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Willy Brandt‘s famous call to “Dare for more democracy!” (Mehr Demokratie wagen!)
was the starting point for my thoughts on the year 2013. What the former German
Federal Chancellor wanted from a generally political perspective in 1969 is, on closer
inspection, a statement of intent with widespread appeal. It is still valid more than four
decades later, and it also applies to scientific activities. And it is especially applicable to
the German Aerospace Center.
During the last five years, we have been working on DLR‘s self-conception and its
orientation towards ‘Knowledge for Tomorrow’ and, in so doing, substantiating the insti-
tutional and organisational claim ‘One DLR’, with its precepts for everyday work. We are
guided by the four ‘I’s – Invention, Innovation, Interaction and Internationalism. This is
how the set of aggregated visions is summarised and now needs to be implemented in
the various research and administration areas. Consequently, the motto ‘Dare for more
DLR’ can and should be the primary inspiration for this implementation, or encapsulate
it better. Let‘s exploit the opportunities that DLR offers!
Our 7400 motivated, skilled employees, an excellent infrastructure, as well as the
existing connections to other research institutions and partners in industry, nationally,
across Europe and internationally, offer potential that is still far from being exhausted.
Vanity and demarcation with the motivation of ‘protecting one‘s own area’ are patterns
of thought that should be a thing of the past. However, ‘Dare for more DLR’ is also valid
as a challenge to the outside world. DLR aims to be a reliable, competent and fair partner
for industry, science and society, and expressly invites more interaction. In understanding
our responsibility, we want to use our capabilities to solve diverse problems, including
global challenges.
‘Dare for more DLR’ is also an exhortation to the world of politics. Sociologist and
social economist Max Weber already highlighted science‘s right to self-determination
at the beginning of the last century. DLR receives considerable funds from German
taxpayers. However, deriving detailed control from the terms ‘legal supervision’ and
‘technical supervision’ is not only wrong, but contrary to reason.
Instead, clear objectives should be defined that lead to qualified decision-making
in each location and the appropriate actions. Obviously, this must also involve ensuring
that objectives are being achieved. So responsibility is also clearly allocated here, and it
should form the basis of modern management in research and administration.
The structure and organisation of DLR make it suitable to assume such responsi-
bility, and it is ready and able to do so. Therefore, my current call – internally and exter-
nally – is to ‘
Dare for more DLR!
’
•
Dare for more DLR!
By Johann-Dietrich Wörner
Johann-Dietrich Wörner, Chairman of the DLR
Executive Board
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