Heinze, Thomas and Jappe, Arlette (2026) Evidence-Based Policy Advice? The German Council of Science and Humanities. fteval Journal for Research and Technology Policy Evaluation (58). pp. 82-104. ISSN 1726-6629
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Abstract (english)
This article examines the evolving role of the German Council of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftsrat, WR) and assesses whether it can be regarded as an evidence-based advisory body. Drawing on historical, sociological, and organizational analyses, the paper traces how the WR’s mandate has shifted from post-war planning and federal coordination toward evaluation, accreditation, and support of national excellence policies. Despite these substantial changes, the WR’s committee structures – deeply embedded in Germany’s federal multilayered governance system – have remained largely unchanged. Three case studies illustrate the consequences of this institutional inertia: the 1968 recommendation to abolish professorial chairs, the 1988 proposal to expand structured doctoral training via graduate research schools, and the 2005/2012 selection decisions within the Excellence Initiative. The cases show that the WR’s recommendations were shaped by political consensus-seeking among federal and state executives and major non-university research organizations, leading to diluted reform proposals and limited systemic impact. The Excellence Initiative case further highlights legitimacy concerns, including extreme selectivity, path-dependent funding outcomes, and the persistence of structural size-based inequalities between universities. The article concludes that the WR primarily functions as a coordination and consensus-building body rather than an independent source of evidence-based policy advice. It argues that this arrangement fosters an “illusion of excellence”– a narrative suggesting substantial improvements in international competitiveness without commensurate structural or financial reforms. The article proposes establishing an independent expert council for higher education and science policy – potentially by expanding the mandate of the Expert Commission for Research and Innovation – to enable more rigorous, evidence-based policymaking for Germany’s university system.
| Subjects: | Policy, Fields & Systems Evaluation |
|---|---|
| Divisions: | Institution without fteval membership |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | German Council of Science and Humanities, Evidence-based policy, multilevel science and higher education governance, Historical Institutionalism, German excellence initiative |
| Identification Number: | 10.22163/fteval.2026.743 |
| Date Deposited: | 02 Jul 2026 15:26 |
| URI: | https://repository.fteval.at/id/eprint/819 |
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