Max Planck Institute Cologne for the Study of Societies

The Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies conducts basic research on the governance of modern societies. It aims to develop an empirically based theory of the social and political foundations of modern economies by investigating the interrelation between economic, social and political action. Using primarily an institutional approach, it examines how markets and business organizations are embedded in historical, institutional, political and cultural frameworks, how they develop, and how their social contexts change over time. The institute seeks to build a bridge between theory and policy and to contribute to political debate on major challenges facing modern societies.

Facts and figures

The MPIfG was founded under the directorship of Renate Mayntz in 1985. It is one of the smaller research units of the Max Planck Society (MPS), which has some eighty institutes conducting basic research in several disciplines. Most of them are devoted to research in the natural sciences, but there are also a number of institutes working in the human and social sciences. With a 1.4 billion euro annual budget, the Max Planck Society is one of the largest non-university research organizations in Germany. Some eighty percent of the Society's funds are provided publicly by federal and state governments. The annual budget of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies is presently 4.4 million euros.
 
The institute has 32 full-time positions for researchers and service staff, and some 33 positions for doctoral students and post-doctoral researchers. Additional funding is acquired from the German federal government, the European Union, private funding organizations and foundations.
 
The Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies has a library with some 300,000 items including monographs, articles from edited volumes, and journal articles. It subscribes to 190 periodicals. The library offers online access to its own catalog and a wide range of specialized databases. A state-of-the-art infrastructure ensures optimal international connectivity for the institute's researchers and administration. The MPIfG also provides vocational training to three apprentices working in office communication and information technology.