Organizational Structure of the MPIfG

 

 
The MPIfG is managed by two co-directors, Professor Jens Beckert and Professor Wolfgang Streeck. While they alternate being managing director every two years, they share responsibility for all decisions each takes regarding the research goals of the institute. Day-to-day operations are supervised by Jürgen Lautwein, the administrative director of the institute.
 
Having been chosen because of their outstanding reputation in the social sciences, the directors are free to decide which topics the institute will investigate. The institute is advised and rigorously evaluated by the Scientific Advisory Board, a group of leading international scholars that is continually kept abreast of research developments and meets every two years to conduct its evaluation. The Board of Trustees, made up of opinion leaders in government, the media, business and associations, meets annually at the institute and serves as an interface to the society at large. Further input into the research goals of the institute is gained from the semi-annual research meeting, where planning for the coming years is discussed among the directors and the research staff. The service staff attends the research meetings as well.
 
Operational goals at the institute are discussed in several committees. The functional committees addressing computing, the library, professional development, publications and the website are each chaired by a researcher and are made up of research and service staff. The institute's works council has substantial input into the relationship between the staff members and the directors. Its interactions with the directors are marked by a constructive approach and a spirit of mutual trust. Regular managerial meetings also facilitate communication. They include a monthly meeting of the managing director and the service group heads and a monthly management meeting of the committee chairs, service group heads, the head of the works council and the managing director. Members of the service units and the research staff have a high degree of autonomy in organizing their work environment, so that the directors only have to get involved at critical phases of the decision-making process.
 
In a three-year, on-the-job program accompanied by instruction at a vocational school, the MPIfG trains students to become certified office communication specialists and information systems specialists.