Governance

Principles: scholarship and independence

MERICS is a research institute committed to the highest standards of organizational, intellectual, and personal integrity and independence. An International Scientific Council advises the MERICS management on the institute‘s research strategy.

As an independent, non-profit think tank, we also advise the German Parliament and German government through our research. Since March 29, 2022, MERICS has been listed in the German Lobby Register, alongside many other research institutes. Thus, we follow the code of conduct of an institution listed in the lobby register. You can find us here with the register number R003904.

To preserve our intellectual freedom while forging partnerships with members and partners who want to support our work or commission research products and associated services, MERICS applies the following principles:  

• MERICS's research observes rigorous scientific practice – as laid down in the guidelines of the German Research Foundation (DFG).
• MERICS will not accept funding or rewards of any kind that seek to control the direction, content, or findings of its research and projects   
• MERICS retains sole editorial control over its ideas and products. All views, positions, and conclusions expressed in our publications should be understood to be solely those of the authors  
• Arrangements between MERICS and project funders or members shall not inhibit the free dissemination of research results or stipulate any predetermined result or policy stance, either personally or institutionally  
• MERICS does not engage in lobbying to influence specific legislation  
• MERICS prioritizes European funding sources and does not accept funding from any actor or entity that is anti-democratic or beholden to anti-democratic actors  

Transparency: funding and diversity

For reasons of transparency, MERICS will publish an annual overview of income and funding sources starting with 2023. We will also provide information on the composition of our team, as diversity is a topic about which we care deeply.

I. Funding: Who supports our independent China research?

Providing 66 percent of total funding, Stiftung Mercator was the most important institutional funder of MERICS in 2023. The MERICS budget for the year amounted to 3,478,558.48 euros. In the third funding phase (2024-2028), Stiftung Mercator is supporting MERICS with funding totaling 12 million euros. 
In addition to Stiftung Mercator, the following sponsors, among others, contributed to the funding of research projects and publications in 2023  (in alphabetical order).

Public sector:  

• German Federal Foreign Office
• German Federal Ministry of Education and Research
• German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office 
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
• US Department of State

Foundations and associations:

• Federation of German Industries (BDI) 
• Robert Bosch Stiftung

At the end of 2023, MERICS members included 54 organizations, companies, and institutions. Of these, 28 belonged to the public sector and 26 to the private sector. MERICS members have privileged access to pertinent China expertise. In 2023, contributions totaled 351,315 euros, of which 147,275 euros was attributable to public sector members and 204,040 euros to private sector members.

Clients, partners and members have no influence on the institute's strategic planning or on the results of research projects (see principles above in the text). The contributions of individual members were consistently below 5 percent of total membership income. In relation to the total annual budget for 2023, no single member's contribution exceeded 0.5 percent of the total budget.  

II. Diversity: What is the composition of the MERICS team?

MERICS values the diversity of our European society as a whole and strives to reflect this in our work culture. With a diverse team, we aim to bring different perspectives to our topics, which for us is a key prerequisite for high-quality and credible analysis. You can find our declaration on diversity and inclusion at MERICS here.