The Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS has developed a comprehensive transfer strategy to ensure that the findings from its research are discussed by and disseminated to a wider audience, i.e., that its scientific findings are translated into practice and ultimately have a positive impact on the society. BIPS' transfer strategy is closely linked to its research strategy and is based on the Leibniz Association's transfer mission statement. To measure the success of this strategy, BIPS relies on quantitative and qualitative indicators.
The BIPS covers the entire cycle of epidemiological research, from research methods development and identification of disease causes to intervention and implementation research. For BIPS, research and transfer are closely interconnected, and knowledge transfer is an integral part of the institute’s mission.
The main question that guides the institute’s knowledge transfer is: What keeps people healthy and what protects them from disease? To more strongly reflect the growing importance of knowledge transfer, BIPS formed a Transfer and Communications Staff Office to bundle all corresponding activities. The team advises and trains scientists on knowledge transfer, develops its own formats and promotes the long-term transfer strategy.
Depending on the specific message to be disseminated or transfer aims to be achieved, BIPS addresses different target groups: (1) expert audience from epidemiology, public health, and medicine, (2) politics, professional associations, and institutions in the health care sector, and (3) media and the public.
Transfer in the Leibniz Association
BIPS follows the transfer definition of the Leibniz Association, which considers transfer as the exchange between science and the non-academic world. It understands successful knowledge transfer as the target group-specific and quality-assured translation of scientific findings and, conversely, the integration of socially generated issues into research projects. Transfer therefore serves as an interface in both directions. It links societal knowledge needs and existing knowledge in society with the research agendas of Leibniz institutions and enables actors outside science to understand and apply scientific knowledge. To support structuring transfer activities, the Leibniz Association defined nine transfer paths, which range from cooperation with industry to public relations activities.
I Transfer activities
In the following, BIPS’ transfer activities are described according to the transfer paths mentioned above. As the Leibniz Association is diverse with independent research institutions ranging from natural sciences, engineering and environmental sciences to economics, spatial sciences, social sciences and humanities, not all transfer paths fits BIPS’ mission equally well.
Team Transfer & Communication
Rasmus Cloes
Head of Transfer and Communication – Press Spokesperson
Contact:
Tel: +49 (0)421 218-56780
Fax: +49 (0)421 218-56761
Email: cloes(at)leibniz-bips.de
Teresa Alberts
Officer for science communication NFDI4Health
Email: alberts(at)leibniz-bips.de
Sebastian Budde
Digital media officer
Email: budde(at)leibniz-bips.de
Mario Vivone
Media computer scientist/Digital media
Email: vivone(at)leibniz-bips.de
Ben Jurca
Graphic designer
Email: jurca(at)leibniz-bips.de
Transfer path 1
Cooperation with industry
Transfer path 2
Spin-offs
Transfer path 3
Intellectual property
Transfer path 4
Standardization and norming
Transfer path 5
Transfer via minds
Transfer path 6
Infrastructure services
Transfer path 7
Policy advice
Transfer path 8
Active citizen participation
Transfer path 9
Public relations
Strategic orientation
BIPS focuses on those paths that best fit its research strategy and that are most efficient in transferring its findings in epidemiology and public health from the research arena to the society. It considers the transfer paths 4 on standardization and norming, 5 on transfer via minds, 6 on infrastructure services, and 7-9 on science communication to be particularly relevant to achieve its mission. However, it has become apparent in recent years that especially transfer path 7 (policy advice) supported by path 9 (public relations) is very efficient in bringing BIPS topics into the public discourse and into political decision-making processes. For this reason, policy advice is currently further expanded. This reflects the understanding that the environmental and regulatory conditions are particularly important to personal choices for a healthy lifestyle.
To enhance the quality of knowledge transfer, BIPS 2025 has established a structured exchange process: In regular (at least annual) transfer meetings between department heads and the head of the Transfer and Communication team, strategic approaches to knowledge transfer are identified and further developed. The aim of these meetings is to advise department heads on institute-wide transfer priorities, while also taking their own ideas and priorities into account. Fundamentally, the meetings are intended to contribute to establishing a common understanding of transfer and its significance for the future viability of BIPS.
II Impact assessment
How can the impact of transfer be measured?
There have been increasing demands to measure the impact of research and transfer activities. Consequently, research institutes are required to develop a set of indicators for evaluating the various transfer activities and to build up structures to map these activities (as, e.g., proposed by the EU Results Framework or the Global Europe Results Framework).
To measure the impact of transfer activities, an approach that combines quantitative and qualitative methods is commonly considered. The quantitative domain is usually divided into input- and output-related indicators. In this context, input-related indicators include the resources made available for transfer activities, such as employees contributing to transfer activities or technical aids. Output-related indicators include indicators on political and social advice (number of statements, expert opinions, position papers, memberships in national and international advisory bodies) or on social media presence as well as the number of organized events (e.g., stakeholder and other transfer workshops) or published press releases. BIPS has long been reporting on these quantitative indicators for its transfer activities, mainly via the German Pact for Research and Innovation. This system has proven successful with its quantitative key figures and will thus be continued in the future.
BIPS supplements the quantitative indicators with a qualitative level of impact representation. To this end, impact case studies are used to describe the social benefits and impact of transfer activities and the underlying research. The impact case studies use selected projects or initiatives to illustrate the positive changes or added value that have resulted from the institute's work. They are integrated into the institute's research report as short, summary reports and follow the guidelines of the Research Excellence Framework in their structure.
Additional information
Authors:Rasmus Cloes, Hajo Zeeb