Logics of Marketization in German Science. Program-oriented Funding within the Helmholtz Association

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The introduction of Program-oriented Funding and the change in its governance structure in 2001 marked the preliminary end of a lengthy reform process within the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers. Instead of attributing discrete budgets to the individual Helmholtz Centers, public funds have since been channeled into six research fields and are allocated in competition between the centers. Calls for a stronger focus on practical applications accompanied this process, thus pointing to a marketization and commodification in science. In order to increase efficiency, output, and quality of research, a market-like competition between the individual Helmholtz Centers has been established. To succeed in internal competition, it has been seen as a strategic advantage to create collaborative alliances - either with other Helmholtz Centers or with external partners in academia or industry. Among the members of the national Alliance of Science Organizations, the Helmholtz Association's Program-oriented Funding is a particularly fitting example to illustrate the tense interconnection between cooperation, competition, and commodification in the field of science. This subproject examines the debates on the Helmholtz Association’s institutional reorganization and the conflict-ridden process of introducing new mechanisms of governance in German science in a historical perspective. The project focuses on the implementation of market logics in the field of research funding and on its impact on collaborative and competitive patterns in science. It also takes into account the growing international intertwining of research and its effects on the dynamics of collaboration and competition as well as the epistemic effects of an increasing marketization of science. The project is part and parcel of the research unit "Cooperation and Competition in Science".