FIZ Karlsruhe has been involved in policy advising for a number of years, providing its expertise in information infrastructure and the importance of patent information to assist in the development of effective research and technology policy.

Information Infrastructure

In 2009 the Joint Science Conference (GWK) entrusted the Leibniz Association with investigating the future of Germany's information infrastructure. The development and formulation of an infrastructure model was undertaken by the committee for "The Future of the Information Infrastructure" (KII), and the model was submitted as scheduled in 2011 to the Joint Science Conference. Sabine Brünger-Weilandt, the President and CEO of FIZ Karlsruhe, is the steering committee representative for the Leibniz Association for Information Infrastructure and directs the KII committee as its chairperson.

Following submission of the model, Mrs. Brünger-Weilandt joined the German Science Council's Coordinating Group on Information Infrastructure as a permanent guest. In mid-2012, the German Science Council published its report "Recommendations for the further development of scientific information infrastructure in Germany through 2020," which incorporated a number of major points from the KII proposal. At the end of November 2012, the GWK initiated an Ad-hoc Working Group on Information Infrastructure for the purpose of establishing an Information Infrastructure Advisory Council. Mrs. Brünger-Weilandt was one of only three experts appointed to serve on the ad-hoc working group.

FIZ Karlsruhe aims to expand its policy advising activities in the area of the information infrastructure at the national level, and over the medium to long term, at the European level as well.

Additional current activities:

At the national level in Germany, we have been involved in the Digital Information Initiative as part of the Alliance of German Scientific Organizations since 2008. We are actively participating in the initiative as a member of the steering committee, as co-chairs of the National Hosting Strategies working group, and as members of the Virtual Research Environments and Research Data working groups.

At the German state level, since 2012 we have been a member of the e-Science Working Group of the Baden-Württemberg's Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts. The focus of the working group is to conduct additional research on information infrastructure, as exemplified by the KII working paper. Staff members from FIZ Karlsruhe have been appointed to two of the five working groups that were formed.

The Importance of Patent Information

Since 2012, FIZ Karlsruhe has been participating at the national level for the first time in the "Innovation Dialogue Between the Federal Government, Business, and Science" organized by Acatech, the German National Academy of Science and Engineering. The Innovation Dialogue features prominent federal officials, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, Federal Minister of Research Johanna Wanka,  and Federal Minister of Economics Phillip Rösler. It is being used by the federal government as a forum for independent expert discussion on ways to foster successful research and innovation. FIZ Karlsruhe has contributed its specific expertise concerning the importance of patent information in the Asian context, specifically in the form of expert interviews for the dossier "The International Dimension of German Innovation Policy as it Relates to Asia." The German government plans to continue the Innovation Dialogue in 2013.
Please find additional information in German at the Innovation Dialogue homepage.