Scientific Commission Lower Saxony

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The Lower Saxony Scientific Commission (WKN) is an independent committee of experts that advises the Lower Saxony state government and scientific institutions on questions of science and research policy. The WKN was set up on a permanent basis in October 1997 on the basis of a cabinet decision and in coordination with the state university conference. The aim of the WKN is to strengthen the competitiveness of Lower Saxony as a science location in a national and international context.

tasks

The central tasks of the WKN are in the area of ​​quality assessment and quality assurance. Your work is divided into the following fields of activity:

Recommendations on science policy issues

One of the permanent tasks of the WKN is dealing with current science-political issues. This includes the analysis of political discussions and the positions of relevant actors on these topics as well as the assessment of their importance for the scientific landscape in Lower Saxony. For this purpose, the WKN sets up working or evaluation commissions whose reports are discussed by it and then adopted as a statement.

Subject-related research and structural evaluations

From 1999 to 2007, the WKN assessed almost all subjects represented at the universities in Lower Saxony with state-wide research evaluations. These systematic evaluations came to an end with the preparation of the last specialist interim reports on the implementation of the recommendations in 2013. The WKN then decided to no longer carry out subject-related research evaluations continuously, but rather on an ad-hoc basis. A monitoring system was developed for this purpose. The aim of this is to help ensure the quality of research across the board by regularly identifying development potentials and needs at the universities in Lower Saxony and initiating appropriate follow-up measures (usually evaluation of a specific discipline). From 2015 to 2017, an evaluation of research at universities of applied sciences was carried out for the first time since the WKN was founded.

Institute-related research and structural evaluations

In addition to subject-related evaluations, the WKN is dedicated to institutional assessments and the assessment of development concepts for individual or multiple institutions. These are event-related, as they affect one or more Lower Saxony scientific institutions in a specific planning or restructuring situation and are initiated by the institutions themselves or the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK). The aim of the appraisals is to improve the decision-making processes required for the further development of the institutions by the institutions themselves and also by politicians through recommendations from external experts in the sense of an impartial "outside perspective".

Assessment of applications for research funding and selection procedures

Since the foundation of the WKN, it has been one of its tasks to carry out appraisal procedures on behalf of the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK) for applications for funds from the Lower Saxony advance of the Volkswagen Foundation or other state funds, provided that the application volume exceeds EUR 250,000 or the planned projects of particular special interest are of structural importance for Lower Saxony as a science location. These are both applications for research funding, which can be submitted independently of topic-specific programs, as well as competitive tenders for specific topic areas.

Selection process for scientific prizes

The WKN carries out selection procedures for scientific prizes. Commissions made up of experts are set up for the competitive procedures. The result is transmitted to the respective awarding authority via the chairman of the WKN. The WKN has been entrusted with the selection of the North German Science Award since 2012 and the selection of the Lower Saxony Science Award since 2013.

Other: Transfer and networking

The WKN office ensures the transfer of the work results to the specialist public and a broader public through publications and networking with relevant institutions.

Members, coordination group and office

The WKN has seventeen members, eleven with voting rights and six with advisory functions. The voting members are renowned scientists who work outside of Lower Saxony and who together cover the broadest possible spectrum of the major fields of science (natural, engineering, life, social and human sciences). The advisory members are high-ranking representatives of Lower Saxony institutions from the fields of science, society / economy and politics. The current chairman of the WKN has been Ferdi Schüth , Director at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research since January 1, 2016 .

A coordination group coordinates the implementation of the assessment procedure and is responsible for ensuring that the standards of the procedure are met. It consists of the chairman of the WKN, two representatives of the State University Conference of Lower Saxony (LHK), two representatives of the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK) and, as a guest, the scientific director of the headquarters Evaluation and Accreditation Agency (ZEvA).

The commission is supported by an office with nine employees, which is headed by Secretary General Mathias Pätzold. The head office is in Hanover.

List of voting members

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ http://www.wk.niedersachsen.de/geschaeftsstelle/generalsekretaer/der-generalsekretaer-72406.html
  2. ↑ Members entitled to vote , accessed on April 29, 2020.