This page compiles important facts and figures about BAuA’s staffing, resources, and main responsibilities.

Our staff

On 1 December 2023 the Federal Institute employed a total of 749 members of staff at its three sites in Dortmund, Berlin, and Dresden. Of these 749 people, ninety were early-career scientists (PhD and postdoctoral students) appointed for limited periods under the Act on Fixed-term Contracts in Academia (Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz, WissZeitVG) while receiving an advanced academic training, twenty-five were scientific student assistants, twenty-six were apprentices (being trained as administrative workers, clerical personnel, craft tradespeople, IT engineers, and laboratory technicians), and two were professional trainees.

Resources

In 2023 BAuA budgeted 83.9 million euros for performing its functions, of which more than half (49.2 million euros) was spent on personnel costs. Of its 30 million euros of non-personnel expenditure, the largest portion - more than 9 million euros - was earmarked for spending on research.

Research and development

BAuA’s research and development activities identify trends in the world of work and close knowledge gaps in its areas of expertise. The opportunities and risks of technological and organisational innovations for employees’ safety and health can consequently be identified at an early stage and OSH approaches devised. Its research results inform policy decisions and official actions. At the same time they lay the foundations for services provided to workplace practitioners and OSH actors.

BAuA was involved in 115 research and development projects in 2023, among them twenty-four third-party-funded consortiums. BAuA scientists contributed to almost 450 academic publications, gave almost 640 talks and lectures, and delivered 911 hours of teaching at higher education institutions.

Scientific cooperations and networking with the scientific community are important parts of BAuA’s work. This is illustrated, for example, by its twelve formal cooperation contracts, most of which are with higher education institutions and other scientific institutes. BAuA's close cooperation with these partners is demonstrated by the joint appointment of a number of professors and the joint supervision of forty-eight doctoral students.

Official functions

BAuA performs statutory and official functions in the fields of European chemicals regulation and product safety. As the Federal Office for Chemicals (Bundesstelle für Chemikalien, BfC), it is the lead national authority responsible for implementing the statutory provisions of chemicals law. In this capacity, it is also charged with advising German industry and articulating national technical positions at the European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki. BAuA’s REACH-CLP-Biocidal Products Helpdesk dealt with more than 4,000 inquiries in 2023.

Furthermore, BAuA acts as the Assessment Unit for Occupational Safety and Health (Bewertungsstelle für den Arbeitsschutz), a role that requires it to conduct risk assessments of chemicals and their potential effects on employees. There are various procedures carried out under the Market Surveillance Act (Marktüberwachungsgesetz, MüG) in which it provides information about dangerous products, product recalls, and prohibition orders.

Policy advice

Science-based policy advice enjoys high priority as one of BAuA’s core duties. We understand it as a means of spreading knowledge and helping political actors take decisions informed by well-founded scientific findings. The advice we provide is completely impartial and we pride ourselves on our professional integrity.

We deliver our policy advice in the form of analyses and expert opinions, through our involvement in more than 500 national and international bodies, with the support we give to committees, programmes, and initiatives, and by directly advising federal ministries and other interested parties. In 2023 we delivered more than 300 advisory consultations just for the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales, BMAS) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, nukleare Sicherheit und Verbraucherschutz, BMUV).

BAuA also hosts several secretariats that provide ongoing administrative support for the business of various inter-institutional bodies.

Science-based Transfer

As a departmental research institution, we see it as our responsibility to foster scientific discourse and promote knowledge transfer to various systems by providing policy advice, spreading good practice, contributing to regulatory regimes, producing quality-assured publications, and delivering outstanding services.

We tailor our publications and information services to the tasks we perform, the publication cultures prevalent in different disciplines, and the diversity of the target groups for which they are intended. Apart from scientific texts printed by other publishers (e.g. specialist journals), more than 1.6 million copies of BAuA’s own publications were distributed in 2023. Our web pages were viewed almost 8.2 million times during the same period.

Publication lists for BAuA’s organisational units

DASA Working World Exhibition

The DASA Working World Exhibition in Dortmund conveys basic and introductory information about the world of work for a broad public. It is one of Germany’s biggest technical museums and unrivalled in its field in Europe.

DASA’s exhibition concept has won numerous prizes. It invites visitors to experience the worlds of work of yesterday, today, and tomorrow with all five senses. Its audience ranges from families and schoolchildren to OSH professionals, who are all encouraged to join in and try out its interactive exhibits. DASA welcomes about 185,000 visitors every year.

Alongside its 13,000 m² permanent exhibition, it has two spaces for temporary exhibitions, the DASA ExCenter and the DASA Gallery.