Appeal to politics: proposals for the future of science in Germany

Independent science and innovation in dialogue with society must be promoted and effectively represented in the face of global partners and competitors: these are some of the demands made by the Alliance of Scientific Organizations on policy in the run-up to the Bundestag elections. Politicians must determine the course of the future of the science sector.

“We have to set ambitious goals for where the German flag should be located in 2025,” said Professor Dorothea Wagner, Chair of the Science Council and current spokesperson for the Alliance of Scientific Organizations. “Science cannot determine this path alone, but only in cooperation with political and other social actors.”

The coalition is concerned with seven areas of action in which politicians demand:

• The freedom and openness of research must be promoted, and for this purpose administrative obstacles must be removed.
• International cooperation should be supported by more overlap between European education and research and innovation policy and by providing framework conditions for successful cooperation and mobility projects.
• The scientific system must become more flexible and participatory. The prospects for long-range planning and clear structures are important for this.
• Scientific communication should be further developed and the dialogue between science and policy strengthened; For this, scientific expertise must be systematically and transparently included in the political process.
• Digital transformation must move forward, which requires continuous investments in digital infrastructure. The country must enable the controlled use of personal data for research purposes and the creation of data donations.
• Transparent and permeable career paths are required.
• By 2025, at least 3.5 percent of GDP should be used for research and development (R&D) through public and private spending in order to be able to compete with other countries.

The Alliance of Scientific Organizations is the merger of scientific organizations in Germany. In addition to the Science Council, which took the lead for 2021, there are other members: the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the German Academic Exchange Service, the German Research Foundation, the Fraunhofer Society, the Helmholtz Society and the German Rectors. Congress, the Leibniz Society, the Max Planck Society and the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. The common position of the Alliance of Scientific Organizations is Can be viewed online.