About the iFQ / Department 2 "Research System & Science Dynamics"

From 2005 to 2015, the Institute for Research Information and Quality Assurance (iFQ – Institut für Forschungsinformation und Qualitätssicherung) was a non-university organization for science studies located in Berlin (Germany). The iFQ provided information and analysis of developments and transformations in the German and international science system. It focused on conditions, prerequisites and consequences of research policy and research funding. The iFQ assisted and advised performers such as universities or research organizations as well as policymaking bodies on different administrative or governmental levels. The close interaction between research and service was a key element of the Institute's approach.

Projects were being implemented in the following four fields of activities:

• Evaluation and review processes;
• Indicators, methods, and bibliometrics;
• Monitoring the German and international science system;
• Young researchers and careers.

On January 1, 2016 the iFQ will continue its work as Department 2 "Research System & Science Dynamics" of the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (Deutsches Zentrum für Hochschul- und Wissenschaftsforschung, DZHW). The merger between iFQ and DZHW follows the recommendations of the German Council of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftsrat), as suggested in its Position Paper "Institutional Perspectives of the Empirical Higher Education and Science Studies in Germany", in April 2014 (WR, Institutionelle Perspektiven der empirischen Wissenschafts- und Hochschulforschung in Deutschland, April 2014), as well as the decision of the Joint Science Conference (Gemeinsame Wissenschaftskonferenz) in June, 2014. The merger aims at strengthening the Higher Education and Science Studies in Germany by creating a strong scientific infrastructure, namely a Research Centre with international reputation to represent and reinforce the societal impact of the Higher Education and Science Studies.

The German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW) conducts empirically driven research with practical applications in the fields of higher education and science studies. DZHW's research activities are rooted in theory and successfully inform policies and practices in the area of higher education. Much of the research conducted at DZHW is longitudinal, often taking on an interdisciplinary and internationally comparative perspective. DZHW considers itself to be a leading partner of the scientific community, shaping educational and science policies and providing services in the area of higher education.

To learn more about the DZHW, please click here.