RWI Essen focuses on economic research, engaging in the observation and analysis of the economy and its development. Its research work is based on the latest theoretical concepts and scientific methods and includes the analysis of the labor market, educational research, migration, and environmental economics. Particular attention is paid to diagnoses and forecasts concerning the German economy and those of leading developed countries as well as to structural changes within the economy, for example, in manufacturing, medium-sized businesses, and the IT sector. Due to the location of the institute, the analysis of the economy of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the energy and steel sectors are also key fields of activity.

PRIF aims to put forward how the causes of conflict can be recognized as early as possible, how violence can be prevented, and how political control can be put in place to solve conflict. PRIF's new research program is committed to the democratic form of governance and accepts the basic premises of the democratic peace theory, which is based on the observation that democracies seldom wage war against one another. Upon closer inspection, however, contradictions appear. These contradictions, which have so far attracted very little attention, will, for the next five years, be central to both PRIF's basic research and its policy advisory activities.

IfW is a center for international economic policy research and documentation affiliated with the University of Kiel. Publications and services address academics in Germany and abroad, decision-makers in the private and public sectors, and anyone interested in domestic and international economic policy. In the field of academic research, IFW regards applied research as its principal domain. IfW engages in the empirical analysis of current economic policy issues, the theoretical analysis of new economic phenomena, and innovative economic thinking to find new solutions to economic policy problems. IfW's library is specializing in economics and social sciences, and the Economic Archives have a comprehensive collection of newspaper clippings from 1920 to 2000.

EWI's activities are education; research and consultancy; organization of conference; and publication. EWI's research and consultancy covers the following areas: (1) sector-specific energy industry studies; (2) energy pricing; (3) institutional and regulatory issues; (4) integration of energy markets in the EU; (5) energy and environmental interaction; and (6) modeling of the electricity and gas markets. In addition, EWI offers an optional course in energy economics in Cologne University's Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences. The course can be chosen among the graduate programs in business administration and economics. Each year, some 50 graduate students choose this option, and about 15 students prepare their final thesis in the field of energy economics. The institute also supervises about 15 doctoral students. For almost 50 years, EWI has been organizing the annual International Cologne Energy Conference (Internationale Arbeitstagung).

IFA's mission is to carry out research and closely monitor the political, economic, and social developments in the countries of Asia. The focus is on countries and regions, such as China, Southeast Asia, Japanand Korea. IFA's research work is contemporary. Research is carried out from a methodological and disciplinary background and is relevant for those beyond the academic community. The focus of activities are political, economic, and social issues, targeting not only the academic community but also the business community and decision-makers in politics, administration, and the media. Filling a gap in the German research landscape concerning Asia, IFA is the only nonuniversity research institute in Germany that exclusively deals with the countries of Asia, and its network of cooperating institutions includes many research units within and outside the academic world.

INEF was founded on the basis of a cooperation agreement between the Development and Peace Foundation and the Gerhard Mercator University Duisburg. Based on an interdisciplinary approach, INEF is concerned with global trends and global governance; interrelationships between development and peace in developing countries; global interdependencies between the economy, the environment, and security; development perspectives of developing countries in the world economy; and the interplay between states, international organizations, the business sector, and civil society in world politics. INEF and the Development and Peace Foundation have set themselves the goals of playing a role in shaping the national, European, and international dialogue concerning global interdependencies and global governance and providing impulses for political action based on global responsibility throughout the world. INEF, integrated in a strong and viable international research network, often cooperates with national and international partners in conducting research programs and systematically exploring available international expertise and relevant global information.

IAI is a private research institute affiliated to the Ruhr-University of Bochum. Applied innovation research at IAI covers the analysis, structuring, and scientific monitoring of change processes taking place in companies, branches, and regions. Change processes include the development of new products, new technologies leading to new processes, the introduction of new organizational concepts, the development of new markets, new competencies on individual and organizational levels, and new cooperation between science and industry. IAI's services include empirical analyses, scientific studies and consultancy, monitoring of innovative projects, moderation of development processes, special conferences and workshops, and publications and lectures.

Ifo applies academic knowledge to practical policy issues and constantly seeks ways to enhance this knowledge. By providing data, information, and research results, it gives intermediate input to scientific research and contributes to a solid, rational foundation for German and European economic policy. Under the name CESifo, Ifo works in cooperation with the Center for Economic Studies (CES). The CESifo Group maintains a research network made up of mainly former guest researchers at CES, to which over 450 economists from all over the world belong. As one of the institutes on the "Blue List," it is financed within the framework of the German constitution by the federal government and the L-nder. The mandate of Ifo is to undertake empirical economic and social science research and provide data, information, and research results to the economic and economic-policy sector.

HWWA aims to (1) provide informational, advisory, and other services based on its extensive collection of materials and on in-house research; (2) produce substantive research results and documentation on current international and European economic issues; (3) provide for the rapid dissemination of new economic ideas and findings concerning economic policy practice through its wide range of publications, information services, conferences, workshops, and so on; (4) develop databases on issues relevant to economic policy; (5) provide relevant information and advice pertaining to economics and the social sciences in a user-friendly form for the scientific community, practicing economists, and policymakers; (6) support academic education in the field of empirical economic research; and (7) provide for the training of library, archive, and documentation assistants. HWWA identifies, evaluates, selects, and makes available information on the world economy; concentrates on the documentation, description, explanation, and forecasting of economic changes in Europe and in the world economy; investigates the internationalization of economic activities (globalization); analyzes the institutional requirements of an international economic order (multilateralization); and attempts to define an economically efficient division of labor between global, national, regional, and local institutions (regionalization).

IWH was inaugurated following an agreement between the German Federal Government and Saxony-Anhalt, where the institute is based. Of the six main German economic research institutes, IWH is the only one located in East Germany. The institute is a private institution and exclusively pursues nonprofit scientific aims. In fulfilling its institutional functions, IWH secures its operations primarily with public support supplemented by the partial external funding of research projects. The statutory mission of the institute is to observe and assess national and international economic processes. With its own periodical publications, IWH aims to support German public administration, the scientific community, and decision-makers concerned with the German economy. A particular base of work at IWH is the undertaking of scientific research that constitutes the necessary background against which economic policy decisions can be made. Additionally, the institute supplies a significant amount of statistical data by supplementing official statistics with its own data, collected and generated by its researchers.

SWP is a scientific establishment that conducts practically oriented research, which forms the basis for its advice to the Bundestag (the German parliament) and the federal government on foreign and security policy issues. SWP has eight research units that cover EU integration, EU external relations, European and Atlantic security, the Americas, the Russian Federation/CIS, the Middle East and Africa, Asia, and global issues and eight information research units that cover international politics/global issues, international security, international economics, European affairs, Russia and the CIS, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, North America, and a treaty and name database. SWP is governed by a council consisting of a president, three deputy presidents, 18 members, and a three-member board. CONVEU-30, Intact Climate, States at Risk, Transatlantic Foreign Policy Discourse (TFPD), and Walbr- are current SWP projects. Analyses and publications by SWP researchers and their participation in national and international debates on key issues help to shape opinion in their respective domains.

The DGAP is a foreign policy think tank which actively takes part in political decision-making and promotes the understanding of German foreign policy and international relations. As a German forum for foreign policy, DGAP facilitates a comprehensive network of political, economic, and academic decision-makers, and foreign politicians use its institution as a link to the German public. DGAP provides a platform for constructive and controversial debate at conferences and in study group meetings and public events; policy-oriented analyses from its research institute fellows; authoritative publications on contemporary topics through its journal Internationale Politik and other publications from its research institute; and an extensive range of information in its library and documentation section.

IW is an organization supported by and representing the private business sector in Germany. Its mission is to promote private initiative and market mechanisms as a means to foster economic growth and social welfare, both in Germany and throughout the world economy.

EADI is a Europe-wide, multidisciplinary network of researchers, institutes and students in the field of development studies, with members in 28 countries. Its 20 working groups organize activities and offer facilities for the international exchange of knowledge and experiences in the professional field. The institute's most prominent activity is a general conference devoted to a topical theme every three years. EADI's objectives are to generate and stimulate exchange of information among European scientists and researchers concerned with development issues and to promote interdisciplinary studies on specific themes.

DIW Berlin is one of the six leading economic research institutes in Germany. Its main task is to investigate economic processes in Germany and abroad and to support decision making in the public and private sectors. Since its inception, DIW Berlin has focused on business cycle analysis and forecasts, ranging from short-term analysis of economic trends and analysis of current economic and fiscal affairs to the long-term projection and assessment of developments in the global economy and in individual sectors. It also addresses questions of international economic relations resulting from the integration of Germany into the EU and from the strongly international orientation of the German economy. The analysis of the transformation processes in Eastern Europe has become a new research field since the political changes of the late `80s. Traditional focal points of the institute's research work include economic questions of environmental protection, energy and resource economy, and transportation. The German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) regularly surveys 10,000 private households in a representative longitudinal study; the data acquired is analyzed within and outside DIW Berlin. The new orientation of several research departments offers the possibility of examining effectively the developments in the new economy.

The successor of an equivalent organization founded in 1920, DFG is the central autonomous body for science and the arts in Germany. The institute promotes multidisciplinary research by financing projects in all fields of science and the arts. DFG also advises parliaments and public authorities on scientific matters, cultivates relations between scientists and economists, and promotes cooperation between German scientists and foreign researchers. Special attention is paid to promoting young scientists. DFG is the central self-governing organization of the German scientific community and the largest provider of research funds for universities.

CAP, affiliated with Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, uses its unique working methods in applied policy research to close the gap between the political and academic sectors. CAP draws its operating funds from projects and partnerships with foundations, government institutions, and various forms of cooperation and brings together academic understanding in order to define strategies and options for current issues in politics. CAP's research groups and projects combine international and interdisciplinary analysis with concrete suggestions for political practice. CAP uses this approach to advise political leaders on decisions concerning a wide range of issues and communicates the results of its work to the public and a large number of opinion shapers via publications and the Internet.

BICC is dedicated to promoting peace and development through the effective transformation of military-related processes, functions, activities, assets, and structures. While disarmament frees up resources that can be employed in the fight against poverty, conversion maximizes outcomes through the careful management of such resources transformation. It is in this sense that, together, disarmament and transformation can contribute to increasing human security. Having expanded its span of activities beyond the classical areas of conversion that focus on the reuse of military resources (such as the reallocation of military expenditures, restructuring of the defense industry, closure of military bases, and demobilization), BICC is now organizing its work around three main topics: peace-building, arms, and conflict.

IWG BONN was established to carry out academic research on important changes in the economy and society, and to evolve concepts for the further development of a liberal economic and social system. The institute considers it an important task to provide the support of scholarship for political action. Its work is independent of political parties and organizations and free from state interests and influences. IWG BONN is free to select its own projects within the framework of its articles of association, but concentrates on questions of medium-and long-term importance.