The Board of Academic Advisers to the Federal Minister for Digital and Transport

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The Board of Academic Advisers to the Federal Minister for Digital and Transport was established as a panel of independent experts as early as 1949 in order to advise the then Federal Minister of Transport on the preparation and performance of his functions and to contribute to making scientific findings available for use both in transport policy and technical work.

The focus of the Board’s activities is on the transport sector. Digitalization has been within the sphere of responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure and its executive agencies since 2013. It poses new challenges for transport policymakers and is playing an increasingly important role, which is a topic also addressed by the academic advisers. Topical questions on further cross-cutting issues, e.g. energy and environment, also inform the scientists’ assessment for a modern transport policy.

The members of the Board are academics and qualified experts with special experience in all relevant fields for which the Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure is responsible. The interdisciplinary composition of the Board takes account of the various economic, technical and socio-political aspects of work in the fields of transport policy and transport science as well as of the associated cross-cutting issues.
The appointed members of the Board of Academic Advisers work as unpaid volunteers. Members are appointed by the Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure based on proposals made by the Board.

Continuous exchange of academic views

Regular meetings of the Board’s members at different venues enable a continuous exchange of academic views on general and current transport policy issues. Frequent contacts with senior officials from the Ministry ensure that there is a continuous flow of information from transport policy to transport science and vice versa.

The task of the Board is to provide advice to the Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure and the Ministry and to do so in full independence. The Board itself decides on the subjects of its advisory activities. It deals with issues it considers to be particularly topical and important in terms of transport policy or with issues put forward by the Federal Minister.

The tasks of the Board of Academic Advisers consist of three main fields of work:

• general expert statements on key issues of transport policy as well as associated cross-cutting issues;
• opinions on current transport policy issues;
• direct advice to the Minister and senior civil servants of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure.

Further information can be found on the Federal Ministry's official website.