FReDA is stabilised

FReDA has been permanent since 1 January 2025! Five years after its implementation, the project has thus overcome an important hurdle and offers researchers a long-term research perspective. The analyses and findings based on FReDA data also provide policymakers with important information for future decisions.

Federal Minister of the Interior and Community Nancy Faeser, the patron of FReDA, emphasised the importance of the data obtained for science and politics on the occasion of the continuation: ‘The long-term study FReDA regularly provides us with important and up-to-date information about the reality of life for people in young and middle adulthood. This data helps us with measures to strengthen families and social cohesion as a whole. It also gives us insights into how to promote the labour force potential in times of demographic change. This long-term study is of great value both for political action and for science.’

FReDA had just started its work when political actors were faced with enormous challenges, firstly due to the coronavirus pandemic and later due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. In this situation, FReDA was able to offer valuable analyses and support decisions on (family) policy measures. ‘Analysing family challenges in times of crisis and upheaval forms the foundation of a citizen-oriented policy that aims to strengthen all families. The FReDA project is central to family demographic research as a pillar of future-oriented social policy,’ says Prof Dr C. Katharina Spieß, Director of the Federal Institute for Population Research.

However, FReDA also provides the basis for understanding demographic developments beyond the challenges posed by current crises. ‘A long-term data infrastructure project such as FReDA is essential in order to describe social developments in a scientifically sound manner and to understand causal relationships,’ says project manager Prof Dr Martin Bujard. The international comparability of FReDA data is particularly important in this context, because ‘demographic changes such as the current decline in birth rates and family dynamics are phenomena that do not stop at national borders. This is why we work closely with over 20 international partners so that Germany can be compared with other countries.’

By stabilising FReDA, politicians have also sent a clear signal of appreciation. ‘Thanks to FReDA, researchers have access to high-quality data that they can use to research issues relating to demographic change, family planning and forms of cohabitation. The fact that FReDA is now being permanently funded is a great success and emphasises the importance of investing in research data infrastructures,’ says Cem Özdemir, Federal Minister of Education and Research.