36% of the proposals its scientists submitted under FP 6 were successful. There were seven spin-offs from the Helmholtz Centres in 2006 and around 400 new patent registrations.

Further Information

English-language information on the Helmholtz Association, including profiles of its members, is available on the Internet at www.helmholtz.de . In January 2007, The Association published an English-language leaflet on “The Strategy of the Helmholtz Association”. The Annual report 2007 is also available in English. The individual Helmholtz centres publish their own annual reports, some of which are available in English. A list of available publications and further information may be obtained or downloaded online or directly from:

Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren
Ahr-Strasse 45
53175 Bonn, Germany
phone: +49 (0)228 308 1821
fax: +49 (0)228 308 1840
hgf@helmholtz.de
www.helmholtz.de

Annex Factsheet No 6 - Members of the Helmholtz Association

AWI Alfred-Wegener Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung (Bremerhaven)
Polar and marine research, biosciences, geoscience, atmospheric research and oceanology
www.awi.de

DESY Stiftung Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (Hamburg)
Particle physics using accelerators and storage rings, solid state physics and molecular biology using synchrotron radiation technologies
www.desy.de

DKFZ Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (Heidelberg)
Cancer research with a focus on the mechanisms of carcinogenesis, tumorbiology, cancer risk factors, cancer prevention, diagnostics and therapy, tumor virology, tumor immunology and genome research
www.dkfz.de

DLR Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (Cologne)
Aeronautics, space, energy, transportation and environment, national space agency, innovation management, project management on behalf of the Federal Research Ministry
www.dlr.de

FZJ Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH (Juelich)
Structure of matter and materials research, information technology, life sciences, environmental precautionary research, energy technology
www.fz-juelich.de

FZK Forschungszentrum (Karlsruhe)
Environmental research, climate research, fusion reactor technology, nuclear safety research, nuclear waste management, superconductivity, microsystems, medical engineering, basic research in nuclear physics, genetics, biophysics-toxicology
www.fzk.de

GFZ Geoforschungszentrum (Potsdam)
Interdisciplinary geoscientific research, including dynamics and transport processes in the lithosphere, climate and environment, geotechnologies, natural hazards, management of geoscientific instruments, observatories, lithospheric datacentre
www.gfz-potsdam.de

GKSS Forschungszentrum Geesthacht (Geesthacht)
Materials research, separation and environmental technology, environmental research
www.gkss.de

GSI Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (Darmstadt)
Heavy ion research, nuclear physics, nuclear chemistry with accelerated heavy ions, atomic physics, plasma physics, materials research
www.gsi.de

Helmholtz Zentrum München (Munich, formerly GSF)
Environmental health research, including risk assessment and management in ecosystems, biological effect of chemicals and radiation at cellular level, risk of ionising radiation, genetics
www.helmholtz-muenchen.de

Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin for Materials and Energy (former Hahn-Meitner-Institut, Berlin): Structure of condensed matter, solid state research, solar energy research, major large scale devices, including research reactor, particle accelerators, ion beam laboratory
www.hmi.de

Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (former GBF, Braunschweig)
Biotechnological production processes and analytical methods, basic research on microorganisms, animal cell cultures and enzymes, new production technologies for pharmaceuticals and chemical compounds
www.helmholtz-hzi.de

Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschungszentrum UFZ (Leipzig)
Environmental research
www.ufz.de

MDC Max-Delbrück Centrum für Molekulare Medizin (Berlin)
Basic research and clinical application of molecular medicine in areas such as cardiovascular research, hypertension, cancer, molecular biology, neurobiology, immunology and cell physiology
www.mdc-berlin.de

Max-Planck-Institut für Plasma Physik IPP (Garching)
Plasma physics with a focus on nuclear fusion physics, generation, heating and confinement of plasmas in TOKAMAKs
www.ipp.mpg.de

Science and Innovation Section

British Consulate-General
Möhlstrasse 5
D-81675 München
Germany
Tel: 0049 89 21109 112
Fax: 0049 89 21109 166
science@british-embassy.de
ukingermany.fco.gov.uk