Organisation & Structure
We allocate public funds in accordance with our foundation's mission
Our operational principles are laid down in our statutes. To enable us to meet our obligations, we receive an annual budget of €150m. Between 2021 and 2023, these funds will be raised solely by the Federal Government and from 2024 jointly by the Federal and State Governments. The annual spending plan is included in the Federal Government’s budget legislation.
We are controlled by a Federal-State Board (Bund-Länder-Gremium) which consists of expert representatives of the Federal and State departments responsible for higher education and research.
An independent, external Research Steering Committee with internationally renowned experts advises the various bodies including the Federal-State Board on strategic issues.
In addition, project selection committees are set up in the various funding projects and consist of renowned experts from higher education and academia (including students) as well as representatives of the Federal states and the Federal government.
A three-member Board of Directors was appointed to run the organisation. The Managing Director and the Innovations Director carry out their duties on a full-time basis, the Research Director is a part-time role. This Executive Board stands as legally-binding representation of the Foundation, both internally and externally.
The Board is supported by the office team.
Our operator, the Toepfer Stiftung gGmbH, is a subsidiary of the non-commercial Alfred Toepfer Stiftung FVS based in Hamburg. No direct legal relationships exist between the Foundation Innovation in Higher Education and the shareholder of the gGmbH, the Alfred Toepfer Foundation FVS.