: About us
Advising, training and carrying out research for and with people with a mandate for codetermination: these are the pillars of the Institute for Codetermination and Corporate Governance (I.M.U.).
Our mission
The Institute for Codetermination and Corporate Governance (Institut für Mitbestimmung und Unternehmensführung, I.M.U.) was launched in early 2018. The I.M.U. is the Hans-Böckler-Stiftung’s vehicle for perpetuating the codetermination success story into the future, bringing to fruition a key policy aim of the DGB and its member trade unions.
But what does that really mean? Codetermination is needed for good corporate governance. Workers should be able to have their say in company decision-making. Companies have a corporate responsibility. Sustainable business practices are based on a set of values. We can better shape the future of work with codetermination. These are the ideas and guidelines that underpin our mission.
But how can we safeguard the future of codetermination in the age of digitalisation and globalisation? How can we reinforce and expand this democratic design principle of the social market economy both in Germany and in Europe? The Hans-Böckler-Stiftung wants to introduce a new urgency into the debate.
What we’re doing
Advising, training and carrying out research for and with people with a mandate for codetermination: these are the pillars of the I.M.U. We make concrete and orientational know-how available for codetermination actors, primarily through our website Mitbestimmungsportal. The I.M.U. participates in contemporary social, academic and political debates on a solid theoretical foundation. We foster a culture in which people are able to have their say and to safeguard individual and collective interests on the shopfloor, in the workplace and at company level.
For this purpose we need new avenues and new approaches to embed codetermination as a key issue for the future. That’s why we also see ourselves as a laboratory for participation-oriented communication and ways of doing things. What does that mean? We are always seeking innovative ‘analogue’ formats for cooperation and events and experimenting with digital media and new ways of working. We support projects with new approaches to research, that bring people together at an early stage from both the hands-on and the research domains to address real-life issues. We are striking out on new paths.
Who we’re aiming at
The I.M.U. advises and trains representatives on supervisory boards. We provide information to works councils, supervisory boards, labour directors and their networks of experts and offer platforms for experts to exchange views and experiences.
The I.M.U. operates in three areas:
(i) companies, especially in the realm of supervisory boards with codetermination and labour directors;
(ii) academia, in a range of research disciplines, as well as academic training;
(iii) the interested general public in Germany, but also internationally and, of course, in Europe.
Our Twitter channel @ZukunftMB invites people to engage in dialogue in social media. #zukunftmitbestimmung
The Mitbestimmungsportal is a gateway to the I.M.U.’s services for codetermination actors. Employee representatives need comprehensive orientational and practical know-how that is up-to-date, succinct and precisely matches their requirements. This is what the Hans Böckler Stiftung’s online platform Mitbestimmungsportal offers.