About Wissenschaftsmanagement

Wissenschaftsmanagement

Wissenschaftsmanagement is Germany's specialist journal for the management of science and higher education, published under the full title "Wissenschaftsmanagement – Zeitschrift für Innovation". Issued every two months by Lemmens Medien GmbH of Bonn, it addresses the people who run universities, research institutions and science organisations: chancellors, administrators, science managers and policymakers. In a country where Article 5 of the Basic Law guarantees the freedom of research and teaching, the journal explores how that freedom is organised — strategy, governance, funding, personnel, infrastructure and communication in the science system. With its online portal wissenschaftsmanagement-online.de, special issues, book series and expert events, it has become the forum of a young professional discipline.

Overview

Science management — Wissenschaftsmanagement — is the art of enabling research without directing it. The journal's guiding line, articulated in the publisher's handbook, is that it means management for science, not management of science. Its readers are the administrators, chancellors, department heads and consultants who shape the framework conditions of German research: university governance, third-party funding, research strategy, knowledge transfer, science communication and the professionalisation of administrative careers.

Published bimonthly — six issues a year — the journal combines scholarly articles with practice-oriented reporting. Surveys conducted by the title, such as the 2023 poll of German university chancellors on infrastructure investment, personnel recruitment and strategic orientation, give the community original data on its own concerns. The online portal extends the print rhythm with continuous articles, interactive graphics and commentary, while the "Wissenschaftsmanagement Spezial" theme issues and the Edition Wissenschaftsmanagement book series deepen selected topics.

The publisher, Lemmens Medien, operates at the intersection of publishing, events and consulting for higher education and research — a positioning that makes the journal part of a wider service infrastructure for the German science system, from expert talks to strategy consulting.

That infrastructure reflects how far the discipline has come. Science management in Germany has grown from an improvised administrative function into a recognised profession with its own degree programmes, specialist chairs, professional associations and career paths — a development the journal has accompanied and documented. Its readership spans the full breadth of the science system: the administrative leadership of universities and universities of applied sciences, the management of non-university research organisations from small Leibniz institutes to large Helmholtz centres, science policymakers in ministries, and the consultants and service providers who work for them. For this community, the journal functions as a shared professional memory — the place where the field discusses itself.

History

Wissenschaftsmanagement is published by Lemmens Medien GmbH of Bonn, a media service provider for universities, research and educational institutions. The company combines three business fields — publishing, events and consulting — and has worked for clients in education, science and business in Germany, Europe and the transatlantic region for well over a decade. Its publishing programme includes the magazine "Wissenschaftsmanagement – Zeitschrift für Innovation", the theme issues "Wissenschaftsmanagement Spezial" and the Edition Wissenschaftsmanagement book series.

The journal's publisher (Herausgeber) is Dr. Markus Lemmens, managing director of Lemmens Medien; the editorial team named in the house's documents includes Ralf Bohlsen and Markus Lemmens. Subscription terms published by the house confirm the bimonthly rhythm: six issues per calendar year, ordered through the book trade or directly from Lemmens Medien, invoiced at the start of the year and cancellable with three months' notice to year end.

Over the years the journal has documented the professionalisation of its field: the emergence of science management as a distinct discipline with its own chairs, career paths and associations; the debates on governance and leadership in universities and large research organisations from Leibniz institutes to Helmholtz centres; and the growing importance of strategy, marketing and communication for institutions that compete for talent, funding and public attention. The online portal wissenschaftsmanagement-online, supported by Lemmens Medien as partner, has carried this conversation into the digital space with articles, surveys and interactive formats.

The three business fields of Lemmens Medien reinforce one another around the journal. In publishing, the house supports clients' communication through press work, journals, newsletters and book publications; in events, it develops formats for direct contact with target groups — including the WIM Q-Online expert talks that bring science managers together on current questions; in consulting, it accompanies institutions in strategy development and marketing. The journal sits at the centre of this triangle: the editorial flagship of a service provider that lives inside the world it reports on.

Content and Sections

Each issue addresses the management of science from multiple angles. Governance and management topics examine how universities and research institutions are led: the relationship between academic leadership and administration, the role of chancellors, strategic planning and the evaluation of research performance. Funding and policy coverage follows the framework conditions — federal and state science policy, third-party funding programmes, and the regulatory environment in which German science operates.

Practice-oriented articles present case studies from institutions: infrastructure investment, personnel recruitment and development, digitalisation of administration, knowledge and technology transfer, and science communication. The journal's own surveys — such as the chancellors' poll conducted with rheform, which found infrastructure investment, recruitment and strategic orientation topping the agenda, with 23 per cent of German chancellors participating — provide the community with benchmarks. Opinion pieces and interviews give voice to the actors: chancellors, ministry officials, association leaders and researchers reflecting on the conditions of their work.

The "Wissenschaftsmanagement Spezial" theme issues allow deeper treatment of selected topics, and the Edition Wissenschaftsmanagement publishes handbooks and essay collections — including the foundational handbook on science management with contributions on leadership, strategy and the discipline's self-understanding. The tone is professional and reflective, aimed at readers who shape institutions rather than merely administer them. Contributions come from sociologists, legal scholars, political scientists, psychologists and business economists — the disciplinary mix that, as the handbook notes, documents the variety of approaches to a young field still finding itself.

Publisher and Organization

Wissenschaftsmanagement is published by Lemmens Medien GmbH, Matthias-Grünewald-Straße 1-3, 53175 Bonn (phone +49 228 421 37-20; wissenschaftsmanagement@lemmens.de). The publisher and editor (Herausgeber) is Dr. Markus Lemmens, managing director of Lemmens Medien; the editorial team includes Ralf Bohlsen and Markus Lemmens. The journal appears every two months — six issues per year — with subscriptions available through the book trade or directly from the publisher. The house also publishes the theme series "Wissenschaftsmanagement Spezial" and the Edition Wissenschaftsmanagement book programme, operates the portal wissenschaftsmanagement-online.de, and organises expert events such as the WIM Q-Online talks. Individual circulation figures have not been publicly confirmed in the sources available for this profile.

Digital Presence

The journal's digital home is twofold: wissenschaftsmanagement.de, the publishing site with subscription terms and house information, and wissenschaftsmanagement-online.de, the editorial portal carrying articles, surveys and interactive graphics — such as the September 2023 graphic of the month on the chancellors' survey. The portal, supported by Lemmens Medien as partner, extends the bimonthly print rhythm with continuous content and commentary functions.

Expert events complement the publications: the WIM Q-Online expert talks, announced through the house's channels with free registration, bring the community together on current questions — from mobility in science and research to digitalisation. E-books and open-access downloads, including handbook excerpts and studies, are distributed through the lemmens.de document servers. Through this combination of journal, portal, special issues, books and events, Wissenschaftsmanagement maintains a continuous presence in the German science-management community — the specialist medium of a discipline that organises the freedom of research.