IfLS - Institute for Rural Development Research

URL http://www.ifls.de


The Institute for Rural Development Research (IfLS) was established in 1956 as an independent research institute attached to the University of Frankfurt. A Scientific Board links the IfLS with the University.

Several faculties that are relevant for the research and consultancy work carried out at the IfLS are represented on this board: Social and Political Sciences, Earth Sciences and Geography, Environmental Sciences, Economics and Business Administration, Law. The funding of research and consulting projects constitutes the financial basis of the Institute. The main clients are the European Commission, Ministries of the Federal State (agriculture, regional development, environment, economy), the German Länder, the Federal Environment Agency, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and various foundations and non-governmental organisations. The main fields of research and consulting are the integration of agricultural with rural development and environmental objectives, the exploration of agricultural structural change, and of its determinants and implications, the monitoring and evaluation of the effects of agricultural policy with advice on policy formulation, and, related to that, concepts and programmes for supporting a sustainable development of rural areas. The multifunctionality ofagriculture and of rural areas is a key question in several ongoing research and consultancy projects.

In the last 50 years the IfLS has cooperated with EU and national bodies, programmes, networks and initiatives in over 400 projects. At present the IfLS has fifteen researchers from a broad range of disciplines within the institute and it is integrated with a significant research network at the university. Main staff disciplines include: agricultural and environmental sciences; political sciences; political, regional and general economics; marketing research. Language competency of the staffmembers comprises: German, English, French, Italian and Spanish.