In carrying out their tasks, the Reseach Data Centres of the Statistical Offices of the Federation and the Federal States (RDC) are supported and consulted by a mutual scientific consultative group (Wissenschaftlicher Beraterkreis – WBK).
Tasks
The central task of the WBK is to work towards a user-oriented development of the provided data and services. Additionally, the WBK consults the RDC in carrying out the following tasks and makes according recommendations:
- Provision of official microdata for scientific research
- Facilitation of the access to official microdata through the operation of different ways of access
- Advancement of the data and service offer and of the ways of access
- Advancement of procedures for the securing of statistical confidentiality
- Conception and conduction of RDC research projects
Members
The consultative group consists of eight scientific members. The members are appointed by the field office of the Research Data Centre of the Federal States and the Research Data Centre of the Federation. Appointed are scientists that are suitable to a special degree to provide scientific advice for the work of the RDC. The term of office lasts four years and a re-appointment is possible once. The WBK consists of the following members in the current term of office (2018-2022):
- Dr Kamila Cygan-Rehm (Head of a Junior Reseach Group at the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi))
- Prof Dr Jörg Drechsler (Distinguished Researcher at the Department of Statistical Methods at the Institute for Employment Research at the Federal Employment Agency)
- Prof Dr Nikola Fuchs-Schündeln (Professor of Macroeconomics and Development at the Goethe University Frankfurt)
- Dr Kathrine von Graevenitz (deputy head of the Department of Environmental and Resource Economics, Environmental Management at the ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research)
- Dr Alexander Schiersch (Research Associate in the Firms and Markets Department at the German Institute for Economic Research)
- Prof Dr Jörg-Peter Schräpler (Chair of Social Science Data Analysis at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum)
- Prof Dr Andreas Peichl (Director of the ifo Center for Macroeconomics and Surveys)
- Prof Dr Iris Pigeot (Director at the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology)