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Concept for the State Office for Fire and Disaster Protection in Rhineland-Palatinate
21 March 2025
When the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of the Interior and Sport recognised the need to reorganise fire and disaster protection in the state, it commissioned CHE Consult to carry out the preliminary conceptual work. The aim was to develop a viable organisational structure for the new State Office for Fire and Disaster Protection (LfBK) that takes current and future challenges into account.
Jens Engelke, Principal Consultant, and Franziska Bröker, Consultant at CHE Consult at the time, began with an in-depth analysis of existing structures and processes. They worked closely with experts from the administration and specialist circles to determine the requirements for the new office. They conducted benchmark analyses to incorporate best practices from other institutions at national and international level and defined task clusters. These included strategic emergency planning, operational situation and crisis management as well as the infrastructural and technical equipment of the office. They identified the need for a modern situation centre that works around the clock and is closely networked with the integrated control centres and national and international partners as essential.
Based on the work carried out, the CHE Consult team produced a detailed report. In it, the consultants described clear options for the geographical distribution of the state office’s organisational units in order to ensure effective cooperation with the local authorities. They also defined specific space and infrastructure requirements up to 2030, including workplaces, accommodation, canteen space and specialised training facilities. In addition, they have recommended a gradual increase in personnel to continuously improve the performance of the office.
This well thought-out and scientifically sound work in 2023 enabled the creation of an efficient and forward-looking authority structure that enables smooth processes and optimised administration. The new state office was officially founded at the beginning of 2025 and is now well positioned to sustainably strengthen fire and disaster protection for the population of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Study on the link between digitalisation and sustainability at universities
17 March 2025
On behalf of the Hochschulforum Digitalisierung, CHE Consult conducted the ‘Explorative Study on the Strategic Interlocking of Digitalisation and Sustainability’. It analyses how universities strategically link and implement both fields of transformation.
Based on expert interviews with university leaders, the authors Anna Gehlke and Dr Ingeborg Lasser investigated key questions:
- Which organisational structures promote a sustainable digital transformation?
- How can digitalisation and sustainability be integrated into teaching and learning?
- Where do conflicting goals arise, e.g. between resource conservation and technological development?
The two senior consultants at CHE Consult have found that some universities are already focusing on twin transformation approaches in which digitalisation and sustainability are viewed as closely linked developments. This enables synergies, for example through the use of digital technologies to optimise resource consumption. Nevertheless, the study also revealed that many universities still face the challenge of coordinating both topics more closely, as they are often anchored in separate areas of responsibility.
The study offers a structured review of current strategies and shows how universities are strategically and operationally interlinking digitalisation and sustainability. It makes it clear that the linking of both topics is becoming increasingly important and that universities are developing individual solutions tailored to their framework conditions. The study thus makes an important contribution to the further development of sustainable digital university strategies.
Feasibility study Vision Campus Corvey
12 February 2025
In April 2024, a feasibility study was commissioned as part of an interdisciplinary project to investigate the potential of the Corvey UNESCO World Heritage Site as an innovative campus with economic networking. Corvey gGmbH, the district of Höxter, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the city of Höxter, Sparkasse Höxter, TH OWL, Volksbank Brakel and Volksbank OWL financed the feasibility study. As one of the companies involved in the study, CHE Consult, together with rheform GmbH and Büro Bergmann GmbH, analysed key aspects such as university development, listed building use and the infrastructural and structural requirements.
The study revealed that structural restrictions as a result of monument protection and limited infrastructural connections pose considerable challenges for the location. In particular, realistic prospects for increasing student numbers and attracting further companies could not be confirmed.
Bernd Klöver, Managing Director of CHE Consult: ‘The forecasts for student numbers for both existing and potential new degree programmes are extremely low in some cases. This is mainly due to the low attractiveness of the location. This lack of attractiveness, especially the infrastructural connections, unfortunately also has an impact on the potential for a ‘Science2Business location’. The company survey and the individual interviews show that a sufficient number of companies cannot be guaranteed to settle here.’
The findings now provide a sound basis for the TH OWL and its project partners to discuss what a forward-looking utilisation concept in Höxter could look like. The location analysis shows how a careful examination of all relevant parameters can create a valuable basis for decision-making – an important prerequisite for sustainable development concepts in the university sector.
An analysis of the Hamburg metropolis
03 February 2025
CHE Consult has conducted a study on Hamburg as a business location for the ‘Hamburg Vor Zur Welt’ initiative. It shows that Hamburg often performs worse in key areas compared to other European metropolitan regions.
According to our study, the Port of Hamburg is recording declining handling figures and investment in research and development is lagging behind other metropolitan regions. The proportion of STEM subjects at Hamburg’s universities is also relatively low and the gross value added per inhabitant is lower. Overall, the importance of Hamburg as a business location has declined in many rankings.
The new initiative is now calling on Hamburg to utilise its potential and redefine the city as a leading centre for science, innovation and business. The following recommendations for action can be derived from our study:
- Promotion of research and development: Investment in research and development must be significantly increased in order to boost productivity.
- Establishment and promotion of new economic clusters: The establishment of new research and productivity-intensive companies should be promoted.
- Improving the transfer of knowledge: The transfer of knowledge between public research and companies must be improved.
- Strengthening start-ups: The framework conditions for start-ups must be improved in order to promote start-up activity.
- Expansion of universities: Universities, especially the Hamburg-Harburg University of Technology, must be expanded in order to strengthen the knowledge base and secure future skilled labour.
- Internationalisation of universities: The internationalisation of universities must be driven forward in order to make the city more attractive for international students and academics*.
- Improving the quality of life: The quality of life in the city must be improved by investing in education, reorganising administration and securing affordable housing.
- Expanding the transport infrastructure: The transport infrastructure must be improved in order to better connect the city to the rest of the world.