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-Institut for the German Language (IDS)

The Leibniz Institute for the German Language (IDS) is the leading international scientific centre for the research and documentation of the German language. Our research and theoretical modelling of the diversity of linguistic manifestations, their structure and use, are based on empirical methods and are documented by reference works (including (comparative) grammars and dictionaries) as well as highly diversified language resources (especially corpora and information systems).

The IDS is a leading provider of sustainable research infrastructures that are of central importance and benefit to the entire professional community. With our research results and documentation services, we provide scientifically-based support and advice to politics and society on issues of standardization, language policy and language education, and actively participates in public debates on language-related topics. In doing so, we convey a scientifically sound picture of language that emphasizes the diversity and variance of linguistic manifestations, and we are aware of our linguistic cultural responsibility.

We are partners of scientific institutions in the region, in the state od Baden-Württemberg, within Germany, as well as in the entire German-speaking and international area, and network at all these levels. For international German linguistics, we act as a central hub; on an international level, we cooperate with partners in the fields of linguistics and the humanities. As part of the Leibniz Association, we contribute to the achievement of overarching goals of the Association and cooperate with other member institutions. In terms of science diplomacy, we are committed to international scientific exchange based on Leibniz’s ideals.

Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID)

The Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID) is the supra-regional scientific research support organization for psychology in German-speaking countries. It supports the entire scientific work process from gathering ideas and researching literature to documenting research, archiving data and publishing the results, based on an ideal-type research cycle.

It is committed to the idea of open science and sees itself as a public open science institute for psychology. As a research-based support institution, ZPID conducts basic application research in the area of research literacy and user-friendly research support. Further expansions of the research area are in progress around the topics of research syntheses in psychology and big data in psychology.

The central, free-of-charge services include the search portal PubPsych, the open access publishing platform PsychOpen and the psychology repository PsychArchives. New services for study planning, preregistration of psychological studies, data collection and data analysis are under development.

Important projects:

In its reference database PSYNDEX (accessible, e.g., via the search portal PubPsych), ZPID documents scientific publications from the field of psychology and other scientific disciplines (e.g., educational and social sciences) related to educational research.
ZPID’s reference database PSYNDEX Tests (accessible via the search portal PubPsych) contains diagnostic tools from the field of educational psychology as well as related fields of application (e.g., pedagogics, curative education, speech therapy) which are well-suited for applications in educational assessment. An open access archive of psychological tests (“Elektronisches Testarchiv“) offers a number of assessment tools for research purposes.
PsychData – Research Data for Psychology
With PsychData, the ZPID has developed a data-sharing platform specialized for psychology research.
In its research focus „Research Literacy and User-Friendly Research Support“, ZPID investigates information behavior in formal as well as informal learning contexts and develops interventions aimed at fostering information literacy.
ZPID is involved in research monitoring educational research in Germany.
ZPID conducts scientometric analyses to monitor the internationalization of educational research and Educational Psychology in German-speaking countries (ZPID Monitor).

ZIB – Centre for International Student Assessment

The associated partner “Centre for International Student Assessment (ZIB) e.V.” at the TUM School of Education at Technical University of Munich conducts educational research in large scale assessments together with two Leibniz associated partners: DIPF – Leibniz Insitute für Research and Information in Education and Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education at Kiel University (IPN). ZIB is particularly in charge of the national coordination and implementation of PISA as well as developing and enhancing PISA with innovative methods, research questions, and instruments. ZIB is an affiliated institute of the Technical University of Munich and funded by the German federation and the federal states.

Important Work and Services:

ZIB is responsible for the national coordination and implementation of PISA and is furthermore involved in its international development.
Research at ZIB focuses significantly on three fields: Educational Monitoring, School and Teaching Research, Methodology Research.
ZIB supports young researchers in international student assessments especially with method workshops and junior researcher academies.

ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research

The ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research in Mannheim is a nonprofit and independent institute with the legal form of a limited liability company (GmbH). Founded in 1990 on the basis of a public-private initiative in the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg in co-operation with the University of Mannheim, ZEW is one of Germany’s leading economic research institutes, and has an excellent reputation throughout Europe.

ZEW pursues four key objectives:

To conduct research of the highest quality
To provide scientifically grounded economic policy advising
To train up-and-coming economists
To inform the professional and lay public.

The Institute focuses on decision-makers in politics, economics, and administration, scientists in the national and international arena as well as the interested public. Regular interviews on the situation on the financial markets and the economic situation of the information industry as well as the large-scale annual study on innovation activities in the German economy are representative for the different types of information provided by ZEW.

Under the leadership of Achim Wambach, the president of the Institute, and Thomas Kohl, the director of business and administration, ZEW currently employs a staff of 176 in seven research departments, two research groups, and two service areas.

In order to ensure a high standard of excellence in research, ZEW promotes international co-operation with universities (e.g. integration in doctoral programs) and the ongoing development of its staff by granting periods of paid release from normal project work. These sabbaticals can be used for postgraduate doctorates, postdoctoral theses, or fellowships at renowned universities and research institutions.

The high quality of ZEW’s research work was confirmed in 1998, when the German Council of Science and Humanities evaluated ZEW and recommended its inclusion in the joint state and federal funding program. Since 2005, the Institute has received basic funding from this program. ZEW is a member of the Leibniz Association, a network of research institutes with outstanding scientific qualifications.

ion, a network of research institutes with outstanding scientific qualifications.

An excellent evaluation result in 2009 characterised the ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research as an institution of international significance. Due to this assessment, the Leibniz-Association Senate recommended to the German federal and state governments to promote ZEW according to national strategies of science policy. The senate explicitly stated that “ZEW is an extraordinarily successful institute of empirical economic research with great prospects”.

Research Approach and Research Fields:

ZEW’s guiding mission is to study the “optimal performance of markets and institutions in Europe”. To this end, ZEW applies a plurality of methodologies, with a clear focus on microeconomic and microeconometric research. The Institute co-operates closely with other scientific disciplines as necessary to address research questions. In this context, the research institute distinguishes itself, inter alia, in the analysis of internationally comparative questions in the European context and in the creation of data bases which are eminently important as a basis for scientific research. In addition, ZEW provides external persons and bodies with excerpts of selected data stocks for the purpose of scientific research.

ZEW is subdivided into the following six research fields

Labour Markets and Human Resources
Digital Economy
Economics of Innovations and Industrial Dynamics
International Finance and Financial Management
Environmental and Resource Economics, Environmantal Management
Corporate Taxation and Public Finance
Social Policy and Redistribution

and one research group

Market Design

Evaluations in regular intervals ensure the quality of the work performed in the research fields and its orientation towards the Institute’s research program. Evaluations are carried out by the Scientific Advisory Council of ZEW, which is composed of renowned German and foreign scientists as well as of executives from the economy and public administration.

The ZEW provides external scientists with a range of research data sets. The ZEW research data offered at ZEW-FDZ is individual data collected through ZEW business surveys and ZEW expert surveys.

Leibniz-Centre General Linguistics (ZAS)

The Leibniz-Centre General Linguistics (ZAS) is a non-university research centre located in the federal state of Berlin. The umbrella organization of ZAS is the association Geisteswissenschaftliche Zentren Berlin e.V. (GWZ). Since January 2017 the Bund-Länder Commission has been supporting ZAS’s research as a member of the Leibniz-Association.

Research at ZAS is dedicated to the description and explanation of the structure of natural language and its breadth of variation. The aim is to better understand this central human capacity and its biological, cognitive and social factors, thereby laying the foundation for the understanding of the basic structure, acquisition, and processing of language and its impairments as well as for applications in language technology.

In four research areas at ZAS, experts from all core areas of linguistics are currently working: Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology, Syntax, Lexicon, Semantics and Pragmatics as well as Child Language Acquisition. Externally acquired third-party funded projects are attached to the four research areas. The concentration of active research in multiple linguistic sub-disciplines in a single institution is unique in Germany and facilitates a direct exchange of current research findings and methods. Numerous stays of visiting researchers and scholarship holders, national and international workshops and conferences provide important impulses for the scientific work at ZAS.

Important Work and Services:

ZAS can draw from expertise in monolingual and bilingual language acquisition accumulated over the past 20 years. Important fields of work in the research area Language Development and Multilingualism (FB II) are the development of discourse skills in pre- and elementary school age, the identification and detailed description of language development disorders and the opportunities and problems in multilingual language acquisition. ZAS has carried out studies on the acquisition of German in children speaking the most common migration languages in Germany (for example, Russian, Polish, Bulgarian, Turkish), some of them as longitudinal studies over the course of several years.

ZAS develops language aptitude evaluations and instruments for the diagnosis and treatment of language development disorders as well as methods for supporting the acquisition of German that take the speaker’s knowledge of their native language into account. The Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (MAIN), developed at ZAS, is an instrument for testing the narrative abilities of children in currently 94 languages. It is used in more than 70 countries. It is used in more than 50 countries. Through the worldwide usage of the instrument a multinational MAIN-Network was formed, which is coordinated by ZAS. The Russian language proficiency test for multilingual children is a linguistically and psycholinguistically well-founded test for bilingual children of preschool and elementary school age, which is also applied worldwide.

ZAS develops language development programs and works on methods of conveying linguistic knowledge in a playful way. In the European COMENIUS project Friendly Resources for Playful Speech Therapy (FREPY), interactive and multi-functional materials for language development in German, Russian, Estonian, Lithuanian, and Slovenian were created. These games, puzzles, picture stories, etc. are available as a print version and online.

The Berlin Interdisciplinary Network for Multilingualism (BIVEM), affiliated with the ZAS, combines basic research, expertise and transfer of knowledge. Within the framework of BIVEM, longitudinal studies on multilingual acquisition and language development have been conducted, new initiatives as well as joint activities with cooperation partners have been launched and connections between science and practice have been strengthened. In addition, BIVEM offers research-based advice on multilingual language acquisition for parents, pedagogical professionals, medical staff and policy makers, as well as develops training modules for further education. The flyer series ‘Science for Life’, which already includes five topics in seven languages (German, Russian, Turkish, Arabic, English, Persian, and French), is in high demand: over 150,000 copies have already been distributed. It provides a special contribution to the transfer of knowledge from research to practice and will continue to be expanded with new topics and language versions.

Created under the auspices of ZAS, “Das mehrsprachige Klassenzimmer” (The Multilingual Classroom) is designed for teachers in German schools who have immigrant students in their classes. It provides stimulating and easy-to-understand background information on creative ways to deal with multilingualism in the classroom.

ZAS also develops orthographies and teaching materials for small, endangered languages, such as a dictionary of the Melanesian language Daakie.

ZAS aims to further investigate linguistic factors in the acquisition of the language of education, taking into account specific challenges such as other mother tongues and specific language development disorders.

WZB Berlin Social Science Center

The WZB Berlin Social Science Center conducts basic research with a focus on problems of modern societies in a globalized world. Around 160 German and international researchers work at the WZB, including sociologists, political scientists, economists, legal scholars, and historians. They study developments, problems, and opportunities for innovation in modern societies. Their research is theory-based, problem-oriented, often long-term and mostly based on international comparisons. The research areas are: education, work and life chances, markets and choice, society and economic dynamics, international politics and law, dynamics of political systems, migration and diversity.

One research focus at the WZB is sociological education research on vocational training and continuing education. Research devoted to these topics is primarily performed at the research unit “Skill Formation and Labor Markets” (Director: Prof. Dr. Heike Solga) and the WZB-based project group “National Educational Panel Study: Vocational Training and Lifelong Learning” (Head: Prof. Dr. Reinhard Pollak). The WZB makes theoretical and empirical contributions to improving the German education systems, fighting educational deprivation, and smoothing the transition from school to work. All of this involves international comparisons. An important focus of education research at the WZB is the relation between education, labor market, and social policy.

Important Research Projects:

The project group “National Educational Panel Study” at the Social Science Research Center (WZB) is involved in Stage 6 (Vocational Training and Transition to the Labor Market) and Stage 8 (Adult Education and Lifelong Learning) of the German National Educational Panel Study.
In cooperation with various Leibniz institutes, the “College for interdisciplinary Education Research” (CIDER) offers the opportunity of interdisciplinary career advancement to 30 junior scientists in educational science, psychology, economics, and sociology during their early post-doctoral stage.
The WZB is a partner and patron of the „Berlin Interdisciplinary Education Research Network“ (BIEN) and of the Berlin Network of Labor Market Research (BeNA).
The institute publishes the “WZBrief Bildung”. The „WZBrief Bildung“ provides concise up-to-date information about a given topic from their educational research. It is published several times a year in electronic form. It is geared towards experts and specialists working in politics, schools, organizations and the media. The authors of the „WZBrief Bildung“ are scientists conducting research on issues surrounding education and training.
In cooperation with the German Federal Agency for Civic Education, the WZB publishes the „Zukunft Bildung“ dossier (“The future of education”). Using texts, videos, and graphics, the dossier makes current educational policy debates and research results from various disciplines accessible to a broad, non-academic audience.

University of Luxembourg

At the associated partner “University of Luxembourg” is the research group „Educational Processes in Contemporary Societies“ consisting of members from two Institutes devoted to educational research. It connects social scientific perspectives on education and learning processes (educational theory, philosophy, history, and sociology). The main focus is on educational policies, systems, and processes within particular cultural, political, and socio-economic contexts. Thus, particular importance is placed on historical, cross-national, and international perspectives. Objects of study, whether in quantitative or qualitative or historical and institutional analyses, are education policies, system development, learning processes and teaching, and learning within and outside educational organizations.

Activities:

The activities of the research group include editing journals and book series, contributing to national education reports (Germany, Luxembourg), organizing international conferences, evaluation and consulting in a range of countries and advisory board membership.

RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research

The RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research is an independent and non-profit center for excellent economic research and evidence-based policy advice in Germany. The research work of the RWI is based on the latest theoretical concepts and state-of-the-art empirical methods and ranges from the individual to the level of the global economy. The institute spans five areas of competence: “Labor Markets, Education, Population”, “Health Economics”, “Climate Change and Development”, “Environment and Resources ‘ and “Macroeconomics and Public Finance”. The research groups “Micro Structure of Taxes and Transfers” and “Prosocial Behavior” complete the research profile. The “Research Data Center Ruhr at RWI” (FDZ Ruhr) provides data services and engages in research on regional disparities.arch on regional disparities.

Important work and services:

RWI analyses the determinants of educational decisions and returns to education. In this research area, the particular focus of research is on higher education, training (vocational ecuation, lifelong learning) and the impact of education on labor market outcomes.
RWI assesses the causal impact of reforms and policy measures in the educational sector in Germany and low-income countries.
The institute conducts policy studies on the economics of education for public sector clients, such as ministries, the German Federal Employment Agency and the GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit).
RWI designs individual and company surveys and is involved in data collection. For example, RWI, together with the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), the German Institute for Adult Education – Leibniz Centre for Lifelong Learning (DIE) and infas – Institute for Applied Social Sciences, established a longitudinal linked-employer-employee dataset on lifelong learning. Data are available for secondary use. More information.

Mercator Institute for Literacy and Language Education

The Mercator Institute for Literacy and Language Education is an institute of the University of Cologne, initiated and funded by Stiftung Mercator. Its aim is to improve language education. To achieve this objective, it researches and develops innovative concepts, measures and tools for language education. It provides regional training for prospective teachers and national training for educators in nurseries, schools and adult education, and prepares academic findings specifically for decision-makers in educational policy, administration and practice. Through its research and the academic services it provides to language education in a multilingual society, the Mercator Institute helps create more equal opportunities in the education system.

Important work and services:

Research: The Mercator Institute for Language Support and German as a Second Language researches and develops concepts, instruments and measures for language education in a variety of projects. It conducts practical and application-oriented research on current and socially relevant issues of language education, from daycare to the transition to work. Its research covers the entire breadth and complexity of linguistic education: It focuses on the chain of effects from research to the training and continuing education of specialists and teachers, the framework conditions in the various educational institutions, implementation in educational practice, and the effects on children and young people. The research focuses on linguistic learning and development processes, classroom research, and teacher training and professionalization. The project teams use both qualitative and quantitative methods and are interdisciplinary. The institute also offers research-based services.

Development: The Mercator Institute advises educational actors on the basis of scientific findings relating to development and implementation processes, e.g. curricula or for the realization of language education concepts. In doing so, its objective is to help initiate systemic changes that will allow consistent language education standards to be maintained throughout all educational stages and institutions.

Professional Development: When it comes to staff development of educators in nursery schools, schools and adult education, the Mercator Institute cooperates with institutions at a regional and national level so as to develop and implement staff development concepts. Due to time constraints and the considerable need for continuing education, educators are increasingly calling for training courses that can be adapted to their individual schedules. This is why the Mercator Institute is also developing digital learning opportunities that combine independent learning with digital materials and face-to-face classes.

Transfer: There are many different stakeholders in language education: from the organizations that run child and youth welfare services, to nurseries and schools, and to ministries and authorities at the local and state level. Through its publications and events, the Mercator Institute promotes the transfer of good practice and scientific findings to education policymakers, education authorities and the educational institutions themselves. In addition, it is available to journalists as a point of contact for topics relating to language education. Current research into topical and socially relevant questions of language education is analysed and then made available in a variety of formats – from short basic knowledge and fact checks to detailed studies and expert reports.

Promotion of young researchers: At the Mercator Institute, there are various measures to promote young researchers. These include AcadeMI, a network of young researchers who meet in a self-coordinated manner and at regular intervals to promote peer exchange at the Mercator Institute and to support each other in their own qualification. Among other things, they organize workshops that all young researchers can profitably use for their work, and they are involved in the implementation of the annual Young Researchers Conference. Within the framework of AcadeMI, some staff members have joined together to form four internal research groups dealing with the topic of multilingualism and vocabulary. In addition, there is a mentoring program.

Research Data at the Mercator Institute:

The Research Database “Lernertexte” (FD-LEX) provides educational researchers access to over 6,200 texts by students of various ages that were collected in different writing projects. Transcripts and handwritten originals as well as anonymized metadata of the participants can be used for own research projects.