Published in Bundesanzeiger (Federal Gazette) Nr. 195 of 18 October 2007 (P. 7787)

Federal Ministry of Education and Research

Notificationof the Administrative Agreement
between the Federal and Länder Governmentson the Establishment of aJoint Science Conference(GWK Agreement)of 19 September 2007

Notification is hereby given of the Administrative Agreement
concluded by the Federal Government and the Heads of Government of the Länder
between the Federal Government and the Länder Governmentson the Establishment of a Joint Science Conference (GWK Agreement)of 11 September 2007 (Annex).

Berlin, 19 September 2007
123 - 013 23 - 2

Annette S t e e n k e nfor theFederal Ministry of Education and ResearchAnnex
Administrative Agreement
between the Federal Government and the Länder on the Establishmentof a Joint Science Conference(GWK Agreement)of 11 September 2007

The Federal Government and the governments of the Länder of the Federal Republic ofGerman conclude the following agreement on the basis of Article 91b Basic Law:

-2-Article 1
Establishment of a Joint Science Conference
The parties to the agreement shall set up a Joint Science Conference. Members shall be theMinisters and Senators of the Federal Government and Länder responsible for science andresearch as well as for finance. The Conference shall deal with all questions of researchfunding, science and research policy strategies and the science system which jointly affect
the Federal Government and the Länder.

Article 2
Tasks of the Joint Science Conference(1) The members of the Joint Science Conference
1. whilst preserving their own competences, shall strive for close coordination on questions ofcommon interest in the field of national, European and international science and researchpolicy with the aim of strengthening Germany’s position as a location for science andresearch in the international competition;
2. shall act jointly in cases of supraregional importance in promotinga) institutions and projects in the field of non-university scientific researchb) scientific and research projects at institutions of higher educationc) the construction of research buildings at institutions of higher education, including large
facilities, in accordance with the detailed definition of this Agreement;
3. shall also inform each other of major plans and decisions which are not the object of jointfunding.

(2) The Heads of the Federal and Länder governments are entitled to transfer further tasks tothe Joint Science Conference by a resolution.

The Contracting Parties shall undertake commitments under this agreement subject to theprovision of the necessary budget funds by their legislative bodies.

(4) When implementing its tasks, the Joint Science Conference shall take into account theresolutions and recommendations of the conferences of the specialist ministers of the Länder.
It shall give the relevant specialist conferences of Länder ministers the opportunity tocomment. Resolutions by the Joint Science Conference which are of financial relevance shallbe coordinated with the financial planning of the Federal Government and Länder.

-3-Article 3
Joint Funding of Science and Research(1) The joint funding of science and research shall cover those institutions and projects ofsupraregional importance and national scientific interest listed in the Annex to thisAgreement.

(2) The Joint Science Conference shall regulate in implementation agreements details of joint
funding, the preconditions for and the consequences of withdrawing from the joint funding
programme as well as the shares of the Federal Government and the Länder in joint funding.

Article 4
Chair and Procedures of the Joint Science Conference(1) The Joint Science Conference shall elect for the period of two years one representativeeach from the circle of representatives of the Federal Government and from the circle ofrepresentatives of the Länder governments. These shall rotate the chairmanship on anannual basis and deputize for one another.

(2) The members may each nominate a deputy member.

(3) The representatives of the Federal Government shall have sixteen votes which shall becast jointly, the representatives of the Länder governments shall have one vote each.

(4) The Joint Science Conference shall take its decisions with a majority of at least 29
member votes. Members who have been outvoted may put down their dissenting opinion in aspecial vote (minority vote). Decisions may also be taken in a circulation procedure. Jointfunding may only be decided with the approval of the host Land.

(5) Agreements under Article 2 Para 1 No. 2 b shall require the approval of therepresentatives of the Federal Government and all the Länder. Should an agreement notreceive the required approval, it shall be brought before the Heads of Government forconsultation and decision upon the application of a member.

(6) Decisions by the Joint Science Conference shall be binding for the Contracting Parties
once they have the approval of the Heads of Government. Approval in accordance with the-4-

first sentence shall be considered to have been given when a resolution is passed by theJoint Science Conference, if and providing it has been passed unanimously. This shall also
apply unless one of the parties to the agreement applies for consultation and decision-making
by the Heads of Government within four weeks of a decision by the Joint Science Conference
which has not been reached unanimously.

(7) Details on procedure shall be determined by the rules of procedure which are to beapproved by the Joint Science Conference.

Article 5
Tasks of the Committee(1) The Joint Science Conference will have the support of a Committee in implementing its
tasks under Article 2.

(2) The Committee shall prepare the consultations and resolutions of the Joint ScienceConference.

(3) The Joint Science Conference may pass a resolution to transfer matters to the Committee
for final decision.

Article 6
Membership, Chairperson and Procedures of the Committee(1) The Committee shall consist of one representative each at head of office/head ofdepartment level of the ministries of the Federal Government and Länder responsible forscience and research and finance. The members may each nominate a deputy member.

(2) The Joint Science Conference shall determine the chairperson for the duration of twoyears at the suggestion of the Federal Government and at the suggestion of the Länder.
These shall rotate the chair on an annual basis and deputize for one another.

(3) Article 4 Paras 3 and 4 shall apply mutatis mutandis for votes.

(4) Decisions by the Committee on matters in accordance with Article 5 Para 3 shall beconsidered decisions by the Joint Science Conference providing and in so far as they aretaken unanimously.

-5-Article 7Office(1) An office shall be set up at the seat of the Federal Government in Bonn for handling theeveryday business of the Joint Science Conference and for the preparation and follow-up ofits consultations.

(2) The head of the office shall be elected by the Joint Science Conference and appointed bythe Federal Government.

(3) The office shall be subject to the instructions of the Chairperson of the Joint ScienceConference.

(4) The Federal Government shall pay for staff and other expenditure incurred by the office,with the exception of costs incurred as a result of the collaboration of Land government staff.
These costs shall be borne by the Land which has seconded the staff.

Article 8
Amendment to the Implementation Agreements(1) The Contracting Parties intend to amend the Implementation Agreements in accordancewith Article 2 Para 3 and Article 5 Para 3 of the Skeleton Agreement on Research Promotion
on the basis of this agreement by 31 December 2008.

(2) The following paragraphs are rescinded:
1. Section 6 Para 2 of the Implementation Agreement on the Skeleton Agreement onResearch Promotion concerning the Joint Funding of the German Research Associationof 28 October/17 December 1976, last amended by the Agreement of 20 March 2001
(Federal Gazette, P. 9298),
2. Section 5 Para 2 of the Implementation Agreement on the Skeleton Agreement on
Research Promotion concerning the Joint Funding of the Max Planck Society of
28 October/17 December 1976, last amended by the Agreement of 18 December 1996
(Federal Gazette, P. 6362),
3. Section 8 Para 2 of the Implementation Agreement on the Skeleton Agreement on
Research Promotion concerning the Joint Funding of Scientific Research Institutions of

-6-5/6 May 1977, last amended by the Agreement of 25 October 2001 (Federal Gazette,P. 25,218),
4. Section 8 Para 3 of the Implementation Agreement on the Skeleton Agreement on
Research Promotion concerning the Joint Funding of the Fraunhofer Society of17 March/26 August 1977,
5. Section 6 Para 2 of the Implementation Agreement on the Skeleton Agreement on
Research Promotion concerning the Joint Funding of a Programme conducted by theUnion of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities of 12 October
1978/19 October 1979, last amended by the Agreement of 8 January 2007 (FederalGazette 2007, P. 18),
6. Section 2 Para 2 of the Implementation Agreement on the Skeleton Agreement onResearch Promotion concerning Gender Equity in Joint Research Promotion of6 October 2003 (Federal Gazette, P. 24,803).

Article 9Amendment to the Implementation Agreement concerning Research Buildings atInstitutions of Higher Education, including Large-Scale Equipment,
and the Agreement between the Federal Government and the Länder on theEstablishment of a Science Council(1) The Implementation Agreement on Research Buildings at Institutions of Higher Education,including Large-Scale Equipment, of 21 May 2007 (Federal Gazette P. 5863) shall beamended as follows:

1. In Section 3 Para 2 the words “Bund-Länder Commission for Educational Planning andResearch Promotion (BLK)” shall be replaced by the words “Joint Science Conference(GWK)”.
2. In Section 3 Para 4, Sentences 2 and 4, Section 5 Para 1, Sentence 3, Section 6 Para 1,Section 8 Para 5, Sentence 6, Section 9 Para 2, Sentences 3 and 4, Section 9 Para 3,Sentence 1, Section 9 Para 4, Section 10, Sentence 1, Section 12, Sentence 1, Section 13
Para 1, Sentence 3 and Section 13 Para 2, Sentence 2, the abbreviation “BLK“ shall bereplaced by “GWK“.
(2) In the Agreement between the Federal Government and the Länder on the Establishmentof a Science Council of 5 September 1957, last amended by the Agreement of 21 May 2007
(Federal Gazette, P. 5863), the words “Bund-Länder Commission for Educational Planning

-7-and Research Promotion (BLK)” in Article 2 Para 1 Sentence 4 and in Article 2 Para 2 shallbe replaced by the words “Joint Science Conference”.

Article 10Duration, Entry into Force, Repeal(1) The Agreement shall be concluded for an indefinite period of time. It may be denounced
by giving two years’ notice to the end of a calendar year, but not before the end of a six-yearperiod.

(2) Article 8 of this Agreement shall enter into force when it has been signed by all
Contracting Parties. Otherwise, this Agreement shall enter into force from 1 January 2008.
The entry into force of this Agreement shall revoke the following agreements:

1. the Administrative Agreement between the Federal Government and the Länder
Governments on the Establishment of a Joint Commission for Educational Planning (BLKAgreement) of 25 June 1970, “Bulletin” of the Federal Government Press and Information
Office of 3 July, No. 90, P. 891, in the version of 17/21 December 1990 (Federal Gazette1991, P. 683),

2. the Skeleton Agreement on Research Promotion (RV-Fo) of 28 November 1975 (FederalGazette No. 240 of 30 December 1975, P. 4), last amended by the Agreement of25 October 2001 (Federal Gazette, P. 25,218).

(3) Unless otherwise stated in Implementation Agreements which have yet to be concluded,
the funding ratio under Article 6 Para 1, Sentence 1 RV-Fo shall continue to apply for theshares of funding of the Federal Government and Länder.

Berlin, 11 September 2007

For the Federal Republic of Germany:
Angela Merkel
For the Land of Baden-Württemberg:
Günther H. Oettinger

-8-

For the Free State of Bavaria:
Dr. Edmund Stoiber
For the Land of Berlin:
Wowereit
For the Land of Brandenburg:
M. Platzeck
For the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen:Jens Böhrnsen
For the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg:
Ole v. Beust
For the Land of Hesse:
R. KochFor the Land of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania:
H. Ringstorff
For the Land of Lower Saxony:
C. Wulff
For the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia:
Jürgen Rüttgers
For the Land of the Rhineland Palatinate:
Kurt Beck
For Saarland:Peter Müller
For the Free State of Saxony:
Georg Milbradt
For the Land of Saxony-Anhalt:
W. Böhmer
For the Land of Schleswig-Holstein:Peter Harry Carstensen
For the Free State of Thuringia:
Dieter Althaus

-9-Annex to the GWK Agreement
Section 1
Object of the Joint Funding of Science and Research
Departure from the stipulated shares of funding of the Federal Government and the Länder

(1) Recipients of the joint funding for science and research are:1.

the German Research Association2.

the member institutions of the Hermann von Helmholtz Association of National
Research Centres

3.

the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science4.

the Fraunhofer Society for the Advancement of Applied Research5.

the member institutions of the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Science Association

6.

the German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina

7.

the Institute for Advanced Study Berlin

8.

acatech – the German Academy of Science and Engineering

9.

other research institutions and establishments which perform a service function on
behalf of research, the organizations funding such institutions as well as researchfunding organizations, in so far as their annual funding requirements for overheads
exceed a certain volume

10.

the Academies Programme coordinated by the Union of the German Academies ofSciences and Humanities

11.

Research buildings at institutions of higher education, including large-scale equipment,in so far as the eligible costs exceed a certain volume12.

Non-university scientific research projects, in so far as the eligible costs exceed acertain volume

13.

Scientific research projects at institutions of higher education, in so far as the eligible
costs exceed a certain volume.

(2) Payments exceeding the respective share of funding stipulated in this Agreement or in theImplementation Agreements may be made in the case of1.

Para 1, Nos. 1, 3 and 8 with the approval of the Federal Government and all the Länder,

2.

Para 1, Nos. 2, 4, 6, 7, 10 and 11 with the approval of the Federal Government and theLänder concerned,

3.

Para 1, Nos. 5 and 9 with the approval of the Federal Government and the majority ofthe Länder.

- 10 -

Protocol note concerning Section 1 Para 1:
The joint funding shall cover several projects which are pooled together to form a single
programme, not, however, research institutions and research projects in the fields ofdepartmental and industrial research.

Section 2
Participation and Share of Funding on the Part of the Länder

(1) The German Research Association, the Max Planck Society, the member institutions ofthe Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Science Association and other institutions (Section 1 Para 1,No. 9) shall be jointly funded by all the Contracting Parties. The share of funding of eachindividual Land shall be determined in the Implementation Agreement.

(2) The member institutions of the Hermann von Helmholtz Association of National ResearchCentres and the Fraunhofer Society for the Advancement of Applied Research shall befunded by the Federal Government and the Länder involved. The share of funding for eachindividual Land shall be determined in the Implementation Agreement.

(3) The Academies Programme coordinated by the Union of the German Academies ofSciences and Humanities (Section 1 Para 1, No. 10) shall be funded by the Federal
Government and all the Länder. The share of funding of each individual Land shall be
determined in the Implementation Agreement.

(4) The German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina (Section 1 Para 1, No. 6), theInstitute for Advanced Study Berlin (Section 1 Para 1, No. 7) and research buildings at
institutions of higher education, including large-scale equipment (Section 1 Para 1, No. 11)
shall be funded by the Federal Government and the respective Länder in which they arelocated.

(5) The acatech - German Academy of Science and Engineering shall be funded fifty-fifty by
the Federal Government and all the Länder. The share of funding for each Land shall bedetermined in accordance with the “Königstein key” for the allocation of funds.

- 11 -

(6) The share of the individual Länder for financing research funding (Section 1 Para 1,No. 12) shall be determined in each individual case. Details shall be settled in anImplementing Agreement.

Section 3
Volume of the Joint Funding of Science and Research

Funding for research institutions shall cover overheads and investment costs. The funding ofprojects (Section 1 Para 1, Nos. 12 and 13) and research buildings, including large-scaleequipment, shall cover the respective costs determined in the Implementation Agreements.
The proportional funding shall be paid directly to the recipients unless otherwise agreed.

Section 4
Criteria for the Joint Funding of Science and Research(1) Decisions on the joint funding of research are to be based primarily on criteria of scientificquality; regional structural developments are to be taken into account as appropriate.

(2) The Contracting Parties shall promote gender equity in the institutions and projects which
they are jointly funding in accordance with the provisions stipulated in Federal Governmentand Länder laws on equal opportunities and with agreements between the Federal
Government and the Länder on gender equity and shall work towards the abolition of existing
and the prevention of future discrimination due to gender.