Source description last updated: 11 February 2022

In brief: The Hanns-Seidel-Foundation (HSS), founded in 1967, is a German, Christian-democratic association affiliated with the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, engaging in political education, political consulting and analysis on a national and international level.

Coverage on ecoi.net:
Monthly Reports (PR), selected other reports (SR)
Covered monthly on ecoi.net, for countries of priorities A-C.

Mission/Mandate/Objectives:
HSS’s motto is “In the service of democracy, peace and development […] This motto applies both to its domestic activities – especially Bavaria – as well as its engagements abroad. […] Since its founding on 11 April 1967, the Hanns Seidel Foundation has been engaged in political education with the aim of promoting the “democratic and civic education of the German people on Christian foundations”, to quote its statutes. […] 
The Hanns Seidel Foundation embodies Christian-social values, which influence our work both domestically and abroad.
The Hanns Seidel Foundation’s political education work is based on an idea of man that incorporates the free development of personality and personal responsibility just as much as social responsibility and solidarity.” (HSS website: Our Mission, undated)

The HSS is named after the former Bavarian prime minister and CSU chairman Hanns Seidel. (HSS website: Our Mission, undated)

The institution was founded on the initiative and after the resolution of the CSU state board. (HSS website: Die 60er-Jahre: Gründung und Aufbau, undated)

“Their educational offers are available across the borders of the party for all citizens interested. Their service for democracy, peace and development abroad is based on the foundation named above. Moreover, their specific actions follow a certain standard of dignity and tolerance, freedom, responsibility, solidarity and sustainability, equal opportunities, and intergenerational equity and take subsidiarity as a principle of responsibility and structure.
A broad range of tasks has developed from its mission and objectives over the last five decades. This includes the dialogue between politics, science, economy and society, addressing issues relevant for the future, elaborating solution strategies for national and international challenges, teaching and practice of political competencies, knowledge and skills, supporting talented and socio-politically engaged students at home and abroad as well as promoting international understanding and worldwide development cooperation.” (Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung – Im Dienst von Demokratie, Frieden und Entwicklung, ohne Datum, Internet Archive, gespeichert 10. September 2016, p. 3f, working translation by ACCORD)

“The Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung supports more than 97 projects in around 71 countries worldwide. Its focus is on strengthening civil society, citizen participation and promoting rule of law, education and management training, increasing environmental awareness and consulting decision-makers in politics, business and administration.” (HSS website: Regionen und Projekte, undated, working translation by ACCORD)

Funding: 

“The Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung receives funding from the federal government, voluntary contributions and donations […].“ (HSS website: Revision, undated, working translation by ACCORD).

According to its balance sheets, the foundation’s total budget on 31st December 2019 added up to € 42.910.941,20. (HSS-Website: Jahresbericht 2020, April 2021, p. 57)

Scope of reporting:

Geographic focus: The Hanns-Seidel-Foundation supports more than 97 projects in around 71 countries worldwide.

Thematic focus: Political education, promoting science, political consulting and political analysis, scholarship programs, development cooperation and maintaining international connections

Methodology:

The Academy for politics and current affairs of the Hanns-Seidel-Foundation is engaged in “applied political research and the spectrum of political current affairs”, sees it as its task to “comprehend complex processes and identify their key issues to be able to demonstrate development trends and correlations and to offer problem-solving approaches for operational politics.” The foundation focuses on (1) current and future relevant social, economic and political issues, (2) scientifically sound analysis and discourse, and (3) evidence-based support in addressing political challenges. (HSS website: Akademie für Politik und Zeitgeschehen, undated, working translation by ACCORD)

The HSS wants to “offer a platform that allows political decision-makers to exchange ideas on important issues and to network with personalities from the fields of science, economy, society and media. The scenarios developed and the results of discussions will subsequently be processed and made available to relevant stakeholders and the wider public.” (HSS website: Akademie für Politik und Zeitgeschehen, undated, working translation by ACCORD)

The Foundation sees itself as a “future-oriented think-tank, preparing valid analyses and information for policy-makers and making an important contribution to public discourse. Our experts are in direct contact with current political events and interact through an extensive network in various formats such as expert workshops, symposia, international conferences or topic-specific studies and in each case in a target-group-oriented way.

What distinguishes us from other political research institutions in that we follow an interdisciplinary approach: All issues are viewed and examined from multiple perspectives by historians, political scientists, economists, legal experts, communication experts, sociologists, social ethicists, scientists from the field of innovation and digital transformation, climate researchers and scientists from other scientific disciplines.” (HSS website: Akademie für Politik und Zeitgeschehen, undated, working translation by ACCORD)

Language(s) of publications:
German and English

Further reading / links:

Heisterkamp, Ulrich: Think Tanks der Parteien? Eine vergleichende Analyse der deutschen politischen Stiftungen, 2018
https://www.springer.com/de/book/9783658185213 (accessed 25 September 2019)

Methodological note:

ecoi.net's source descriptions contain background information on an organisation’s mission & objective, funding and reporting methodology, as well as on how we cover the source. The descriptions were prepared after researching publicly accessible information within time constraints. Most information contained in a source description was taken from the source itself. The aim is to provide a brief introduction to the sources covered regularly, offering information on relevant aspects in one place in a systematic manner. 

All links accessed 11 February 2022, unless indicated otherwise.