On a personal note, we would like to inform you that our valued colleague, Dr. Annette Cerulli-Harms, left the institute in December 2025. In just under seven years, Dr. Cerulli-Harms has led a large number of national and EU projects and has worked and conducted research in the fields of behavioral sciences, risk communication, sustainability, and sustainable mobility. She has also moderated a large number of national and international events. In the future, Dr. Cerulli-Harms will lead the political work of the Environmental Justice Foundation in Germany. We would like to express our sincere thanks to Dr. Cerulli-Harms for her diverse, technically and methodologically versed contributions, for her inspiring personality and for the pleasant cooperation! We wish her all the best in her new career!
In addition, ConPolicy wishes you a joyful holiday season and a Merry Christmas.
Kind regards!
Your ConPolicy team
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New publication for the Federal Office for Radiation Protection
Investigation of the potential of participatory formats for risk and science communication
The BfS conducts research and informs political decision-makers and the public about scientific findings in radiation protection. It also uses participatory communication formats. In view of advancing digitalisation, this research project aimed to investigate the potential and limitations of digital participatory communication formats. Based on this, recommended courses of action for their design and further development were derived. The project consisted of three research steps: an inventory, a representative survey of 1,000 people, and in-depth qualitative individual interviews with 40 participants. The assessment showed that many of the opportunities and challenges of digital participatory exchange formats are similar to those of analogue formats. The greatest opportunities probably lie in the potentially large reach and appeal to diverse audiences. The project considers digital, participatory risk and science communication in radiation protection to be a mutual exchange with target groups, but does not provide for co-determination, for example, in setting topics, and is thus located in the so-called ‘preliminary stages of participation’. While ‘genuine’ participation is rarely feasible for a departmental research institute such as the BfS, formats such as interactive websites or live chats showed potential for knowledge transfer and trust building. The surveys revealed a high willingness to participate in the exchange formats presented. Personal relevance/involvement, knowledge gain and flexibility motivated participation. On the other hand, lack of time and technical barriers were obstacles. The empirical study showed different preferences among the respondents: while online games were popular in the quantitative survey, they were met with scepticism in the interviews. Low-threshold formats in combination with in-depth content, such as Instagram posts that refer to a digital workshop, could offer the greatest potential. Participatory formats can strengthen trust in institutions, but require clear target group addressing, easy access and professional moderation. Further information on the project can be found here. The final report is available here.
Completion of the project 'Financial and immaterial incentives for changes in mobility behavior'
Incentives that get people moving
How can incentives promote sustainable mobility? What incentives are available and how do they work? Over the past three years, ConPolicy has been working with the German Institute for Urban Affairs (Difu) to investigate these and other questions as part of a research project commissioned by the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA).
There is a wide range of incentives for sustainable mobility: a financial bonus for giving up your own car, advice on switching to eco-friendly transport, or the annual mileage collection during City Cycling Week – incentives can motivate people to try out sustainable mobility in many different ways. However, not every incentive has the same effect on the same target group. Rather, the effect depends on many local conditions. What does an incentive that motivates people to use eco-friendly modes of transport need to look like? How can an incentive be best tailored to the prevailing conditions and the target group? The results of the project provide answers to these questions and show why the right incentive can be surprisingly simple.
On October 17, 2025, the project's closing event took place in the form of an interactive online conference. Over 500 participants from academia, local authorities, and consulting firms took part to learn about the project's results and share their own experiences. The aim was to encourage as many participants as possible to make greater use of incentives in mobility planning in the future.
The results of the project have been published in various publications:
The brochure summarises the key findings of the project. In addition to the effectiveness of incentives, it highlights good practices and success factors for designing effective incentives that promote sustainable mobility.
With step-by-step instructions and reflective questions, the navigation guide helps you to tailor your incentive to your specific local circumstances.
Good (international) exampls of incentives can be found in our factsheet and in the scrollytelling.
We have summarised the state of research on the effectiveness and possible applications of material, immaterial and gamified incentives in this publication.
More information on the project can be found here.
Feasibility study for a federal institute for consumer research
Quo vadis consumer research in Germany?
In its coalition agreement, the current federal government has expressed its support for strengthening consumer research in Germany. The aim is to examine whether new institutions for consumer research need to be created in addition to the existing structures. The former government had already addressed the possibility of institutionally strengthening consumer research and commissioned a feasibility study for a federal institute for consumer research for this purpose.
The team of authors, led by Prof. Dr. Peter Kenning (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf) and consisting of renowned consumer researchers, has now presented its findings. In the final report, the authors conclude that research structures in consumer policy could be strengthened in two different ways: The establishment of a ‘small’ federal institute as a departmental research institution or the founding of a ‘Science Center for Consumer Sciences’. While the former organization would be closer to politics, the latter would focus on the academic consumer research landscape, the development of methods and theories, and the development of young talents. The costs for both options would amount to around €9 million per year if the structures were to be fully developed.
In addition, the authors recommend that both options should leave room for the operation and expansion of already established but underfunded project funding. It should also be ensured that the new institution is embedded in the existing institutional landscape.
ConPolicy Managing Director Prof. Christian Thorun welcomes the study's findings. Especially in times of economic weakness and high expectations among citizens for affordable living, functioning public services, and simple everyday routines, close cooperation is important: 'Research on living conditions, the development and evaluation of effective solutions, and their political implementation must be effectively interlinked.'
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