According to the statutes of the GFZ, the Scientific Council has the right to "listen in" on the decision-making processes of the Executive Board and the Directorate and to contribute its voice on scientific matters in an advisory capacity.
Among the questions that preoccupied this year's newly elected Scientific Council at the beginning were, for example: How can the work of Ombudspersons at GFZ and at RIFS be structured and defined to support and implement good scientific practices? Or: How can we constructively contribute to the ongoing GFZ strategy process? The Council is also involved in finding suitable candidates for the (external) Scientific Advisory Board.
The fourteen-member Scientific Council is roughly equivalent in size to the Directorate, which is made up of the Department and Topic Directors. The council either chooses its own working topics, whereby it likes to be inspired by the suggestions of its colleagues. Alternatively, it is actively asked by management committees to assess a particular topic. Often, the Scientific Council also invites experts or persons affected by the topic to its meetings in order to obtain a comprehensive opinion. Only then are written recommendations made to governing bodies.