Projects of "Freunde des WZB"

The Friends of the WZB Award

The "Friends of the WZB Award" is funded by the Friends of the WZB with a cash award of 500 Euros and matched by the WZB with another 500 Euros in research funds. Initiated by representatives of the doctoral candidates and postdoctoral researchers, the award competition was announced for the first time last summer. The jury consists of three WZB directors and the chair of the Friends of the WZB.

The "Friends of the WZB Award" 2015 went to to Dr. Tine Hanrieder, Research Fellow in the Global Governance Research Unit, for her article "Reforming International Organizations in the Shadow of Fragmentation." Dr. Hanrieder's publication, which examines the failure of reform efforts within the WHO, impressed the jury members with its outstanding scientific contribution and contemporary relevance, clarity of arguments, and rigorous methodology.

The "Friends of the WZB Award" 2016 went to Anselm Rink, Maja Adena and the tandem Heiko Giebler and Aiko Wagner. Anselm Rink, together with Johannes Hemker, from Columbia University, USA, demonstrated that German social assistant officers seem to give better advice to people of German origin. Maja Adena together with four co-authors investigated the effect of radio-propaganda on the election success of the NSDAP at the end of the Weimar Republic. In cooperation with Marcel Lewandowski from the Helmut Schmidt University of Hamburg, Heiko Giebler and Aiko Wagner developed a concept for measuring right-wing populism.

Call for Applications for Friends of the WZB Award 2017 is here.

WZB Interview Project

In the past four decades WZB has shaped the Social Sciences in Germany. It is connected in many ways with German and international institutions, but stands out in its multidisciplinary approach. The video interviews with researchers, politicians, presidents and administrative staff shall give an impression of the changes within the WZB, the influence of important researchers and its impact on many scientific careers. They are part of the inter-institutional history and will be preserved in the new WZB archives. The "Freunde des WZB" support this project with a sum of 14.000 Euro.

The video-interviews can be found here.