Election results for the 9th appointment period of the German Data Forum

The results of the election for the 9th appointment period (2026–2029) of the German Data Forum (RatSWD) were announced during a live broadcast on the 30th of March 2026. The Chair of the RatSWD, Prof. Dr. Kerstin Schneider (University of Wuppertal, RWI Essen), said: “The academic community in Germany needs better data to remain competitive on an international scale. At the RatSWD, researchers have been working on a voluntary basis for more than 20 years to expand the research data infrastructure. This commitment is essential for the further development of the research data landscape and, consequently, for generating knowledge that benefits society”.

There were 22 candidates standing for election – researchers from a wide range of disciplines within the social, behavioural, educational and economic sciences. They were nominated by academic associations representing these disciplines. The RatSWD’s next appointment period begins on the 1st of July 2026.

The following women were elected as academic representatives to the RatSWD:

• Prof. Dr. Nina Jude (Ruprecht Karls University of Heidelberg)
• Prof. Dr. Corinna Kleinert (Otto Friedrich University of Bamberg)
• Prof. Dr. Mirja Silkenbeumer (Goethe University Frankfurt am Main)
• Prof. Dr. Renate Soellner (University of Hildesheim)
• Prof. Kathrine von Graevenitz, PhD (University of Mannheim)

The following men were elected as academic representatives to the RatSWD:

• Prof. Dr. Samuel Greiff (Technical University of Munich)
• Prof. Dr. Hendrik Jürges (University of Wuppertal)
• Prof. Dr. Fridtjof Nussbeck (University of Konstanz)
• Prof. Dr. Falk Radisch (University of Rostock)
• Prof. Dr. Michael Wolff (Georg-August University of Göttingen)

3,080 registered researchers cast their votes in a secret ballot. The high turnout of 85.6 per cent lends the future members of the RatSWD broad legitimacy.

The Deputy Chair of RatSWD, Dr. Daniel Vorgrimler (Federal Statistical Office): “This election would not have been possible without the dedicated election committee. We would therefore like to express our sincere thanks to Dr. Anke Rigbers (Baden-Württemberg State Statistical Office) and Dr. Jan Goebel (Socio-Economic Panel at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW)) for chairing the election. We would also like to thank all the candidates for their willingness to take on responsibility.”

The German Data Forum (RatSWD) has been advising the German federal government and the governments of the German states on questions of research data infrastructure for the empirical social, behavioural and economic sciences since 2004. In the RatSWD, ten representatives of the social, behavioural and economic disciplines, legitimised by election, work together with ten representatives of data production.

The RatSWD is part of the Consortium for the Social, Behavioural, Educational and Economic Sciences (KonsortSWD) in the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI). It sees itself as an institutionalised forum for dialogue between science and data producers and develops recommendations and statements. In doing so, it is committed to an infrastructure that provides science with broad, flexible and secure access to data. These data are provided by governmental, science-based and private-sector actors. Currently, the RatSWD has accredited 41 research data centres and promotes their cooperation.