Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB)

The Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB) investigates the causes and consequences of demographic change.In an advisory capacity, the BiB is in contact with the federal government and federal ministries and advises them on the basis of scientific research. As part of the advisory cooperation, the BiB supports the Federal Government in international cooperation on population issues within the framework of the United Nations. Informing the public about demographic change and the Institute’s research findings is another important task. The Institute was founded in 1973 and is since then is based in Wiesbaden, Hesse.

As part of the advisory cooperation, the BiB supports the Federal Government in international cooperation on population issues within the framework of the United Nations.Informing the public about demographic change and the Institute’s research findings is another central task.

The Institute is a federal departmental research institution and is part of the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Home Affairs.

Important works and tasks:

  • Research: Research is a central task at the BiB. It is the basis for sound advice and information. One of its core tasks is the continuous monitoring of demographic trends. Other areas of focus include the three research areas of family and fertility, migration and mobility, and demographic change and ageing. In addition, the Education and Human Capital research group, which was newly formed in 2021, investigates the importance of education for population development in Germany. One example of this is the study “Why children from potentially disadvantaged families are less likely to attend daycare – even if they need it” which was conducted on behalf of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
  • Policy advice: On the basis of the institute’s own research findings, the institute advises the federal government and federal ministries. Information, interpretation of demographic trends and the preparation of scientific expertise represent core competencies in policy advice. At the level of international cooperation within the framework of the United Nations, the BiB advises and supports the federal government on population issues.
  • Information: The BiB publishes the results of its research in numerous publications. In more than 430 charts, maps and tables, the BiB regularly publishes information on demographic facts for Germany, Europe and the world.

Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO)

The associated partner “Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO)” analyses economic, social, and political processes of change in the agricultural and food sector and in rural areas. The geographic focus covers the enlarging EU, transition regions of Central, Eastern, and South Eastern Europe, as well as Central and Eastern Asia.

Scope of work

  • Research: IAMO is an international institute that pursues basic and applied research in the field of agricultural economics. It analyses the political, external environment of agriculture and its scope of design, the agricultural and food sector markets, and the structural development of enterprises and living conditions in rural areas. As education, health, nutrition, and social security of the rural population are core elements of rural living conditions these topics are part of IAMO’s research profile. Results support design and evaluation of integrated rural development strategies which comprise education health, nutrition, and social policies. Moreover, it embraces the interdependencies of market processes, managerial decisions and policies on the socioeconomic situation and environment and rural areas.
  • Scientific exchange: The institute is distributing its research outcomes to the international academic community as well as to decision-makers in politics and business, international organisations and the broad public. It acts as a forum of exchange, thereby promoting the linking up of research at an international level, and dialogue between leaders from the academic world, politics and business. In view of the immense and new challenges ahead, science-based policy advice is becoming an increasingly important factor in the institute’s work.
  • Promotion of young researchers: Among the institute’s core tasks is also the qualification of academic scholars from Germany and abroad. A particular focus lies on the promotion of scientists from study regions. IAMO supports PhD and postdoctoral studies and hands out thesis topics for Master’s or Bachelor’s degrees. IAMO Graduate School provides PhD students with systematic support and training. Visiting stays at IAMO and research visits of IAMO doctoral candidates and postdocs at overseas research centres enhance profiling younger scientists.

Leibniz Institute for Educational Media | Georg Eckert Institute (GEI)

The Leibniz Institute for Educational Media | Georg Eckert Institute (GEI) is a centre for research in educational media and is one of a kind in Germany. Its mission consists in carrying out practice-oriented, multidisciplinary research on textbooks and other school-based educational media, informed by the disciplines of history and cultural studies. The GEI also advises national and international stakeholders in educational policy and practice. The Institute coordinates and mediates debates and cooperations on international textbook-related matters. As a non-university establishment that both conducts research and makes research possible, the GEI sees itself as a research-oriented infrastructural institution. Its main attraction is the Research Library, with an internationally unique collection of textbooks from the areas of history, social studies/civics, geography and ethics/religion. With the information and communication portal Edumeres, the GEI provides virtual access to current information, publications and data from research on textbooks and educational media, organized into several modules.

Key research activities and services at the GEI:

  • With the advancement of digitalisation, education is undergoing a fundamental change. In response, the GEI has broadened its focus to include digital educational media. Research on knowledge and interpretation, on the societal dimension of media-based transformation, and on the use and adoption of new technology goes hand in hand with an expansion of the Research Library’s collection and the continuing digitisation of its holdings.
  • The GEI provides a diverse range of academic transfer and other services. It acts, for instance, as a coordinator for bilateral textbook commissions and projects and supplies consultation services on textbook-related matters to national and international education policymakers, practitioners and organisations. Additionally, it has served as a mediator in conflict-laden situations surrounding textbooks and provides support for the development of new textbooks and educational media.
  • The GEI’s research library, which holds a unique collection of history, geography, social studies and ethics/religious education textbooks from around the world, has been designated as a Special Subject Collection library by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and is the textbook centre of the Council of Europe.
  • The GEI runs the information and communication portal Edumeres.net, which acts as a virtual point of access to educational media research conducted from the perspective of historical and cultural studies.
  • The Institute has its own visiting professorship through the Georg Arnhold Program on Education for Sustainable Peace.