It would be an interesting case study on organisational effectiveness to compare the Fraunhofer Society to the Max Planck Society. Although they focus on different stages of research (applied innovation vs. basic science) they both German non-profit research organizations and relatively similar in size (quick google on MPS gives around 24 thousand staff and $2.1 billion budget for 2018). Yet MPS is a world-renowned research organization and its researchers have been awarded numerous Nobel prizes. I’m not sure if MPS has specific goals, but nonetheless, it seems to be achieving much more impact than Fraunhofer. Some of this difference is probably just in appearances as basic research tends to get more recognition and publicity than applied work, but it still seems like MPS is systematically doing better. Why is that?
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Of course, it is not that the employees at Fraunhofer want to do harmful things. Many are cognitively dissonant, actually thinking that they do tremendous good. But many are aware of the problematic situation they are in. The dilemma is: Not having any goal-oriented incentive system, the Fraunhofer Society is dominated by the personal incentive of its members: Job security.
This is the same general trend I observed amongst a lot of University researchers, but it sounds like it’s progressed much further where you work. Careerism seems to kill the integrity of researchers.
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When I told a senior scientist about CoolEarth, she replied:
“When it comes to climate change, we have to stop thinking in numbers”
When I asked her why, she said : “Because you can´t just throw a couple of dollars at the ground and ask mother nature to do it one more year”
A comparison to the Max Planck Society in regards to effectiveness would be very interesting indeed. Especially since the Max Planck Society is almost fully funded through unrestricted basic funding.
It would be an interesting case study on organisational effectiveness to compare the Fraunhofer Society to the Max Planck Society. Although they focus on different stages of research (applied innovation vs. basic science) they both German non-profit research organizations and relatively similar in size (quick google on MPS gives around 24 thousand staff and $2.1 billion budget for 2018). Yet MPS is a world-renowned research organization and its researchers have been awarded numerous Nobel prizes. I’m not sure if MPS has specific goals, but nonetheless, it seems to be achieving much more impact than Fraunhofer. Some of this difference is probably just in appearances as basic research tends to get more recognition and publicity than applied work, but it still seems like MPS is systematically doing better. Why is that?
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This is the same general trend I observed amongst a lot of University researchers, but it sounds like it’s progressed much further where you work. Careerism seems to kill the integrity of researchers.
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This reminded me of The value of a life from the Minding Our Way sequence.
A comparison to the Max Planck Society in regards to effectiveness would be very interesting indeed. Especially since the Max Planck Society is almost fully funded through unrestricted basic funding.