Department of Political Science, Germany
The Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster (Münster University) is one of the major research centres in the country and one of the largest universities in Germany. More than 44 000 students are enrolled in 13 departments. The research activities will be taken up by the Institute of Political Science, which is part of the faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. The Institute counts among the larger institutions of political science in Germany, and it stands out for its gender balance at the faculty level. The Institute is well equipped to host a research programme with the focus on the future of public management/administration because in the last decade it has developed expertise related to these fields. The Institute runs a Double-Diploma Program (B.A.) on Public Administration in co- operation with the University of Twente. The Institute is involved in the national strategy of the German government to strengthen civic engagement. Currently it outlines a state of the art on infrastructure of empowerment and inclusion of citizens in public management procedures in several local communities. The Institute’s emphasis on public administration research is completed by its fine reputation in the field of non-profit management and third sector policy research.
Through Annette Zimmer, the department has played a leading role in European related research activities by active participation in the 4th, 5th and 6th Framework Programmes, e.g. the Research and Training Network “Women in European Universities” (WEU), the Network of Excellence “Civil Society and New Forms of Governance” (Cinefogo), the Network of Excellence “Global Governance, Regionalisation and Regulation: The Role of the EU“, and the “Third Sector European Policy“(TSEP).
Dr. Annette Zimmer
The head of the team will be Prof. Dr. Annette Zimmer, Professor of Social Policy and Comparative Politics at the University of Münster. She was affiliated with the Program on Non-profit-Organizations at Yale University (USA), served as the DAAD Visiting Professor at the University of Toronto (Canada) and co-ordinated the EU-funded Research and Training Network „Women in European Universities“. She has served on the Board of the German Political Science Association and on the Advisory Board of the German Volunteer Survey. She is elected member of the Advisory Council of the „Centre for Social Policy“ at Bremen University. Recently, she became chairwoman of the Centre for Non-profit Management that administrates on behalf of Münster University the first university based master program on non-profit management. She is the author of numerous books and articles. Recent publications include Gendered Career Trajectories in Academia in Cross-National Perspective (with Renate Siemienska, 2007), Vereine – Zivilgesellschaft konkret (2007) and Future of Civil Society: Making Central European Nonprofit-Organizations Work (with Eckhard Priller, 2004).
Contact information: Annette Zimmer:
Other members
Andrea Walter
Is employed as a researcher within the WILCO-project since February 2012. She is a PhD candidate at the Graduate School of Politics at the University of Münster and a doctoral fellow of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Andrea studied Political Science, Communication Science and Public Law at the University of Münster. Her research interests include the mechanisms of local governance, civil society and participation as well as methods of qualitative research.
Christina Rentzsch (M.A.)
Is a scientific assistant at the Department of Political Science at the University of Münster (WWU). She studied Communication Science, Political Science and Psychology in Münster and Hastings, USA. Currently she is a PhD-Student at the Graduate School of Politics at the WWU. In her dissertation she does research on the challenges NPOs and the third sector are facing.
Danielle Gluns
Danielle Gluns has joined the research team at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster (WWU) for the WILCO project in September 2012. Currently, she is a PhD student at the WWU after graduating with a Master’s degree in International Migration and Intercultural Relations at the University of Osnabrück. Her research interests include social (in)equality, migration and education as well as international political systems.
Patrick Boadu
Is a student assistant at the chair of Prof. Dr. Annette Zimmer at the Department of Political Science, University of Münster. He studies political science, economics and public law in search of a Magister Artium degree. He is writing his Magister thesis about housing policy in the city of Münster. He spent parts of his studies at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa in Lisbon – Portugal and the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina in Florianópolis – Brazil.
