30 years ago: IfADo served as the birthplace of the Leibniz Association

When the Leibniz Association was founded on 31 March 1995, IfADo was one of the influential institutes from the very beginning. As the first administrative office of the Leibniz Association – then known as the ‘Blue List Working Group’ – IfADo coordinated communication between research institutes, the Federal Ministry of Research and the Federal-State Commission. In this role, IfADo paved the way for the establishment of the scientific community, which now comprises 96 institutes.

Impulse for networking since the 1980s

The desire to collaborate across institutes on administrative and research policy issues dates back several years. As early as 1988, Johann W. von Krause from the German Primate Centre invited the administrative heads of the then 48 non-university ‘Blue List’ institutions to a first meeting in Göttingen. The ‘Blue List’ was an association of research institutions of supraregional importance established in 1977. The Göttingen talks paved the way for initial structured cooperation in the areas of public relations, research funding and budgetary issues. In order to continue on this path successfully, it was first necessary to establish a joint representation of interests.

The IfADo as administrative office

In 1991, the time had come: the ‘Blue List Working Group’ was established, headed by a board of directors, various committees and an annual general meeting. The first office was established in Dortmund at the Institute for Occupational Physiology – as IfADo was still called at the time – under the leadership of managing director Wolfdieter Homann. As a link between the institutes, the Federal Ministry of Research and the Federal-State Commission, IfADo was responsible for coordination, information and advice until the opening of the full-time office in Bonn in early 1996.

At this time, German science was facing a historic upheaval: reunification enabled the integration of existing research institutions and the establishment of new institutes under the umbrella of what is now the Leibniz Association. The Blue List included a total of 30 institutes from the new federal states. IfADo provided important advice and networking services, thereby laying an important foundation for what the Leibniz Association stands for today: excellence in diversity, supported by shared responsibility in West and East.