Organisation & Structure

Our operational principles are set out in our Articles of Association. To enable us to fulfil our mission, we receive an annual budget of 150 million euros, which will be provided by the federal government until 2023 and by the federal and state governments as of 2024. The annual spending plan is included under the federal government’s budget legislation.

We are governed by a Bund-Länder-Gremium (Federal-State Committee) comprised of representatives of the federal and state ministries responsible for higher education and science.

The Federal-State Committee takes advice on strategic issues from an independent, external Scientific Advisory Board comprised of internationally recognised experts and, where necessary, other committees.

There are also a number of Project Selection Committees for the various funding lines, which are staffed by renowned experts from universities and the scientific community, students, and federal and state representatives.

Three Executive Board members have been appointed to run the organisation. The Executive Board and the Innovation Board perform their duties on a full-time basis, whereas the Science Board works part-time. The Executive Board has legal authority to represent the Foundation both internally and externally.

The Executive Board is supported by the Office Team.

Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre operates under the auspices of Toepfer Stiftung gGmbH, which is a subsidiary of the Hamburg-based non-profit organisation Alfred Toepfer Stiftung F.V.S.. There is no direct legal relationship between Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre and the gGmbH’s proprietary shareholder, the Alfred Toepfer Stiftung F.V.S.