Leibniz Association

The Leibniz Association (German: Leibniz-Gemeinschaft or Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz) is a union of German non-university research institutes from various branches of study.

In 2011, 87 non-university research institutes and service device for science belong to the Leibniz-Gemeinschaft. The fields range from natural science, engineering, and ecology, to economics, other social sciences, space science, and humanities. The Leibniz Institutes work in an interdisciplinary fashion, and connect basic and applied science. They cooperate with universities, industry, and other partners in different parts of the world. The "evaluation" of the Leibniz-Gemeinschaft is a benchmark for all institutes. The Leibniz Institutes employ 16,800 people and budget was €1.4 billion.

Leibniz Institutes are funded publicly to equal parts by the federal government and the Federal states (Bundesländer).

The Leibniz-Gemeinschaft is named after the German philosopher, mathematician, scientist, and inventor Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716).

The partnership evolved from the Blaue Liste (blue list) and partnerships of research institutions of the former DDR, whose research capability was deemed worth keeping after an evaluation by the German Wissenschaftsrat. The name 'Blaue Liste' for a German model for funding science has been retired, and traces back to the color of a dossier.

Leibniz-Gemeinschaft has its registered office in Berlin; there are branches in Bonn und Bruxelles. Since 2010 the sociologist Prof. Dr. Karl Ulrich Mayer is president of the Leibniz Association, Christiane Neumann acts as secretary general.

Evolution and Biodiversity at the Humboldt University Berlin

Since 1990, 34 Leibniz institutions created more than 110 innovative business start-ups with about 1,600 new jobs. When seen from the regional perspective, the New Federal Lands and Berlin account for about 75% of the business start-ups. Leibniz business start-ups are generating an annual turnover of more than 145 million euros. The high sustainability and quality of the business startups is mirrored in a low insolvency of less than 5 percent.

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