Your experience on our website is key to advancing this platform - share your valuable insights by taking part in our online survey after your visit: Click here to participate. Duration: 7-10min.
Support making RiG more international!
Take part in our online survey at the end of your visit and share your valuable experiences and opinions. Duration: 7-10 min.
Germany’s non-university research institutions form a vital part of its internationally renowned research landscape. They conduct cutting-edge basic and applied research across a wide range of disciplines, often working at the intersection of science, industry, and society. These organizations complement the work of universities and contribute significantly to Germany’s innovation capacity and scientific excellence.
Below, you can learn more about the main pillars of this sector — including the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Helmholtz Association, Leibniz Association, Max Planck Society, the Academies of Sciences and Humanities, as well as federal and state research institutions.
Pillars of the German research sector
This overview highlights the key stakeholders within Germany’s science and research system.
The research organisations are grouped according to their type of funding – that is, the extent to which they are financed through public or private sources.
They are also categorised by their research focus, reflecting whether their work is primarily dedicated to basic research or applied research.
DAAD/Research in Germany
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Based in Germany, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is the world’s leading applied research organisation. It plays a crucial role in the innovation process by prioritising research in key future technologies and transferring its research findings to industry in order to strengthen Germany as a hub of industrial activity and to benefit society.
The 18 Helmholtz Centres conduct research on behalf of the state and society. For example, what resources will we use to generate our energy in the future? How can we make mobility climate-friendly? What therapies will help with previously incurable diseases? The goal is to secure the basis for human life in the long term and develop technologies for a competitive economy.
The Leibniz Association is the umbrella organisation under which 96 research institutions address scientific problems that have societal and international relevance. They are characterised by the great variety of their research topics in the humanities and social sciences, as well as in the natural and engineering sciences. Leibniz institutions, universities and industry partners work together on interdisciplinary issues in Leibniz Research Alliances, Leibniz Research Networks, Leibniz Labs and Leibniz ScienceCampi.
A physicist, Nobel prize winner and the founder of quantum physics, Max Planck was driven by a desire to research and understand. And this is precisely what the German research organisation that bears his name has made its guiding philosophy. The Max Planck Society has been very successful with its top-level basic research and has 31 Nobel Laureates among the ranks of its scientists.
This is where the leading scholars of our time work together on behalf of society to regularly discuss scientific questions of an interdisciplinary nature. The primary objective of the academies is to coordinate in particular long-term foundational research projects, to advise policy-makers and the general public on issues relevant to the future, and to promote interdisciplinary dialogue through symposia and other events.
Germany has 44 federal research institutions that focus specifically on research issues relevant to politics and government. Their scientists work on fundamental research projects and make up-to-date information available on a service-oriented basis. They compile forecasts to draw attention to future challenges at an early stage, or explore the effects of initiatives that have already been implemented. They therefore provide key scientific findings that Germany’s Federal Government needs for its decision-making processes.
Germany’s federal states also run research institutions. They provide advice to policymakers, pursue research projects and are responsible for activities required by law, such as approvals, testing and the laying down of regulations. Across Germany there are almost 140 state-level institutions covering a broad range of research areas.
