German association of research institutes

Leibniz Association

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Key facts

inception1990

instance ofgroup, organization, open-access publisher

countryGermany

All data from the card 8

Formation: 1995
Type: non-profit research organization
Headquarters: Berlin, Germany
President: Christoph M. Schmidt
Main organ: Senate
Budget: €2.3 billion (2025)
Staff: 21,400
Website: www.leibniz-association.eu

The Leibniz Association (German: Leibniz-Gemeinschaft or Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz) is a union of German non-university research institutes from various disciplines.

Funding and structure

As of 2026, 96 non-university research institutes and service institutions for science are part of the Leibniz Association. The fields range from natural, life, engineering and environmental sciences to economics, spatial and social sciences and the humanities. The Leibniz Institutes work in an interdisciplinary fashion, and connect basic and applied science. They cooperate with universities, industry, and other partners in different parts of the world. Taken together, the Leibniz Institutes employ 21,400 people and have a budget of €2.3 billion. Leibniz Institutes are funded publicly to equal parts by the federal government and the Federal states (Bundesländer).

Every Leibniz institution is evaluated by the Leibniz Senate regularly, at a minimum of once every seven years. The evaluation is used as a benchmark of quality with respect to the work and research carried out by the institutes.

History

The Leibniz Association is named after the German philosopher, mathematician, scientist and inventor Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716). The organization evolved from the "Blaue Liste" (blue list) in former Western Germany and research institutions of the German Academy of Sciences at Berlin of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), whose research capability was deemed worth keeping after an evaluation by the German Wissenschaftsrat. The name "Blaue Liste" for a German model for funding science has been retired, and traces back to the color of a dossier.

The Leibniz Association's headquarter is located in Berlin and there is an EU bureau in Brussels. Since 2026, the economist Christoph M. Schmidt acts as president of the Leibniz Association.

Sections

A - Humanities and Educational Research

Name	Location	Initials	Website
Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum – Leibniz Research Museum for Geo-resources	Bochum	DBM	www.bergbaumuseum.de
Leibniz Institute for Jewish History and Culture – Simon Dubnow	Leipzig	DI	www.dubnow.de/en/
German Institute for Adult Education – Leibniz Centre for Lifelong Learning	Bonn	DIE	www.die-bonn.de
DIPF \| Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education	Frankfurt am Main and Berlin	DIPF	www.dipf.de/
Deutsches Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology	München	DM	www.deutsches-museum.de
German Maritime Museum – Leibniz Institute for Maritime History	Bremerhaven	DSM	www.dsm.museum
Leibniz Institute for Educational Media \| Georg Eckert Institute	Braunschweig	GEI	www.gei.de
Germanisches Nationalmuseum	Nürnberg	GNM	www.gnm.de
Herder Institute for Historical Research on East Central Europe - Institute of the Leibniz Association	Marburg	HI	www.herder-institut.de
Leibniz Institute for the German Language	Mannheim	IDS	www.ids-mannheim.de
Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History	München-Berlin	IfZ	www.ifz-muenchen.de
Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories	Bamberg	LIfBi	www.lifbi.de
Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education	Kiel	IPN	www.leibniz-ipn.de/en
Leibniz Institute of European History	Mainz	IEG	www.ieg-mainz.de
Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe	Leipzig	GWZO	http://www.leibniz-gwzo.de
Leibniz-Institute for East and Southeast European Studies	Regensburg	IOS	www.ios-regensburg.de
Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien	Tübingen	IWM	www.iwm-tuebingen.de
Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie	Mainz	LEIZA	www.rgzm.de
Leibniz-Centre General Linguistics	Berlin	ZAS	www.leibniz-zas.de/en/
Leibniz Center for Literary and Cultural Research	Berlin	ZfL	www.zfl-berlin.org/zfl-english.html
Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient	Berlin	ZMO	www.zmo.de
Leibniz Institute for Psychology	Trier	ZPID	www.zpid.de
Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam	Potsdam	ZZF	www.zzf-pdm.de

B - Economics, Social Sciences, Spatial Research

Name	Location	Initials	Website
ARL – Academy for Spatial Development in the Leibniz Association	Hannover	ARL	www.arl-net.org
German Institute for Economic Research	Berlin	DIW	www.diw.de
GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences	Mannheim-Köln	GESIS	www.gesis.org
German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) / Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien	Hamburg	GIGA	www.giga-hamburg.de
Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies	Halle	IAMO	https://www.iamo.de/en/home
Leibniz Institute for Media Research / Hans-Bredow-Institut	Hamburg	HBI	www.leibniz-hbi.de
Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography	Leipzig	IfL	www.ifl-leipzig.com/
Ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich	München	ifo	www.ifo.de
Kiel Institute for the World Economy	Kiel	IfW	www.ifw-kiel.de
Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development	Dresden	IÖR	www.ioer.de
Leibniz Institute for Research on Society and Space	Erkner	IRS	www.irs-net.de
Halle Institute for Economic Research - Member of the Leibniz Association	Halle/Saale	IWH	www.iwh-halle.de/en
Peace Research Institute Frankfurt	Frankfurt am Main	PRIF	www.hsfk.de
RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research	Essen	RWI	www.rwi-essen.de/en/
Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE	Frankfurt/Main	SAFE	safe-frankfurt.de
WZB Berlin Social Science Center	Berlin	WZB	www.wzb.eu
ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics	Kiel & Hamburg	ZBW	www.zbw-kiel.de
ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research	Mannheim	ZEW	www.zew.de

C - Life Sciences

Name	Location	Initials	Website
Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine	Hamburg	BNITM	www.bni-hamburg.de
Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS	Bremen	BIPS	www.bips.uni-bremen.de
German Diabetes Center - Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf	Düsseldorf	DDZ	www.ddz.uni-duesseldorf.de
German Institute of Human Nutrition	Potsdam-Rehbrücke	DIfE	www.dife.de
German Rheumatism Research Center	Berlin	DRFZ	www.drfz.de
German Primate Center – Leibniz Institute for Primate Research	Göttingen	DPZ	www.dpz.eu
Leibniz-Institute DSMZ – German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures	Braunschweig	DSMZ	www.dsmz.de
Leibniz Institute on Aging - Fritz Lipmann Institute	Jena	FLI	www.leibniz-fli.de
Leibniz-Institut für Molekulare Pharmakologie	Berlin	FMP	www.fmp-berlin.de
Research Center Borstel - Leibniz Lung Center	Borstel	FZB	www.fz-borstel.de
Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology – Hans Knöll Institute	Jena	HKI	www.hki-jena.de
Leibniz-Institute of Virology	Hamburg	LIV	www.leibniz-liv.de/en
Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors	Dortmund	IfADo	www.ifado.de
Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry	Halle	IPB	www.ipb-halle.de/en/
Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research	Gatersleben	IPK	www.ipk-gatersleben.de
IUF – Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine	Düsseldorf	IUF	www.iuf.uni-duesseldorf.de
Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research	Berlin	IZW	www.izw-berlin.de/
Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change	Bonn & Hamburg	LIB	www.leibniz-lib.de
Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology	Magdeburg	LIN	www.ifn-magdeburg.de
Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research	Mainz	LIR	lir-mainz.de
Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy	Regensburg	LIT	https://lit.eu/
Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich	Freising	LSB	www.leibniz-lsb.de/en/
Museum für Naturkunde - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science	Berlin	MfN	www.mfn-berlin.de
Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung (Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research)	Frankfurt am Main	SGN	https://www.senckenberg.de

D - Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Engineering

Name	Location	Initials	Website
Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam	Potsdam	AIP	www.aip.de
Ferdinand-Braun-Institut - Leibniz-Institut für Hoechstfrequenztechnik	Berlin	FBH	www.fbh-berlin.com
DWI – Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials	Aachen	DWI	www.dwi.rwth-aachen.de
FIZ Karlsruhe – Leibniz Institute for Information Infrastructure	Karlsruhe	FIZ KA	www.fiz-karlsruhe.de
Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Rostock	Kühlungsborn	IAP	www.iap-kborn.de
Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden	Dresden	IFW	www.ifw-dresden.de/
Leibniz Institute for High Performance Microelectronics	Frankfurt (Oder)	IHP	www.ihp-microelectronics.com
Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology	Jena	IPHT	www.ipht-jena.de
Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung (Leibniz Institute for Crystal Growth)	Berlin	IKZ	www.ikz-berlin.de
INM – Leibniz Institute for New Materials	Saarbrücken	INM	www.leibniz-inm.de/en/
Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology	Greifswald	INP	www.inp-greifswald.de/en/
Leibniz Institute of Surface Engineering	Leipzig	IOM	www.iom-leipzig.de
Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden	Dresden	IPF	www.ipfdd.de
Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften – ISAS	Dortmund	ISAS	www.isas.de
Leibniz-Institut für Verbundwerkstoffe (Leibniz-Institute for Composite Materials)	Kaiserslautern	IVW	www.ivw.uni-kl.de
Leibniz Institute for Materials Engineering — IWT	Bremen	IWT	www.iwt-bremen.de/en/home
Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz Center for Informatics	Wadern	LZI	www.dagstuhl.de
Leibniz Institute for Catalysis	Rostock	LIKAT	www.catalysis.de
Max-Born-Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy	Berlin	MBI	www.mbi-berlin.de
Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach (Oberwolfach Research Institute for Mathematics)	Oberwolfach	MFO	www.mfo.de
Paul Drude Institute for Solid State Electronics	Berlin	PDI	www.pdi-berlin.de
TIB – Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology	Hannover	TIB	www.tib.eu
Weierstrass Institute for Applied Analysis and Stochastics	Berlin	WIAS	www.wias-berlin.de

E - Environmental Sciences

Name	Location	Initials	Website
Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy	Potsdam-Bornim	ATB	www.atb-potsdam.de
Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research	Leipzig	TROPOS	www.tropos.de
Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries	Berlin	IGB	www.igb-berlin.de
Leibniz Institute for Horticultural Sciences	Großbeeren	IGZ	www.igzev.de
Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research	Warnemünde	IOW	www.io-warnemuende.de
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research	Potsdam	PIK	www.pik-potsdam.de
Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research	Müncheberg	ZALF	www.zalf.de
Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research	Bremen	ZMT	www.leibniz-zmt.de/en/