On behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) iFQ together with its two scientific partners in the Competence Centre for Bibliometrics, the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research and the Institute of Science and Technology Studies of the University of Bielefeld, will annually calculate und provide bibliometric indicators for the “Joint Initiative for Research and Innovation” (short: PFI) of the BMBF.

The quantitative and qualitative publication efforts of selected countries and regions as well as of the four large research organizations Max-Planck Society, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Helmholtz and Leibniz Association will be analyzed.

In addition to the standard reports methodological questions will be addressed as well. The aim is to offer a better representation of the research organizations’ activities, which differ significantly with regard to subject profile and range of tasks. This will lead to a better consideration of these institution-specific differences and proper representation of internal variances.