Stiftung Neue Verantwortung is a German non-profit think tank based in Berlin that specializes in public policy issues at the intersection of technology and society. The organization deals with the topics of IT security, the data economy, state surveillance, digital fundamental rights and media transformation, as well as other internet and technology-related topics.
Mission
The foundation presents concrete suggestions for German policy makers about how to design the technological transformation of society, economy and the state, while simultaneously giving civil society a more powerful voice in digitization policies. In 2016, it employed 14 experts from a wide range of disciplines.
Topics and activities
The foundation's work concentrates on political and societal topic areas relating to digitization and other technological and societal disruptions. Such topics include digital infrastructure, the automation of human work, IT and cyber security and digital surveillance. It focuses primarily on current policy developments and ongoing societal debates. Analyses or practical guidelines geared toward policymaking are made available as policy papers, which include suggestions for stricter controls on the German Federal Intelligence Service, broadband policies and IT-security policies. Scenario studies investigate future technological and societal developments, like the transformation of the labor market through automated technologies, robotics and intelligent software. Other publications deal with the effects of technology on social cohesion. In addition to publications, the association hosts events for public discussion. Guests have included the Federal Intelligence Service Commissioner in the German Chancellery Klaus-Dieter Fritsche, the WikiLeaks activist Sarah Harrison, the Moscow journalist Andrei Soldatov and Hillary Clinton's campaign manager Robby Mook. Moreover, the think tank's staff regularly participate in public academic debates and contribute to newspapers and online media outlets as guest experts.
During the reform of the German Intelligence Service Act in 2016, Thorsten Wetzling, the head of the foundation’s "Digital Fundamental Rights, Surveillance and Transparency" project, advocated for stricter controls on the Federal Intelligence Service. Along with administrative modernization, demands were made for more data from authorities and administrative bodies to be made publicly available to citizens and startups. In other papers, it criticized the relaxation of net neutrality rules, and argued for more state intervention in the area of IT security, as well as for greater cooperation between civil society and government. The organization consistently take the positions of strengthening the protection of fundamental rights and privacy.
Financing
According to its own website, the think tank had a yearly budget of approximately 1.1 million euros in 2016, of which a great extent was granted by non-profit organizations, foundations and public institutions. Corporate contributions comprise 30 percent of the total budget. 27 patrons finance the organization in total. In 2016, the organization's largest patrons included the Omidyar Network, the Robert Bosch Foundation, the Innogy Foundation for Energy und Society and the German Federal Foreign Office, as well as the Mercator Foundation und the Open Society Foundations.
Organization and leadership
The executive board is responsible for the leadership of the organization. Members of the board include Anna Wohlfarth, Stefan Heumann and Ben Scott. The board is appointed and controlled by a 19-person committee with representatives from academia, politics and business, as well as leading figures from civil-society organizations. The committee chair is Michael Vassiliadis.
Founding and development of the organization
Stiftung Neue Verantwortung was founded in 2008 with the original goal of offering young professionals from corporations, research institutions and civil-society organizations a platform to work on societal issues, publish and build relationships in Berlin for one year. Among its supporters at the time of its founding were the German Academy of Science and Engineering, the Federation of German Industries, the Union of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities and the former German Sports Confederation. The organization was financed through donations from corporations, including Friedhelm Loh, Beisheim Holding, EnBW, Bosch and Giesecke & Devrient. Following a shift in the executive board at the end of 2014, the organization re-established itself as a think tank focusing on digitalization with a permanent, interdisciplinary staff. Financing thereafter was largely provided by grants from non-profit foundations or the public sector.
