• Members
• Business Office
• Tasks and Structure
• Election Procedure
• Evaluating RatSWD

The German Data Forum (RatSWD) was founded in Summer 2004 by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), in accord with all federal government departments. It took over from the Commission for the Foundation of the German Data Forum, and carries out the same tasks as its predecessor. The RatSWD is an independent body of empirical researchers from universities, colleges, and other independent research institutions as well as representatives of important data producers and service centers. It consists of sixteen members. The members for the fourth period of office were appointed in April 2011:

From left to right: Y. Sure, E. Hohmann, G. G. Wagner, N. Ott, M. Kreyenfeld, B. Rammstedt,
E. Brähler, F.-M. Spinath, S. Bechtold, H. Herrmann, S. Rässler, B.-M. Kurth, R. Thiede
(missing: S. Bender, J. Brüderl, J. Wagner)

Representatives of the Empirical Social and Economic Research in the RatSWD

• Prof. Dr. Elmar Brähler
  Head of Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology at the University of Leipzig
• Prof. Dr. Josef Brüderl
  Professor for Statistics and Social Research Methods at the University of Mannheim and Principal Investigator at the Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics (pairfam)
• Prof. Dr. Michaela Kreyenfeld
  Junior Professor at the Institute for Sociology and Demography, University of Rostock and Acting Deputy Head of the Laboratory of Economic and Social Demography at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
• Prof. Dr. Notburga Ott - Deputy Chairperson
  Professor of Social Policy and Public Economy at Ruhr University Bochum
• Prof. Dr. Susanne Rässler
  Professor of Statistics and Econometrics at University of Bamberg
• Prof. Dr. Beatrice Rammstedt
  Chair for Psychology at the University of Mannheim and Project Manager of GESIS - Leibniz Institute for Social Research
• Prof. Dr. Frank-Michael Spinath
  Professor for Individual Differences & Psychodiagnostics at the University of Saarland
• Prof. Dr. Joachim Wagner
  Professor of Empiric Economic Research at Leuphana University of Lueneburg

Representatives of Data Production in the RatSWD

• Dr. Sabine Bechtold, Federal Statistical Office Germany
  President of the Department for Population, Finances and Taxes of the Federal Statistical Office Germany
• Stefan Bender, Federal Employment Agency
  Head of the Research Data Center of the Federal Employment Agency at the Institute for Employment Research
• Dr. Heinz Herrmann, Deutsche Bundesbank
  Head of Research Center Deutsche Bundesbank
• Eckart Hohmann, State Statistical Office of Hesse
  President of the State Statistical Office of Hesse
• Prof. Dr. Bärbel-Maria Kurth, Robert Koch Institute
  Head of the Department for Epidemiology and Health Reporting at the Robert Koch Institute
• Prof. Dr. York Sure, GESIS-Leibniz Institute for Social Research
  President of GESIS-Leibniz Institute for Social Research and Professor for Applied Computer Science in the Social Sciences at the Institute for Web Science and Technologies at the University of Koblenz-Landau, Campus Koblenz
• Dr. Reinhold Thiede, German Pension Insurance
  Head of the Department for Research and Development at the German Pension Insurance
• Prof. Dr. Gert G. Wagner, German Institute for Economic Research - Chairperson
  Chairman of the Board of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) and Professor for Empirical Economic Research and Economic Policy at the Technical University Berlin

Members of the German Data Forum (RatSWD) in its third period of appointment (Nov. 2008 - Apr. 2011)

Representatives of the empirical social and economic research community in the (RatSWD)

• Prof. Dr. Eckhard Klieme, University of Frankfurt am Main
• Prof. Dr. Heiner Meulemann, University of Cologne
• Prof. Ulrich Rendtel, Free University of Berlin
• Prof. Dr. Heike Solga, University of Göttingen - Chairperson
• Prof. Petra Stanat, Ph.D., Free University of Berlin
• Prof. Dr. Bettina Westle, University of Marburg

Representatives of the data production community in the (RatSWD)

• Roderich Egeler, President of the Federal Statistical Office
• Eckart Hohmann, President of the State Statistical Office of Hesse
• Prof. Dr. Joachim Möller, Director of the Institute for Employment Research of the Federal Employment Agency
• Uwe G. Rehfeld, Head of the Division for Research, Development, Statistics of the Federal German Pension Insurance Association
• York Sure, President of GESIS - Leibniz-Institute for the Social Sciences
• Prof. Dr. Gert G. Wagner, Professor of Empirical Economic Research and Economic Policy at the TU Berlin and Head of the German Socio-Economic Panel Study SOEP at DIW Berlin - Chairperson
  

Members of the German Data Forum (RatSWD) in its second period of appointment (Nov. 2006 - Nov. 2008)

Representatives of the empirical social and economic research community in the (RatSWD)

• Prof. Dr. Eckhard Klieme, University of Frankfurt am Main
• Prof. Dr. Heiner Meulemann, University of Cologne
• Prof. Ulrich Rendtel, Free University of Berlin
• Prof. Dr. Heike Solga, University of Göttingen - Chairperson
• Prof. Petra Stanat, Ph.D., Free University of Berlin
• Prof. Dr. Bettina Westle, University of Marburg

Representatives of the data production community in the (RatSWD)

• Eckart Hohmann, President of the State Statistical Office of Hesse - Vice-Chair
• Prof. Jutta Allmendinger, Ph.D., Director of the IAB (bis 31.03.2007)
• Prof. Dr. Joachim Möller, Director of the IAB and BA (ab 01.10.2007)
• Walter Radermacher, President of the Federal Statistical Office (bis 31.07.2008)
• Sibylle von Oppeln-Bronikowski, Federal Statistical Office (ab 01.08.2008)
• Uwe G. Rehfeld, German Federal Pension Insurance
• PD Dr. Hilmar Schneider, Director of Labor Market Policy at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
• Prof. Dr. Gert G. Wagner, TU Berlin and Head of the German Socio-Economic Panel Study SOEP at DIW Berlin

Members of the German Data Forum (RatSWD) in its first period of appointment (Nov. 2004 - Nov. 2006)

Representatives of the empirical social and economic research community in the (RatSWD)

• Prof. Dr. Steffen Kühnel, University of Göttingen
• Prof. Dr. Heiner Meulemann, University of Cologne
• Prof. Regina T. Riphahn, Ph.D, University of Erlangen
• Prof. Dr. Heike Solga, University of Göttingen, Vice-Chair
• Prof. Dr. Joachim Wagner, Leuphana University of Lüneburg
• Prof. Dr. Bettina Westle, University of Magdeburg

Representatives of the data production community in the (RatSWD)

• Prof. Jutta Allmendinger, Ph.D, Director of the IAB
• Johann Hahlen, President of the Federal Statistical Office
• Eckart Hohmann, President of the Statistical Office of the State of Hesse
• Prof. Dr. Peter Ph. Mohler, Director of GESIS and ZUMA
• Uwe G. Rehfeld, German Federal Pension Insurance
• Prof. Dr. Gert G. Wagner, TU Berlin, Director of the SOEP at the DIW Berlin, Chairman

The Founding Committee of the German Data Forum (RatSWD)

The goal of the Founding Council for Social and Economic Data funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research was the improvement of the data infrastructure for social and economic studies in Germany. The founding committee offered advice with regard to the prioritization of services (such as the provision of Scientific Use Files, a meta data base, ect…) and the establishment of research data centres and data service centres. In addition the committee prepared the establishment of the German Data Forum.

The founding committee of the German Data Forum included:

• Prof. Bernd Fitzenberger, Ph.D., University of Mannheim
• Johann Hahlen, President of the Federal Statistical Office
• Prof. Dr. Richard Hauser, University of Frankfurt
• Eckart Hohmann, President of the Statistical Office of the State of Hesse
• Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Jagodzinski, University of Cologne and director of GESIS
• Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kleinhenz, University of Passau und Director of the IAB
• Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Krupp, University of Frankfurt, Vice-Chair
• Prof. Dr. Karl-Ulrich Mayer, Max Planck Institute for Educational Research (Chairman until January 2003)
• Prof. Dr. Walter Müller, University of Mannheim
• Prof. Dr. Hans Rattinger, University of Bamberg
• Uwe G. Rehfeld, German Federal Pension Insurance
• Prof. Dr. Gert G. Wagner, Technical University Berlin and German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), Chairman from January 2003 to October 2004
• Prof. Dr. Joachim Wagner, University of Lüneburg