05 July 2023 | Press Release 02/2023

Leibniz Senate confirms IAMO's excellent results

The Leibniz Senate has announced the results of the evaluation of the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO) and recommends the continued joint funding of the institute by the federal government and the state of Saxony-Anhalt for the next seven years. In its statement, it recognizes IAMO's very good to excellent working results.

The Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies in Halle (Saale) analyses economic, social and political processes of change in the agricultural and food sector and in rural areas of former centrally planned economies in Europe and Asia. In its statement published on 4 July 2023, the Senate of the Leibniz Association confirms the institute's very good to excellent achievements. It cites internationally received research results as well as important research infrastructures including the establishment of joint structures with local actors in the study regions with the Institute's highly successful knowledge transfer, for example in China, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. As the globalized agricultural economy has been undergoing fundamental changes for several years, it is emphasized that IAMO has continually responded to these changes with its medium-term concepts. The institute now also conducts individual projects on other world regions, for example, in order to investigate global interrelationships.

The research institutions and scientific infrastructures that have joined together in the Leibniz Association are jointly funded by the federal and state governments because of their supraregional importance and an overall interest in science policy. An international and independent evaluation committee spent two days evaluating IAMO in November 2022. The results were recorded in an evaluation report, on which IAMO was given the opportunity to comment. Based on the evaluation report the Leibniz Senate agreed on a scientific policy statement which contains a funding recommendation. Leibniz institutes are evaluated by the Leibniz Senate every seven years at the latest. The evaluation focuses on an independent assessment of how the institute has developed in the intervening years in terms of content and structure, as well as on the strength of its plans for the future.

The full Senate statement can be found here (German).