At its October meeting the Senate of the Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) [German Research Foundation] granted funding for a research group titled “Needs-based Justice and Distribution Procedures” to be established at the University of Bremen. The research group is an interdisciplinary cooperation project involving eleven scholars of the Universities of Bremen, Hamburg, Oldenburg and Vienna, as well as Jacobs University Bremen. The members of the group are drawn from the disciplines of philosophy, political science, psychology and economics. Spokesman for the group is Professor of Economics, Stefan Traub, from the University of Bremen’s Center for Social Policy. The University of Bremen is represented further by the political scientists, Professor Frank Nullmeier and Dr. Tanja Pritzlaff (both of whom also from the Center for Social Policy) and Professor DagmarBorchers (Institute for Philosophy).

Research objectives

In an initial three-year phase of funding the research group will investigate how needs can be identified on the level of the individual and recognized on the level of society. Does the process of needs recognition lead to stable results, and how does a needs-oriented system of (re)distribution impact on economic incentive effects? The new research group is unique in that all the subprojects comprise interdisciplinary members, and the respective research issues are investigated in controlled situations involving test persons who have to reach realistic distribution decisions. The long-term objective is to formulate a normative theory of needs-based justice based on these experimental observations. In the course of their investigations the research teams will be guided by two central assumptions: On the one hand, that the individual finds it easier to accept existing principles of distribution when these are transparent; and on the other hand, that endorsement of the distribution result will be higher, the greater the amount of expertise put into the distribution result. Based on this, the teams will attempt accordant analyses of the welfare state.

What is a DFG-funded Research Group?

A DFG-funded Research Group involves close research collaboration between a largish number of outstanding researchers who pool their expertise in pursuit of a shared research objective. In its thematic, temporal and financial reach, this type of research project exceeds the funding possibilities provided within the context of normal DFG support for individual projects. By funding such projects, the DFG provides the necessary resources for close cooperation in the medium-term – usually six years. DFG Research Groups invariably lead to new lines of research.

At the time of writing, the successful applicants for the research group “Needs-based Justice and Distribution Procedures” still don’t know exactly how much funding they can expect as they have not yet received written notification of all details.

If you would like to have more information on this topic, please contact:
University of Bremen
Center for Social Policy
Prof.Dr. Stefan Taub (Spokesman for Research Group FOR 2104 “Needs-based Justice and Distribution Procedures”)
Phone: +49 421 218-58581
e-mail: traubprotect me ?!uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de