What We Do: A Look Behind the Scenes

In keeping with the wishes of our founder, the Bertelsmann Stiftung carries out its own project work.

As a result, we do not make grants or provide funding to third parties.  We invest virtually all of our financial resources in projects that we initiate and – to the greatest extent possible – execute ourselves.

 In doing so we cooperate closely with the relevant decision makers in the political, economic and social sectors, as well as with government institutions and research organizations.

Our projects are designed to be innovative in impact, efficient in execution and readily comprehensible to the public. In keeping with our mission statement, we develop and realize exemplary solutions in cooperation with all relevant partners, starting with the conception phase and ending with tests carried out in real-world settings.

Our work is directly affected by a number of global trends: globalization, digitalization, demographic change and social inequality. These trends are reflected in our projects and require that we remain in constant dialogue with international experts, institutions and organizations. In our daily work we therefore ensure that our structures are flexible, our hierarchies flat and our teamwork ongoing.

Our project teams consult with each other on the issues they are dealing with, and our approximately 380 employees cooperate with colleagues across subject areas and departmental lines. In brief, that is how we approach the roughly 70 projects we are currently working on. Each project’s duration is limited based on topic in order to free up resources for addressing new challenges.