The evaluation report and the Council’s recommendations were presented in Berlin today. In the Council’s opinion, the Foundation makes an indispensable contribution to the internationalisation of the German academic system; its importance would continue to grow, stated the Council, and its individual-focused funding programmes afforded the Foundation a unique position in Germany. The Council considers the continuation of the Foundation’s programmes essential in order to strengthen Germany as a location for research, raise the country’s international profile and increase its competitiveness. The individual and intensive support for its fellows, a trademark of the Foundation, has also proved successful, according to the Council, and should be maintained.
The Council’s opinion of the Foundation’s resources and the leeway it is afforded was more critical. The Council therefore recommended that the ministries funding the Foundation offer the Humboldt Foundation more leeway for flexible and independent action and refrain from micromanaging or making changes to the Foundation’s budget during the fiscal year. The Council was also in favour of increasing the Foundation’s budget annually and enabling it to increase the number of fellowships it offers.
The Council recommends that the Foundation maintain its strengths and expand its profile to target groups outside academia only sparingly, if at all. Regarding the Foundation’s global network of over 26,000 researchers, the Council recommends opening up cautiously to researchers not yet sponsored by the Foundation in order to reach new potential fellows and in particular to increase the proportion of female and junior researchers.
“We are very pleased with the extremely positive outcome of this evaluation. The report by the Council of Science and Humanities is an affirmation of our work; it spurs us on”, said Helmut Schwarz, President of the Humboldt Foundation. “We also welcome the constructive recommendations as to how we can further improve our work and strengthen our network; they encourage us in our plans for the future.” Helmut Schwarz also agrees with the recommendations to policy-makers for greater flexibility in the Foundation’s budget. “This will help us continue along the path on which we have already embarked, for example in the context of the Academic Freedom Act, with our partners at the ministries, and create better conditions for us to work effectively and efficiently”, said Schwarz.
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
Every year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation enables more than 2,000 researchers from all over the world to spend time researching in Germany. The Foundation maintains a network of well over 26,000 Humboldtians from all disciplines in more than 130 countries worldwide – including 50 Nobel Prize winners.
