In 2010, the 16¹⁾ Helmholtz centres received 2,038 million euros in funding from the federal government and federal states. In 2011, funding will amount to 2,203 million euros, representing an increase of 8 percent over fiscal 2010. In addition to institutional funding, in 2010 the research centres raised 1,031 million euros in third-party funds. As regards the third-party funding acquired through collaborations with industry, the association was particularly successful in the field of application-oriented research. This success can be taken as a clear sign of the attractiveness of Helmholtz research for industrial partners. In the area of basic research, a growing amount of funding has been acquired in competitions organised by the funding programmes of entities such as the EU, the German Research Foundation (DFG), and federal and regional ministries.

The Helmholtz Association’s mission is to conduct high-level research that contributes to solving the major challenges and pressing problems of our day. To ensure that this mission is optimally fulfilled, the association has embraced scientific competition. Internally, this competition informs programme-oriented funding, the financing of investments in strategic expansion, and the instruments of the Initiative and Networking Fund. The scientific performance indicators compiled in the context of programme-oriented funding represent selected aspects of research that are characteristic of the association’s work.

Scientific performance

Publications

• In 2010, 9,285 publications appeared in ISI-indexed scientific journals and a further 2,285 refereed publications appeared in other outlets.

• The number of ISI-indexed publications increased by 11 percent over the previous year. The total increase over the past five years has been 32 percent.

Collaborations

• In 2010, the Helmholtz centres participated in 7,643 research collaborations.
• Between 2006 and 2010, the number of collaborations increased by a total of 30 percent, or at an annual rate of 7 percent. Collaborations with other scientific organisations rose by 33 percent (an average annual rate of 8 percent), and with industry by 21 percent (an average annual rate of 5 percent).

• In 2010, 248 research projects took part in the coordinated funding programmes of the German Research Foundation (DFG), compared to 226 for 2009.
• As of 31 December 2010, 319 Helmholtz scientists held W2 or W3 professorships at universities, an increase of 22 percent over the previous year.

Third-party funding

• As in the previous year, the Helmholtz Association received over 113 million euros in EU funding in 2010, securing a leading position amongst German scientific organisations.
• In 2010, the association raised third-party funds of 1,031 million euros, representing an increase of 1 percent over 2009, when it acquired 1,025 million euros in funding.
• Over the past five years, third-party funding has grown by 48 percent, or at an average annual rate of 10 percent.

Technology transfer

• A total of 365 patents were awarded in the 2010 reporting period. In the preceding years, around 400 new patents were awarded on an annual basis.

• Over the last five years, the Helmholtz Association has launched 48 start-ups, including 12 in 2010, which have given it an edge in a competitive environment.

Staff

Scientific staff

In 2010 the Helmholtz Association had a total of 30,995 employees (2009: 29,556), of whom 10,458 were scientists (2009: 9,718), 5,320 were supervised PhD candidates (2009: 4,797) and 1,627 were trainees (2009: 1,618). A total of 13,590 employees (2009: 13,423) worked in the technical and administrative fields.

Equal opportunity

The share of female scientists rose to 24 percent from 23 percent in 2009; the percentage of young female scientists stood at 38 percent (2009: 37 percent). The proportion of women working in research management has also continued to grow at both the institutional and departmental levels. All told, the share of women currently holding managerial positions in research, administrative and technical fields stands at 19 percent, representing an 11 percent increase over the previous year.

Young scientists

• In 2010, 5,320 PhD candidates completed dissertations at the Helmholtz centres, supervised by scientific staff. This marks an 11 percent increase over the 4,797 dissertations written in 2009. Over the past five years, the number of written dissertations has grown by 41 percent, or at an average annual rate of 9 percent.
• The ratio of core-financed scientists to PhD students is approximately 1 to 1. This ratio has increased by 16 percent over the past five years.

• A total of 1,638 post-doctoral candidates worked at the Helmholtz Association in 2010. Over the past five years, this number has increased by 14 percent, or at an average annual rate of 4 percent.
• In 2010, 15 Helmholtz scientists were awarded junior professorships.
• Helmholtz centres currently work together with 49 DFG graduate schools. The high level of involvement of the previous years was not only maintained but in fact increased by 2 percent.
• Helmholtz centres are currently participating in 65 “Marie Curie Actions” in the EU’s programme to promote young scientists. During the past five years there has been a 5 percent annual increase in the number of these funding measures.
• Over the past five years, the number of Helmholtz Young Investigators’ Groups has increased from 132 to 156.
• In 2010, the Helmholtz Association provided occupational training for 1,627 trainees. The trainee-staff ratio was 6.3 percent.
• With its 25 School Labs and the “Little Scientists’ House” initiative, which reaches a network of more than 18,000 day-care centres, the Helmholtz Association is ensuring long-term support for young researchers.

International exchange at the Helmholtz Association

The large number of guests who came to the research centres in 2009 to exchange scientific ideas and work in our research facilities demonstrates the appeal that the centres continue to hold for the international research community. Around 5,800 scientists from around the world made use of the research opportunities provided by the Helmholtz Centres – a 27 percent increase over the previous year.