Max-Planck-Institut für ethnologische Forschung

What Max-Planck-Institut für ethnologische Forschung does

The Max-Planck-Institut für ethnologische Forschung (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology) is a publicly funded German research institute based in Halle (Saale), operating under the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (Max Planck Society). It conducts field-based social anthropology research focused on understanding global societal transformations — including climate change, environmental destruction, migration, social inequality, colonial legacies, geopolitical tensions, digital governance, and economic experimentation — using ethnographic and participant-observation methodologies across field sites in South Asia, East and Southern Africa, and Europe. The institute is organized around three core research departments (Law & Anthropology led by Marie-Claire Foblets; Anthropology of Politics and Governance led by Ursula Rao; and Anthropology of Economic Experimentation led by Biao Xiang), supplemented by Max Planck Fellow Groups, Emmy Noether Groups, internal working groups, and the Medical Anthropology and Digital Transformation (MADT) Lab.

The institute's primary outputs are peer-reviewed academic publications, monographs, working papers, and multimedia content (Spot On videos, Book Chat, Read On, podcasts) distributed via its open-access publications portal and Mediathek. It also runs the International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) 'Global Multiplicity: A Social Anthropology for the Now', a joint doctoral training program inaugurated in Fall 2023 with Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Leipzig University, and FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, admitting up to 40 doctoral students over an initial six-year funding period. Research collaborations extend to DFG-funded networks including the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 1199 and the Shaping Asia Network, plus project-specific engagements with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and EU programs such as VULNER.

As a non-profit public research institution, the institute does not sell products or services. Its operating budget is sustained by institutional core funding from the German federal and state governments channeled through the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, supplemented by project-specific third-party grants from organizations such as the Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, DAAD, Volkswagen Foundation, World Bank, and UNICEF. Doctoral education is provided at no cost to students. The institute employs between 11 and 50 staff, with operational leadership under Managing Director Ursula Rao since 2020.

Name

Max-Planck-Institut für ethnologische Forschung

Legal name

Max-Planck-Institut für ethnologische Forschung

Website

https://eth.mpg.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology is a publicly funded German research institute in Halle (Saale) that conducts field-based ethnographic research on global societal transformations and trains doctoral researchers through the IMPRS 'Global Multiplicity' program with three German partner universities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic and Social Science Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Educational Services (8200), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAHABAD

Social Sciences & Public Policy Research Universities

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Private Research Universities

SECONDARYEDAGAFAD

Social Sciences Scholarly Publishing

Education/Educational Publishing & Learning Content/Academic & Scholarly Publishing (Journals, Monographs)

SECONDARYEDAIAAAD

Experiential & Field-Based Study Abroad (Research, Field Schools, Practicums)

Education/International Education & Study Abroad/Study Abroad Program Providers (Multi-Country & Multi-Discipline)

Keywords

• Social anthropology research
• Ethnological fieldwork
• Doctoral research training
• Academic publications
• Cultural anthropology studies

Headquarters

HQ city

Halle-Giebichenstein

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The institute conducts basic social-anthropology (ethnological) research through three departments and multiple research groups, focusing on long-term field-based ethnography of social, political, legal, and economic life across global field sites. It offers structured doctoral training via the International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) 'Global Multiplicity' and disseminates findings through peer-reviewed publications, working papers, multimedia content, and public events. Outputs are made available as open-access scholarly material at no cost to users.

Product overview

The Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology is a research institution organized around three main departments (Law & Anthropology; Anthropology of Politics and Governance; Anthropology of Economic Experimentation) and multiple specialized research groups, working groups, and fellows groups. The institute operates the International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) 'Global Multiplicity' for doctoral training and maintains a Media Library (Mediathek) with video, podcast, and publication content. Research activities span digital governance, biometric technology, environmental anthropology, medical anthropology, and economic experimentation. The institute does not offer commercial products or services but rather conducts academic anthropological research and provides educational programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• International Max Planck Research School 'Global Multiplicity: A Social Anthropology for the Now' (IMPRS GM) Structured doctoral training program jointly hosted with Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Leipzig University, and FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, providing funded training for up to 40 doctoral students in social anthropology with an initial funding period of six years.
• Medical Anthropology and Digital Transformation Lab (MADT Lab) Collaborative lab between the Max Planck Institute, University Medicine Halle, and the TPG project that studies how digital tools reshape care practices and facilitates networking between care recipients, care providers and care designers for participatory medicine and care.
• Department 'Law & Anthropology' One of three main research departments, focusing on the intersection of law and ethnology and exploring how legal systems interact with cultural practices.
• Department 'Anthropology of Politics and Governance' Research department examining political dynamics and governance processes, with focus areas including digital governance, biometric technology, well-being, and ecological transformations.
• Department 'Anthropology of Economic Experimentation' Research department exploring economic anthropology, migration, mobility, and the anthropology of economic experimentation.
• Media Library (Mediathek) Digital media platform featuring Book Chat discussions, Spot On video series (3-minute anthropology videos), Read On book discussions, podcasts, and image galleries.
• Max Planck Fellow Groups Fellow groups including Environmental Rights in Cultural Context, Memory and Transitional Justice, and JUST MIGRATION focusing on labor migration regimes.
• Research Working Groups Internal working groups including Lived Utopias, Science and Universality, and Political Assembly that address central theoretical questions in anthropology.

Quantifiable outcome

• Training for up to 40 doctoral students through the IMPRS program
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Martin Luther University Halle-WittenbergcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023Joint hosting of the International Max Planck Research School 'Global Multiplicity: A Social Anthropology for the Now' providing structured doctoral training with an initial funding period of six years.
• Leipzig UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023Joint hosting of the International Max Planck Research School 'Global Multiplicity: A Social Anthropology for the Now' providing structured doctoral training with an initial funding period of six years.
• Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023Joint hosting of the International Max Planck Research School 'Global Multiplicity: A Social Anthropology for the Now' providing structured doctoral training with an initial funding period of six years.
• Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 1199coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Research collaboration on 'Processes of Spatialization under the Global Condition' with Ursula Rao as project A5 lead on 'Digital governance and the respatialization of the Indian state'.
• Shaping Asia NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020DFG-funded research network examining infrastructure and the remaking of Asia through adopting, orchestrating and cooperating, with Ursula Rao and Arne Harms as contacts.
• University Medicine Halle (TPG Project)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the 'Innovation Region for the Digital Transformation of Care and Health Services' project in Saxony-Anhalt's former coal-mining region, studying digital care technologies.
• Square Kilometre Array (SKA) ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMalagasy astronomy infrastructure being included in the African component of SKA, the world's largest scientific instrument (radio telescope network).

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• SOAS University of London: London-based university specializing in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Operates one of the largest social anthropology programs globally with comparable regional fieldwork scope (India, Nepal, Africa) and doctoral training.
• Department of Anthropology, University of Oxford: Leading UK anthropology department within a comprehensive research university. Comparable in producing top-tier ethnographic research and doctoral training across the same subfields of social and cultural anthropology.
• Department of Anthropology, London School of Economics: Top-ranked UK social anthropology department within a broader social-science university. Comparable in producing ethnographic scholarship on politics, law, and economic life, but operates at larger institutional scale and offers full undergraduate teaching.
• Department of Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge: One of the world's leading social anthropology departments, embedded in a full university. Operates at larger institutional scale but conducts comparable ethnographic fieldwork, doctoral training, and scholarly publishing in social anthropology.

Direct peers

• Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO): Berlin-based Leibniz Association research institute studying modern societies and histories in the non-European world. Comparable in conducting area-focused social-science research with fieldwork-based methodology in Africa and Asia.
• Max-Planck-Institut für Sozialrecht und Sozialpolitik: Munich-based Max Planck Institute focused on social law and social policy. Direct peer in the Max Planck network with comparable funding model, IMPRS doctoral training, and policy-oriented social-science research mandate.
• Centre for Social Anthropology, University of Vienna: Austrian university-based research center for social anthropology. Comparable European peer conducting ethnographic fieldwork, doctoral training, and research on governance, migration, and economic life across global field sites.
• Institut für Sozial- und Kulturanthropologie, Freie Universität Berlin: Berlin-based university department of social and cultural anthropology. Direct peer offering doctoral training and ethnographic research on similar topics; faculty overlap and shared DFG-funded research networks.
• Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien (GIGA): Hamburg-based Leibniz Institute conducting comparative research on global and regional issues including governance, migration, and climate. Peer in German publicly funded social-science research network with similar fieldwork-based area studies methodology.
• Max-Planck-Institut für Gesellschaftsforschung (MPIfG): Cologne-based Max Planck Institute studying socio-economic and political issues. Closest structural peer: same Max Planck Society parent, similar three-department social-science research model, comparable doctoral training program (IMPRS-SOEP).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/max-planck-institut-f%C3%BCr-ethnologische-forschung

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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