Stiftung Mercator is having its strategic orientation, the effectiveness of its programmes and the methodology of its work analysed. To this end, an independent commission headed by Professor Otfried Jarren, vice president of the University of Zürich, has been appointed and is meeting for the first time today in Berlin. Furthermore, the results of its work are to be used as the basis for further developing the foundation’s “Mercator 2020” strategy.
Members of the international commission are as follows: Professor Otfried Jarren, vice president of the University of Zürich (chair); Dr Wolf Schmidt, PhiPolisConsult (deputy chair); Professor Paul Brest, Stanford University, former president of the Hewlett Foundation (USA); Professor Ute Frevert, director of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin; Professor Jürgen Kocka, former president of the Social Science Research Center Berlin; Ratna Omidvar, president of the Maytree Foundation, Toronto (Canada); Professor Andreas Pinkwart, dean of the HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management; André Schmitz, permanent secretary for cultural affairs, Senate Chancellery Berlin, and Professor Burkhardt Schwenker, supervisory board chairman at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, Munich.
“Stiftung Mercator underwent an intensive strategy process in 2008 and adopted its five-year strategy ‘Mercator 2013 – Inspiring Ideas. Achieving Objectives’”, explains Professor Bernhard Lorentz, president of Stiftung Mercator. Within this framework, Stiftung Mercator had clearly defined its fields of activities, attitudes and values, laid down in concrete form its strategy for its three thematic clusters of Integration, Climate Change and Cultural Education, and set itself targets for the next few years. “At the time, I had already suggested to the foundation’s bodies that we should have the foundation’s work analysed externally at the end of the first strategic phase. As a learning organization, we hope this will provide us with important information about how to further develop in the coming years”, continues Lorentz.
“I am delighted that we have succeeded in recruiting such high-ranking and competent experts for this task”, says Rüdiger Frohn, chairman of the Stiftung Mercator advisory board.
The commission’s chairman, Professor Otfried Jarren, explains: “In its analysis of Stiftung Mercator, the commission intends to reveal the impact of a private foundation active in a broad spectrum of fields. Our work is also intended to increase transparency in the foundation sector.”
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions:
Christiane Duwendag
Head of Communication
Stiftung Mercator
Tel.: + 49 201 24522-42
christiane.duwendag@stiftung-mercator.de