The Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI) has organized its research planning into research programs through the end of 2025. In January 2026, these were replaced by newly structured program areas. A corresponding redesign of the website is currently underway.
Research Program 3 “Knowledge for the Media Society” analysed how evidence-based knowledge from the field of media and communication science can help to meet the challenges of media change.
Our research questions were:
- How can media change be systematically and continuously monitored?
- In which way does media change show up in various areas of society and their shared knowledge?
- How can science sustainably uphold its mission of knowledge transfer within media society?
In the face of media change, science must react appropriately to new challenges and make its social responsibility more visible. Research Program 3 reflected on research processes in which evidence-based knowledge is generated from the field of media and communication sciences. In dialogue with societal actors, the research program analysed how such knowledge can help to overcome the challenges caused by media change. Such research of transfer took place in close exchange with actors from various fields of society.
In four areas, in which the Institute conducted basic and applied research for many years, demand-oriented and empirically based answers to current societal problems were developed. These so-called ‘areas of competence’ in which the Institute is perceived as a relevant knowledge agency by scientific, societal and political actors, were:
In these areas of expertise, we carried out basic and applied research projects to provide evidence- and needs-based solutions to current challenges. Topic-specific analyses were conducted in close collaboration with relevant stakeholder groups.
Furthermore, in light of its understanding of transfer research, the research program systematically reflected on the organization of research processes. Thus, it has made knowledge from media and communication studies available to meet diverse information needs in a sustainable way.
How did we implement such an agenda?
- We conducted topic-specific research with relevant stakeholders in the areas of competence.
- We reflected on the organisation of research processes in order to make knowledge from the field of media and communication science available to the various information needs in a sustainable way.
- We analysed the domain-specific changes in science communication and participated in the theory development of transfer research.
Spokespersons: Dr. Claudia Lampert, Dr. Hans-Ulrich Wagner
