Anita Engels as member of the new DFG Sustainability CommissionDFG Sustainability Commission Meets for the First Time

23 March 2022, by CSS

Photo: UHH/Sebastian Engels

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is seeking to give due consideration to aspects of sustainability in its actions. To this end, the DFG Executive Committee decided in December 2021 to establish a Commission chaired by DFG President Professor Dr. Katja Becker. Comprising 20 members representing the diverse range of subjects in the research system, the Commission has now convened for its first meeting. It is to submit recommendations for sustainable action to the DFG bodies in summer 2023.

CSS Member and former Executive Director Prof. Dr. Anita Engels is one of the twenty experts that have been chosen for the Commission.

At its first meeting, the Commission initially focused on its work programme: in the awareness that sustainability is broadly defined and involves social, economic and ecological aspects, the Commission will – not least out of constitutional considerations – initially concentrate on ecological sustainability, though also taking into account how this is mutually dependent on social and economic aspects.

In terms of content guidelines, the members also discussed at which levels and in which modes the DFG might address the topic in its activities and what roles and responsibilities should be considered in the research system: the aim is not for the Commission to refer to the findings of DFG-funded projects relating to sustainability or sustainability research. Rather, the aim is to create an awareness that research projects in all disciplines should be carried out as sustainably as possible – though without diminishing or influencing research quality and content.

Find out more about the Commission and their first meeting here.

This text was taken from the website of DFG.