MfN – Museum für Naturkunde Berlin – Leibniz Institute for Research on Evolution and Biodiversity

The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (MfN) is one of the World’s leading natural science museums, devoted to basic research and education in all fields of natural history, with a focus on biodiversity, evolution, and basic earth sciences. In addition, MfN conducts research on science communication, including science-society interfaces, and applications for digital technologies in natural sciences. Since 2009, the MfN is constituted as an independent research institute under the Leibniz Association supported in equal shares by the State of Berlin and the German Federal Government. The institution which formerly was part of the Humboldt University in Berlin, currently employs about 290 staff, including more than 120 scientists. Its exhibitions (ca. 6,600 square meters) are seen by more than 500,000 visitors annually.

The MfN has experience at the science-policy interface; the German Network-Forum on Biodiversity Research (NeFo) supports interdisciplinary networks and contributes to international policy processes such as IPBES and the CBD. The FP7 project EU BON has been coordinated by MfN, where stakeholder roundtable informed the community about needs from policy and society, namely citizen science. A COST Action on Citizen Science is chaired by MfN, the museum contributes to the Open Science Agenda of the EC, and participates in GEO and other relevant international organisations (GBIF, IUCN, IPBES).

The project will essentially be implemented by:
Dr. Katrin Vohland (head science program “Public engagement with Science”), supported by staff of the research department Science in Society (WIG), where the COST Action on Citizen Science, NeFo, and research on biodiversity science–policy–society interfaces belong to.
Dr. Christoph Häuser, Deputy Director General and in charge of international cooperation and science policy at MfN, has coordinated EU BON and is engaged with relevant international bodies (GEO, GBIF, IPBES).
Dr. André Mascarenhas, post-doctoral researcher at the department Science in Society, doing research on biodiversity science–policy–society interfaces.