Subproject 1: Logics of Marketization in German Science. The Helmholtz Association’s Program-Oriented Funding
- Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. Helmuth Trischler
- Researcher: Vanessa Osganian, M.A.
The introduction of program-oriented funding and the change in its governance structure in 2001 marked the preliminary end of a lengthy reform process within the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres. Instead of attributing discrete budgets to the individual Helmholtz Centres, public funds have since been channeled into six research fields and allocated in competition between the centres. That is the reason why the Helmholtz Association with its newly introduced program-oriented funding is a particularly fitting example to illustrate the interconnection between cooperation, competition, and commodification within the German science system.
Our project examines the debates on the Helmholtz Association’s institutional reorganization, the conflict-ridden process of introducing new governance mechanisms in German science and the reactions of the other members of the Alliance of Science Organisations to those fundamental changes in a historical perspective. The project focuses on the implementation of market logics in research funding and on its impact on collaborative and competitive patterns. Furthermore, we assume that external demands to intensify competition may cause a destabilisation of established epistemic cultures to which science responds with attempts to increase internal cooperation to re-stabilise the system.