Headline: Structure & Bodies

RIFS is a part of the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences) and receives institutional funding in accordance with the terms of the Helmholtz Association (HGF). The Institute independently pursues its research and advisory activities within the thematic framework of the Helmholtz Association’s Program-oriented Funding and the statutes of the GFZ and RIFS.

The Institute has its own Scientific Directors, Advisory Board, and Research Integration Committee (RIC) and comprises several research areas and research groups below the management level.

The Institute maintains a Fellow Programme. In order to support its activities in transdisciplinary research , consulting and policy advice, which require close engagement with political and societal actors, the Institute also maintains internal units for press and communications, event management, and strategic science management.   

Advisory Board

An Advisory Board supports the Institute and its Scientific Directors by reviewing research outcomes and developing recommendations for the Institute’s strategic development. This body will be reconstituted shortly.

Scientific Directors

The Scientific Directors lead the Institute and are responsible for its research programme and cooperation with actors from policymaking and public administration, the business community, and civil society.

Internal Organisation

Research activities at RIFS are grouped into different research areas and forums. The Institute’s platforms facilitate dialogue at the interface of science, policy and society. Each research area is represented on the Research Integration Committee (RIC) by an Area Speaker. The RIC advises the Scientific Directors on research planning and strategic matters. In addition to the Scientific Directors, it is composed of the Area Speakers, the heads of the Fellow Programme and Press & Communications, and the science management team.

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