Science management does not take place in a vacuum - any more than science itself. It is embedded in the social and political framework conditions that shape our actions. At the same time, responsible science management also means actively helping to shape these framework conditions and critically scrutinizing them.

This can be seen in very concrete terms: in policy advice, in cooperation with municipal partners, in our commitment to lean and functioning processes instead of over-bureaucratization, in the responsible handling of international cooperation in a dynamic geopolitical situation and, last but not least, in our daily commitment to our fundamental liberal-democratic values. At the 2026 annual conference of the Science Management Network, we will be focusing on precisely this responsibility.