des Wissenschaftszentrums Berlin für Sozialforschung
P 94 - 403
Problems o f Integration o f Newly-Founded 'Blue List' Research Institutes in the N ew F ederal States
Marion Höppner
Revised and expanded paper for the EASST Conference on Science, Technology and Change: New Theories, Realities, Institutions
in Budapest / Hungary from 28th to 31st August 1993
Berlin, October 1994
Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung gGmbH (WZB) Reichpietschufer 50, 10785 Berlin
Tel.: 030/30 874 238/ -231
Contents
Abstract / Zusam m enfassung...5
1. Foreword: The transfer o f institutions in the field o f non-university research... 7
2. Structural singularities o f the non-university research sector in the new federal states... 8
3. Integrating East German Blue List institutes into the German scientific landscape - A research project... 10
3.1. Subject and go al... 10
3.2. Approach... ... ... ... ...11
4. The Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. institutes - Some interim findings o f empirical investigations... 12
4.1. The institutes' scientific profile... ... ...13
4.2. Internal integration problems o f the institutes...,...14
4.3. External integration problems o f the institutes... ...18
5. Concluding rem arks... ... 21
References... ... ... 23
A ppendix 1: Case study selection for the research project "Integration o f East German Blue List Institutes in the German Scientific Landscape"... ... ...25
Abstract
In the course o f the unification o f the two German states, a far-reaching 'institutional transfer' has taken place from West to East, i.e. a transfer o f West German models to the new federal states in the East. This transfer o f institutions has made the greatest progress in the field o f state-financed non-university research, the sector o f the former scientific academies o f the GDR. However, this does not mean, that the result has carried with it an adequate transfer o f West German conditions. In addition to the radical reduction o f personnel strength (down to approx, one third o f the former level), structural differences in relation to the old federal states have appeared which are in some cases very serious. This can already be empirically demonstrated on both the macro and meso-levels, and presumably also gives rise to distinctive features on the micro-level o f the individual research group. This raises the question how the integration o f East German research resources into the overall German scientific landscape is actually taking place.
Since the beginning o f 1994, this issue has been the subject o f a research project supported by the German Research Association (DFG) examining the example o f the newly-established 'Blue List' research institutes in East Berlin. This contribution presents interim results o f the empirical investigations in selected institutes.
Zusammenfassung
Im Zuge der deutsch-deutschen Vereinigung kam es in der Wissenschaft zu einem weitgehendem "Institutionen-Transfer" von West nach Ost, d.h. zu einer Übertragung bundesdeutscher Modelle auf die neuen Bundesländer. Am weitesten fortgeschritten ist dieser Institutionentransfer im Bereich der staatlich finanzierten außeruniversitären Forschung, dem Bereich der ehemaligen wissenschaftlichen Akademien der DDR. Dies bedeutet jedoch keine adäquate Übertragung westdeutscher Bedingungen. Neben dem radikalen Abbau von Personal (auf ca. ein Drittel des ursprünglichen Umfangs) kam es zur Herausbildung von Strukturen, die sich z. T. erheblich von denen der alten Bundesländer unterscheiden. Dies läßt sich auf der Makro- sowie Mesoebene bereits jetzt empirisch belegen und führt vermutlich auch zu Besonderheiten auf der Mikroebene der einzelnen Forschungsgruppen.
Daraus ergibt sich die Frage, wie sich die Integration ostdeutscher Forschungspotentiale in die gesamtdeutsche Wissenschaftslandschaft tatsächlich vollziehen wird.
Seit Beginn des Jahres 1994 geht ein durch die DFG gefördertes Forschungsprojekt dieser Fragestellung am Beispiel neugegründeter Forschungsinstitute der "Blauen Liste" in Ostberlin nach. Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt Zwischenergebnisse der empirischen Untersuchungen in ausgewählten Instituten vor.
1. F oreword: The transfer o f institutions in the fie ld o f non-university research1
As from 31st December 1991, the institutes o f the Academy o f Sciences (AdW ) were dissolved. This was pursuant to article 38 o f the Unification Treaty, which provided for:
- Separation o f the Scientists Society and the research institutes o f the A cadem y o f Sciences, the decision on continuing the Scientists Society being made a matter o f state law;
- The continued existence o f the research institutes and other institutions o f the Academ y o f Sciences until 31 December 1991 as federal state institutions on the basis o f transitional financing by the Federal Government;
- Assessment o f publicly sponsored facilities by the Science Council w ith the aim o f preserving efficient research resources and adapting them to the research structures shared with the Federal Republic;
- The application o f Federal German research promotion methods and programmes in East German research institutions as quickly as possible. (Unification Treaty 1990) Already in July 1990, before the Unification Treaty had been adopted, the Science Council had, on the request o f the Federal Government, the state governments and the government of the German Democratic Republic, stated its willingness to assess non-university research facilities on the territory o f the GDR (Wissenschaftsrat 1991, Vorbemerkungen, p. 2). For the purpose o f carrying out this assessment, the Council set up an evaluation committee, nine w orking groups w ith a disciplinary or academy-specific orientation, as well as a cross-section w orking group on environmental research. While the evaluation committee was concerned w ith co-ordination, the various working groups had the task to 'visit the institutes, evaluate the quality o f scientific work done there and to submit organizational and structural recommendations on the continuation o f research w ork considered worthy o f support' (W issenschaftsrat 1991 a, p. 7). Not individuals were to be evaluated but research institutes and w orking groups or subject groups established in these institutes. A total o f about 200 experts from Germany and abroad were engaged for this evaluation project. Approximately three-quarters o f them came from the old federal states.
W ith the adoption o f the Science Council opinions in July 1991, this process was essentially at an end. In addition to a generally favourable assessment o f research w ork done in the natural sciences, the expert opinions made recommendations on the institutional restructuring o f favourably assessed research resources, i.e. on the new establishment o f research groups or research facilities on West German lines.
1 The science-policy decision-making processes relating to the transfer o f institutions in the non-university research sector o f the new federal states have already been comprehensively treated. (See inter alios M ayntz 1994, Over/Tkocz 1993, Gl%oser 1992, K ru ll 1992, Stucke 1992, Evaluation ... 1990). For this reason we w ill only be dealing w ith a few key points in this context.
Founding committees were set up for all institutes. These commitees were established by the respective states in co-ordination with the Federal Minister for Research and Technology, and composed o f scientists from different states o f the Federation, but also from abroad. Their task was to elaborate formation concepts - taking account o f the Science Council recommendations contained in the general section o f the expert opinions submitted - which would lay down the main course o f development for the new institutes. The founding committees had to w ork under considerable pressure, since the transitional financing to be furnished by the Federal Government for Academy o f Sciences institutes under Article 38 o f the Unification Treaty was to expire on 31 December 1991 without the prospect o f renewal.
In a matter o f only a few weeks and months, all the necessary decisions on the future substantial and formal structures as well as important personnel decisions had to be made.
On 1 January 1992, a whole series o f research institutes on West German lines were founded in the new federal states, including 34 'Blue List' institutes.2
2. Structural singularities o f the non-university research sector in the new fed era l states
As a consequence o f the institutional transfer described above, structures came into being in non-university research in the new federal states that were different from those existing in the old federal states. On the macro level, this was concerned firstly with a marked shift in the importance o f the individual research organizations in favour o f the 'Blue List' (see Fig. 1), and secondly with far-reaching changes in pitsrofile (see Fig. 2). About 80 % o f the former Academy research personnel recommended by the Science Council for further support were allocated to the 'Blue List'. Through the disproportionate growth in the new federal states it has almost doubled its workforce. Its total financing grew to more than DM 1 billion per annum, thus almost equalling that o f the Max Planck Gesellschaft (Schlegel 1993). The other research organizations enjoyed comparatively modest growth. Not least o f all, this was due to variously motivated 'avoidance strategies' among West German research-policy actors (Stucke 1992). The Federal Government wanted particularly to avoid financial commitments, therefore seeking to keep the number o f large research establishments as low as possible, these receiving 90 % o f their money from the government. The large science organizations Max Planck Gesellschaft and Frauenhofer Gesellschaft wanted primarily to avoid the establishment o f competing organizations and to preserve their own autonomy.
2 Blue L ist' facilities are generally financed fifty - fifty by the Federal Government and the government o f the state where the particular institution is located. Besides research institutes, the 'Blue L is t' includes also a number o f service fa cilities fo r research (e.g. libraries, museums, inform ation centres). In contrast to the M ax Planck Gesellschaft, Frauenhofer Gesellschaft, and large research establishments, they cannot be characterized in terms o f a special type o f research but only in accordance w ith form al criteria.
Fig. 1: Ratio on staff in non-university research and development in the old and new federal states by type o f research institution (Source; Meske 1993, p. 21)
The nature o f the 'Blue List' has also fundamentally changed. Before German unification, it was composed o f 16 institutes in the fields o f the natural sciences, engineering, and medical science, 15 institutes in the fields o f the humanities and social sciences, and 15 research service facilities (see Hohn/Schimank 1990, p. 141). By contrast, the institutes founded in the new federal states and in East Berlin were for the most part mathematical, natural and environmental science institutes. The functional spectrum ranges from institutes predominantly oriented on basic research via establishments integrating basic and applied research to service institutions with their own application-oriented research facilities.
Fig. 2: Scientist positions in the Blue List institutes in the old an new federal states by discipline or functional profile (Source: Wissenschaftsrat 1993)
The increased weight o f the 'Blue List' in non-university research has given it new development opportunities. As the same time, a completely new competitive situation has arisen in the German scientific landscape, which gives rise to the expectation o f consequences for the status quo in existing science organizations, and also for the development o f individual newly-established institutes in East Germany.
3. Integrating E ast German Blue L ist institutes into the German scientific landscape - A research project
3.1. Subject and goal
Since the beginning o f 1994, a project o f the Research Group 'Science Indicators' at the Berlin Science Center for Social Research (WZB) has been looking into the integration o f newly established East German Blue List institutes into the German scientific landscape.
In this context, integration is conceived as an extremely complex process. It includes on the one hand, the achievement o f the capacity to act - the 'process o f becoming an actor' o f each individual institute (i.e., its internal integration) and on the other hand, the emergence o f stable scientific and science-policy networks (i.e., its external integration). Both are dependent on specific cognitive, social, and organizational conditions, especially in the form o f intra-and inter-organizational actor constellations.
The goal o f the project is to discover how the intra-and inter-organizational processes o f generating and using the capacity for acting leads to the - presumable specific - integration o f a Blue List institute into the new scientific landscape (Meske 1993 a).
W ithin the framework o f an accompanying analysis o f transformation and integration processes in selected newly-established research institutes, two issues in particular are to be examined:
- the organizational-sociological question of the conditions and processes o f formation o f a new institute as an independent actor, and
- the science-sociological question of the interaction between organizational development and the development of a research profile.
A t the present time we have the rare opportunity to investigate these questions through a comparative analysis o f the birth and profile formation o f a whole series o f institutes subject under approximately the same general conditions.
3.2. Approach
The empirical investigation o f the above-mentioned issues takes the form o f case studies.
They tackle the following complexes o f variables: internal institutional development, environmental acting and environmental relationships o f the institute, and the integration of the institute in the scientific landscape as a special system o f environmental relationships (see. Fig. 3).
Fig. 3: Variable complexes for the empirical investigations
Starting with a general characterization o f all 34 newly established Blue List institutes in the new federal states and East Berlin and preparatory conversations with the directors o f the eight new East Berlin institutes, four o f these establishments were chosen for detailed case studies (the selection criteria are outlined in appendix 1). This was preceded by the
formulation o f plausible assumptions on possible factors influencing the internal and external integration o f the new institutes. The goal o f case-study selection was to achieve as broad a spectrum as possible with respect to the properties of these factors.
The empirical investigations that are currently being carried out predominantly take the form o f qualitative interviews w ith institute directors, heads o f divisions or research groups, individual scientists, and with science-policy actors external to the institute (such as members o f evaluation commissions and founding committees as well as government representatives).
For each group o f actors, structured interview outlines were elaborated.
A number o f interim findings o f the empirical studies on the newly established East Berlin Blue List institutes are now to be presented. Better to illustrate the current integration problems, we will resort to interview statements by the institute directors and heads o f division who have already been interrogated.
4. The Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. institutes - Some interim findings o f empirical investigations
A fter the Science Council had evaluated non-university research institutions in the eastern half o f Berlin, eight institutes were recommended for joint sponsorship by the Federal Government and the State o f Berlin in the 'Blue List'. The institutes were admitted to the 'Blue List' on 1 July 1991 and 4 November 1991. Like other institutes in the new federal states they were officially founded on 1 January 1992.
The Federal Government, the Government o f Berlin and the eight chairmen o f the founding committees o f these institutes established the 'Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V.' (Berlin Research Association) on 21 November 1991 (Forschungsverbund 1992). The basis for this registered association was the formulation o f interests shared by the eight new institutes, 'characterized by the common administration as service facility, and, for example, joint representation vis-ä-vis the sponsors, the universities, or the science-policy public' (Fabich 1993, p. 2-3). One not unimportant factor contributing to the formation o f the Association, not to mention purely practical administrative problems such as the pressure o f time in concluding employment contracts, was certainly the sponsoring authorities' wish to deal with one instead o f eight separate organizations.
The newly established institutes have many common characteristics, such as their origin in the Academy o f Sciences, allocation to the 'Blue List', and the natural-science orientation o f the research they engage in. But there are also differences in their scientific profile (e.g.
discipline, research subjects and methods) and in their starting conditions at the time o f formation. Taking these common features and differences into account, systematic variations among institutes are to be expected regarding the ongoing processes o f internal and external
integration,. These variations are particular interest for the inquiries being conducted within the framework o f our research project.
W e now turn to the first results o f our empirical investigations. We focus on describing the structural particularities o f the East Berlin Blue List institutes and on locating the related and possibly consequent problems they face in internal and external integration. This is preceded by a brief discussion o f the processes o f scientific differentiation of the institutes.
4.1. The institutes' scientific profile
The founding concepts for the new institutes laid down key elements for their development.
W ith regard to scientific profile, these stipulations concerned the orientation towards basic or applied research, and on the research and application fields the institute in question was to engage in. However, the scientific profiles o f the new institutes have not yet been conclusively established. Even where entire institute nuclei could be taken over following positive Science Council assessment, internal changes (through the new establishment and changes in staff) and external mutations (because o f changes in the scientific landscape) in substantial profile have occurred or are to be expected. This is particularly true for institutes that are highly heterogeneous with respect to institutional and personnel origins and thus in their research traditions.
The degree o f change in scientific profile varies considerable from institute to institute and from division to division. It ranges from almost complete continuity to complete change in research topics and subjects.
A part from determining the fields o f research in which to engage, establishing a functional profile for the institutes with regard to basic and applied research is decisive for their consolidation and integration. The majority o f Academy o f Sciences predecessor institutes had traditionally sought to combine basic and applied research (see Forschungsbericht 1993).
Both the recommendations o f the Science Council and the foundation concepts for the institutes generally stipulate a more pronounced emphasis on basic research. This caused and continues to cause problems - proportional to the degree o f change required - for the scientists transferred from Academy of Sciences facilities:
W e ll, to begin w ith I found it d iffic u lt to cope - especially because in itia lly the direction was absolutely towards basic research. Because before we had really only, or almost only done applied research ... And suddenly this complete turnabout. And you always ask yourself what importance i t has in practical terms. W e'd always somehow known there's someone o r an enterprise w ith some problem o r other and you then ju st tackle it. (Scientist, Institute 5)
O vernight the institute had to completely abandon its links w ith industry, because the Science C ouncil had said we should become a basic research institute. And naturally that's not an easy th ing to do. (Head o f d ivision, Institute 1)
The basic or applied orientation o f research carried out in the newly established East Berlin Blue List research institutes covers a wide spectrum. There are institutes that could be characterized as belonging to the 'Max-Planck type', and others where the linkage between basic research and applied research is more strongly cultivated in the Academy o f Sciences tradition. This affects the choice o f research topics and subjects, cooperative relationships, and the competitive situation in which the institutes find themselves with the results o f their research activities and in seeking third-party funds.
In the final resort, it is thus a matter o f establishing 'domains' in the sense o f specific fields o f research and application occupied by the respective institute.
To begin w ith i t was sim p ly an important task to find the gaps. Where were the unoccupied areas and where was the interest on the part o f industry to have this done? ... Oh yes, we were often uncertain. W e often had no idea whether we were on course. Perhaps we were entering a fie ld that was already completely occupied? (Head o f division, Institute 3)
It should also be noted that the scientists coming from Academy o f Sciences institutes find themselves confronted not only by the necessity of rapidly establishing a scientific reputation, but at the same time - and closely related to this - by changes in the manner in which they do their research, caused by the new general framework given by the new science system, and by the considerably improved material/technical equipment. The former West German founding director o f an East Berlin Blue List institute had this to say:
A nd what's more, the pace o f w o rk is quite different. When you've got really old equipment where you have to do a lo t o f things b y hand, then you've a lo t more tim e now. Nowadays w ith modern measuring instruments vast amounts o f data are produced in a very short tim e, that you have to process, you have to f i t these data in to quite specific experiments, models, explanations, and then you go on to the next one. This whole pace o f things has changed completely ... They're really good scientists and highly qualified. It's naturally o nly the w ay in w hich you can correctly arrange the results you obtain, and then sell them. Producing publications, going to conferences - they weren't that used to it. (Institute director, Institute 7)
4.2. Internal integration problems of the institutes
Internal integration, as a process o f gaining the capacity to act or the attainment o f actor status by the newly established Blue List institutes, is far from completed. Neither the scientific profile nor the social and formal structures can yet be described as stable. As first empirical findings show, however, there are differences in the degree o f progress made in this direction. This is attributable particularly to the differences in the institutional and personnel roots o f the institutes.
The institutes in the ’Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V.' come for the most part from Academy o f Sciences predecessor institutions. In some cases were adopted individual scientists; in
others, groups o f various sizes were taken in the new institute. With reference to the former Academy o f Sciences structures, these were research groups, divisions, or departments. In exceptional cases entire institutional nuclei were taken over. Figure 4 shows three basic types o f relations between the predecessor institutions and the present Blue List institutes.
Type
1 Uniting individual scientists and/or
groups from two or three different predecessor institutions
Type 2
Take-over o f entire institute nuclei (exception)
Type
3 Splitting up o f Academy institutes into
various new groups or institutions
c k T •
Fig. 4: Basic types o f relations between newly established Blue List institutes and predecessor institutions
Type 3 shown in Figure 4 occurs most frequently in combination w ith Type 1. Particularly interesting for the empirical studies are Type 3 cases, where several Blue List institutes emerged from one Academy predecessor.
The ongoing case studies on four East Berlin institutes include all three basic types:
Institute 1 Institute 2 Institute 3 Institute 4
Type 2
Take-over o f an A d W institute nucleus (Staff cuts in comparison to predecessor institute, o n ly one research group was discontinued)
Type 1 (2)
U n itin g groups and ind ivid ua l scientists from tw o different A d W predecessor institutions
Type 1 (3)
U nitin g groups from three different predeces
sor institutions, o f which only tw o were A d W facilities
Type 3
One A d W predecessor institutio n gave b irth to, inter alia, tw o new Blue L is t institutes in which
both groups and
individuals were taken over.
On this basis it can be presumed that the processes o f internal integration in Type 2 institutes, where staff has worked for years or decades in largely stable research contexts, will run quite differently from integration in institutes that are heterogeneous in origin. But dynamic development can also be expected within Type 2 institutes.
In the coming section we will deal with some particularities in the staffing structure o f the newly established Blue List institutes and the possibly related integration problems they face.
Like all other Blue List institutes, the new research facilities dispose o f secure basic financing, and thus o f a certain number o f established posts. However, the workforce in the institutes at present exceeds by far the number o f such positions. This is not necessarily unusual, but the financing structure for additional posts (especially for scientists) differs from that in W est German Blue List institutes. Four o f the total o f eight East Berlin institutes receive funding from the so-called 'Reinforcement Fund' ('Verstärkungsfonds'). This consist o f supplementary public funds allocated by the Federal and State Governments.
In a certain sense they represent a substitute for the 'normal' third-party funds (from, for example, the German Research Association or industry) not available at the moment but which the institutional profile concept anticipates. The Reinforcement Fund permits the institutes to finance additional jobs. However, this funding is available only for a limited period from 1992 to 1996. Moreover, allocation is degressive, i.e., each year the institutes have to replace 20 % o f the originally available reinforcement funding by third-party finance.
To judge by the current level o f third-party funds acquisition, and if the estimates o f institute directors and divisional heads are accurate, the institutes concerned will succeed in only exceptional cases in completely substituting reinforcement funding by 1996. If this comes about, the total num ber o f jobs could in the worst case be cut back to the level o f the publicly financed staffing schedule.
Age structure of institute staff
The average age o f employees in new Blue List institutes is relatively high. The group o f efficient 30 to 40 year-old scientists with doctoral degrees as well as the younger generation are particularly poorly represented. This asymmetry was already marked in the Academy o f Sciences predecessor institutions. But it was aggravated by the fact that precisely representatives o f these groups transferred to West German institutes, abroad, or also to innovative firms. By contrast, the group o f 45 to 58 year-old scientists is overrepresented (see Fig. 5).
6%
Fig. 5: Age-structure o f staff o f Blue List institutes in the 'Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V.' (Source: Bund-Länder-Kommission 1993)
This age structure brings problems with it, especially in view o f the reorientation o f research that has taken place or is in course. A head o f division put it this way:
Some fields o f w o rk have been abandoned ... And although the people w orking in these areas were very competent and have a noteworthy list o f publications to their names, the most d iffic u lt th ing fo r them at present is to make a complete sh ift from F IE LD A 3 to F IE L D B. 52 o r 55 year-old scientists are schoolboys some o f the time. A nd in science that's really fatal. Either you're in the role at 30 - already a competent expert and not an apprentice or newcomer, o r its sim ply too late. L u c k ily we're not yet being measured b y these rigorous standards. But in two years' tim e we can expect that the confusion fro m the p o litic a l upheaval w ill no longer be a fa c to r... (Head o f division, Institute 1)
It appears to be a specific feature o f newly-established Blue List institutes that staff social interests constitute an independent criterion for specifically scientific decisions and in filling scientist vacancies. This was at least explicitly stated or implied by institute directors and divisional heads in the East Berlin institutes being investigated:
A high proportion o f the scientists are in their late 40s or early 50s. For them the B e rlin labour market is closed. So one can't sim ply shake hands and close the door on them. For a b rie f period this was possible after the revolution, but no longer. And besides all the scientific w ill and restructuring and adjustments and whatever, there's always a social responsibility, that one as head has, that can't be ignored, i t can't sim ply be shrugged o ff. To say science is the absolute centre o f things, and whatever i t costs we're going to get ourselves up to standard, you can certainly do that in a M ax Planck institute in the old federal states, but at the present tim e you can't in the new federal states. And on the whole that's really the general opinion here in the institute among divisional heads o r heads o f research groups (Head o f division, Institute 1).
This specific role played by social interests in making decisions on filling vacancies in the scientific sector is, however, presumably a transitional phenomenon that will diminish in importance as time passes.
The 'East-Westpersonnel mix':
In the process o f reorganizing the non-university research sector in the new federal states, the science-policy actors at the federal and state levels sought to achieve a mix o f staff from East and West in the new institutes. At the present time, however, there are considerable differences between institutes in the degree to which this has been attained. The 10 % benchmark figure for W est German participation in total staff has generally not been reached.
This statement must, however, be relativized if one looks at the ratio o f scientists from the old federal states to total scientific staff. Since the positions held vacant have mostly been taken by scientists and not by technical staff from the old federal states, the Western share in scientific staff at some institutes has already reached 20 % and will increase further in the coming years.
3 To m aintain the anonym ity o f interview statements, the author has concealed certain terms in the fo llo w in g quotations, the relevant passages being written in capital letters.
Leading positions in all East Berlin Blue List institutes are occupied to a disproportionate degree by W est German scientists. The founding directors, in so far as they were appointed, originate w ithout exception from the old federal states. This is also true for the greater part o f heads o f division or working groups, and the trend is still rising.
Apart from the differing degree o f 'East-West mix' mentioned above, there are also differences between institutes in the way in which scientists from the old federal states were appointed. As a rule, new appointments were individual. But in some cases whole groups or specialties from the old states were integrated into the institutes.
The institute directors and divisional heads interviewed frequently point to differing research traditions, experience, and socialization among scientists from East and West, especially to differences in basic and applied research orientation:
W e ll, w anting to keep the applied orientation is naturally widespread. A nd 1 fin d it quite right, because an institute that engages only in absolutely basic research comes to the p oint when it's completely in the clouds ... The R ESEAR C H A R E A we are engaged in is in so far basic research, but one has a very clear idea in the back o f one's head ju st w hy we're really doing it - and you have to have that. To this extent, w anting to do basic research w ith an applied aspect is naturally very widespread - it's general among the staff. This is, I w ould say, a characteristic o f many GDR scientists fro m their development. It's a tradition. A n d I th in k it's a good th ing ... Although I get the impression that the colleagues, especially those w h o 'll come fro m the old federal states and have been formed in a quite different tradition, that they'll certainly be doing more purely basic research. (Head o f division, Institute 1)
The type and intensity o f intra-organizationai conflict is at present correspondingly varied, resulting as it does from, among other things, the differences between East and West German members o f the institutes.
4.3. External integration problems o f the institutes
External integration o f the newly established institutes in the sense o f the development o f stable scientific and science-policy networks is also still connected with a number o f problems.
The development of cooperative relationships:
The former scientific and non-scientific cooperative relationships maintained by the research groups taken over from the Academy have fundamentally changed. For one thing, changes in the research and application fields o f the institutes in question have necessarily involved changes in relationships o f cooperation; for another, the reorganization o f the East German scientific landscape and the decline o f the East German economy has affected the cooperative relationships o f former Academy scientists. This is particularly true o f contracts with industry and other relations with industrial research, which have largely foundered.
The formerly predominant scientific contacts with institutions in the form er COMECON countries have also been radically reduced. Upheaval in eastern European countries is only one o f the reasons for this, although one not to be underestimated. The fact that Academy scientists w ho had sustained these cooperative relations with eastern European partners in years o f personal contact are no longer employed in the new research institutes also plays a certain role in this respect. However, the new possibilities that have arisen or the pressure perceived by East German scientists to seek collaboration in research w ith W estern partners are o f decisive importance. This cooperation with the West has replaced relations with eastern European partners.
On the one hand it's necessary to make one's mark in the international scientific context, and nationally as w e ll. That has to be. Research is communication. So in the last resort research is permanent contact w ith other w o rkin g groups. That's part o f it, part o f development.
The o n ly problem is, in such a development phase it's absolutely v ita l on the one hand to catch up on what had been lacking in the past, especially w ith regard to the West; to get something g oing at a ll; but on the other hand there's the risk w ith a ll this cooperation o f dissipating one's energies and no longer being up to the jo b itself, you've only got one head and one pair o f hands. ... You can't go travelling round the w orld b u ild in g up cooperative networks and no more papers get produced. That's not on.
(Head o f division, Institute 5)
Relations w ith the Western scientific community are still being established. For this reason the new East German research institutes have problems due to inadequate external networking.
That was the b ig drawback: scientists from the GDR - at any rate those who hadn't yet managed to penetrate the establishment - had no foreign experience, and so we lacked essential partners to cooperate w ith . I f you want to get anywhere in international science, you have to w o rk together w ith people w ho know their w ay around. You have to know people who are on the e ditorial boards o f im portant periodicals, so that you can get w ork published, and you have to take a lo o k at how science is done elsewhere ... and collect inspiration. That's the process s till going on. (Head o f d ivision , Institute
1)
M oney alone isn't any use at all, you have to have contacts, and projects where you're really involved.
... To know the experts in the field, to 'belong', when a ll is said and done, is something you can't buy.
That's v ita l fo r your image ... And also as far as project applications are concerned, i t makes a difference who puts them in - that you get approached when there's a question o f cooperation. (Head o f division, Institute 3.)
A t present, integration o f scientists from the new facilities in the institutions o f the scientific communities and science-policy networks mainly concerns newly appointed staff from the old federal states. As a rule, they have kept existing contacts or cooperative relationships, and can in future have a mediating role to play for their East German colleagues. To some extent this is already the case.
At the same time, scientists from the former Academy o f Sciences institutes are endeavouring to improve their contacts and reputations through - mostly above average - participation in
conferences, meetings, and workshops as well as by taking up visiting positions and making study visits in Germany and abroad. This also permits them to gain pertinent information on current developments in their own fields.
Im portant developments - how the w ind is blow ing - can't be learnt from reading matter. ...That's why, but not the o n ly reason w hy we lik e to travel and do so relatively often. Especially to the international congresses or meetings where we believe important things happen in the fie ld ; there we hear what hasn't been published yet and what's being discussed. ... The sponsors and also our new director take a somewhat more c ritic a l view , ... The sponsors think it's m ostly tourism. A nd our new director is naturally so up on things that he no longer needs to go everywhere. He gets invited to such im portant events because he's firm ly established as part o f the scientific comm unity, w hich we aren't yet (Head o f division, Institute 1).
The lower degree o f integration into the decision-making processes o f the scientific communities (national and international) and science-policy networks in comparison to West German institutes presumably brings disadvantages for the newly established Blue List institutes, e.g. in the acquisition o f third-party funds, in representation on the editorial boards o f renowned periodicals, and in appointments to conference committees. This would in its turn affect the reputation o f the institutes etc. It is an open question how successful the institutes will be in breaking this vicious circle.
The development o f third-party funds acquisition
The capacity o f the newly established Blue List institutes to obtain third-party funds will be o f crucial importance in the process o f integrating into the German scientific landscape. The common dependence o f all German research institutions on limited resources, and the consequent competitive pressure constitutes a further source o f integration problems for the new East German institutes. So far they have been mitigated by special funding (Reinforcement Fund) for East German institutes, as well as by special development promotion programmes. These special arrangements will be expiring for the most part in 1996. The statistical data at present available on third-party fund acquisition by institutes and statements by the interviewees interrogated to date show that at least the East Berlin Blue List institutes w ill succeed only in exceptional cases in replacing this special funding through 'normal' third-party finance.
Third-party funds have hitherto been provided primarily by public sponsors such as the Federal Department o f Research and Technology (BMFT). Third-party funds obtained from sponsoring organizations (especially the German Research Association and various foundations) constitute a second, still growing, source o f finance. Because o f the problems described above, the proportion o f third-party funds coming from industry tends to be low.
The East Berlin Blue List institutes differ with respect to both the amount and structure o f their third-party funding (see Fig. 6)
Fig. 6: Third-party funding income o f institutes in the FVB e.V. in 1993 in DM 1.000 per scientist (Source: FVB e.V. 28 March 1994)
There is a wide variety o f reasons for this. First the given scientific profile o f the institute naturally determines the degree to which third-party funds can and must be obtained and from which sources. But on the other hand, the status and level o f consolidation achieved by the institutes and divisions plays an important role:
N aturally we have this basic financing to begin w ith. And that is what we now take as our guide.
Because I can't acquire third-party funds - not only me but also the members o f the d ivision - i f I'm in no w ay in a position to answer fo r a competent, internationally recognized lin e o f research and also to publish. A nd fo r this reason it's clear that so far we've only used and acquired very little third-party finance because this division is new and has only tw o years behind it .(Head o f division, Institute 5)
The amount and structure o f the third-party funds obtained will presumably have a considerable impact on the future development o f the institutional profile. Not least o f all because research groups or divisions that are particularly successful in acquiring third-party funds can consolidate their position in the institute and their reputation in the community.
However, a certain adaptation to existing support possibilities is to be expected.
5. Concluding remarks
The situation o f the newly established Blue List institutes we have described points to dynamic development in the coming years as well. One divisional head described the present situation o f the institutes as follows:
I th in k this is the most d iffic u lt thing that has to be achieved at the moment w ith the 'Reconstruction o f the East': On the one hand to continue to do good, very good, sometimes even excellent research; on the other to do everything necessary to build up an institute in its structure, in its equipment, in c lu d in g its premises, and also to ensure that there's enough money available, because not everything can be financed out o f the institute budget, and fin a lly to develop and cultivate cooperation.
W e don't have this balance that has developed over years or decades in the Western federal states. W e have to fin d sta b ility relatively quickly. That needs strength and energy. B u t everyone who has to go in this direction always knew that. A nd it's sure to be the case that not a ll institutions o r - I w o n 't say institutes - w ill make the grade. It isn't easy. (Head o f division, Institute 5)
The empirical inquiries conducted in the context o f the case studies for the project 'Integration o f East German Blue List Institutes into the German Scientific Landscape' are still at an initial stage and will be continuing.
At present interviews w ith institute scientists and with representatives o f the evaluation commissions and organization committees are being conducted. On the basis o f these interviews, the selected institutes can be characterized in terms o f their origins and progress towards consolidating and to establishing their institutional profile.
In a second round o f surveys and investigations, a comparative analysis will provide the basis for reasoned statements on the influencing factors and development trends in the integration of the newly established Blue List institutes into the German scientific landscape.
R e fe re n c e s
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Evaluation der Evaluation. In: Forum Wissenschaft 7 (1990) 4
Fabich, F. (1993): Der Forschungsverbund Berlin - Erfahrungen in einem Modell (Vortrag au f der 4.
M itgliederversammlung der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Forschungseinrichtungen Blaue Liste in Berlin- Adlershof am 12. Oktober 1993), unveröffentlichtes Manuskript, Berlin
Forschungsbericht (1993): Struktur und Funktionsweise der industrieorientierten Forschung an der Akademie der W issenschaften unter den forschungspolitischen Bedingungen der DDR.
Unveröffentlichtes Manuskript. Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung
Forschungsverbund Berlin e. V. (1994): Übersicht über die Drittmittelstruktur der Institute des FVB e.V. (Stand: 28. 3. 1994). Anlage an ein Schreiben vom Juli 1994
Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. (1993): Informationsmaterial Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V.
Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. (1992): Materialien zur Anhörung über die Blaue Liste im
W issenschaftsausschuß am 2. November 1992; Informationen zur Rechts und Organisationsform des Forschungsverbundes Berlin e.V., Berlin
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Hartmann, P. u.a. (1992): Auswertung von Fragebogen zum Stand der Neugründungen von Forschungseinrichtungen in den neuen Ländern und Berlin. Zentralarchiv für empirische Sozialforschung an der Universität Köln
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Akteurkonstellationen und Entwicklungspfade in der staatlich finanzierten außeruniversitären Forschung. In: Schriften des Max-Planck-Instituts für Gesellschaftsforschung, Köln, Bd. 7
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Mayntz, R. (1994): Deutsche Forschung im Einigungsprozeß: die Transformation der Akademie der W issenschaften der DDR 1989 bis 1992. Frankfurt am Main
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Veröffentlichungsreihe des WZB, P 93-401, Berlin
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Case sudy selection for the research project "Integration o f East German Blue List Institutes in the German Scientific Landscape
Newly established Blue L is t Institutes in East B e rlin Institute 1
Institute 2
Institute 3
Institute 4
Institute 5
Institute 6
Institute 7
Instituts 8
Size o f institute (rank) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Type o f relation to predecessor institutions Type 2 Type 3 Type 1
(2)
Type 1 (3)
Type 2 Type 2 Type 3 Type 3
Type o f take-over o f personnel from predecessor institutions (rather individual scientists = I, rather whole groups = G)
G G I G G G G (+ I) G ( + I)
Changes in the functional p ro file o f the institutes in comparison to predecessor institutions (basic research orientation = BO ; applied research orientation = AO ; integration o f basic and applied research orientation = IB A O )
a) predecessor institions;
b) new Blue L ist Institute
a) IB A O b) IB A O
a) IB A O b) BO
a) A O b) A O
a) IB A O b) IB A O
and a) A O b) IB A O
a) IB A O b) IB A O
a) AO b) IB A O
a) IB A O b) BO
a) A O / Develop.
b) A O
"East-West m ix"
a) On the level o f heads o f w ork groups/devisions (predominantly West German scientists = W ; predominantly East German scientists = E;
mixed = M )
b) In relation to entire institute (from old federal states p rim arily individuals = I; p rim a rily groups = G)
E
I
M
G
W
G
M
I
E
I
M
I
M
I
E
I Third-party funding
a) Reinforcement fund (degressive development o f reinforcement fund can presumably be compensated by acquisition o f third-party funds = C; can presumably not be compensated = N );
b) Third-party funding w ithout reinforcement fund (upward trend = U;
downward trend = D )
N
D
N
U D
N C
U
Selection fo r case studies X X X X
