About us - Share Berlin

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Who we are

The SHARE BERLIN Institute (SBI) serves as the international coordination centre for SHARE. Currently, around 45 employees are working for the SHARE BERLIN Institute.

Four leading German research institutions are shareholders of the SBI: the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB), the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), the University hospital Charité Berlin and the German Centre of Gerontology (DZA). The SBI will also collaborate closely with the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

The SBI is dedicated to advancing pioneering interdisciplinary research that combines socio-economic and biomedical perspectives. The goal is to attract more scientists to utilize SHARE and to forster the exchange between analytical research using SHARE data and SHARE’s questionnaire development. In the long term, the SBI aims to become a centre for the development of longitudinal studies, bringing together the resources of research institutions and universities based in Berlin and the strengths of SHARE and its users.

The SBI is mainly financed by grants from the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR). In addition, the SBI receives project funding from the European Commission and the DFG.

Governance Structure

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees consists of one representative of each shareholder, one representative of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), one representative of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ), one representative of the State of Berlin and up to four other persons from politics and society.

The Board of Trustees monitors and advises the institute with regard to the legality, the expediency and the efficiency of the management and the fulfilment of the institute’s purpose.

Shareholders' Assembly

The shareholders’ assembly consists of representatives of the shareholders of the SBI.

The tasks of the shareholders’ assembly include the appointment and the dismissal of the management, the support of the management and the board of trustees, the election of the members of the board of trustees, the selection of the auditor and the approval of the annual financial statements, as well as the establishment of rules for auditing and monitoring of the management.

Management

The management currently consists of the Director SHARE Infrastructure and the Commercial Managing Director.

The management guides the SBI with regards to its content and its strategy. Prof. Dr. David Richter, Director of SHARE Infrastructure, is responsible for the international coordination as well as the scientific and the methodological development of SHARE. He is a member of the SHARE-ERIC Management Board. Ms. Sylvia Becker, Commercial Managing Director, is responsible for all commercial, legal and administrative matters, including communication.

Scientific Advisory Board

The Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) at SBI provides scientific guidance for SBI’s research and development strategy. The SAB advises SBI’s management on its long-term scientific direction and research priorities and ensures that research projects align with the institute’s research mission. Moreover, the SAB supports fostering research collaboration.

Current members of the Scientific Advisory Board at SBI are:

Prof. Dr. Agar Brugiavini (Chair) (Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia)
Prof. Dr. Martin Kroh (Co-Chair) (Bielefeld University)
Prof. Dr. Jessica Faul (University of Michigan)
Prof. Dr. Arie Kapteyn (University of Southern California, Dornsife)
Prof. Dr. Rose Anne Kenny (Trinity College Dublin)
Prof. Dr. Mick Couper (University of Michigan)
Prof. Dr. Jinkook Lee (University of Southern California, Dornsife)
Prof. Dr. Gabrielle Doblhammer (University of Rostock)
Prof. Dr. Susanne Wurm (University Medicine Greifswald)
Prof. Dr. Hans-Werner Wahl (Heidelberg University, also member of SBI Board of Trustees)