ZB MED – Information Centre for Life Sciences has adopted a position paper on digital sovereignty, becoming one of the first scientific (infrastructure) institutions in Germany to commit to a roadmap toward greater technological independence. The paper clearly identifies the structural risks of digital dependency and formulates strategic principles, concrete criteria for sovereign IT decisions, and guidelines for implementation.

Science Needs Digital Agency

Dependence on just a few major technology corporations is no longer merely an economic issue. Current geopolitical developments show that market power can also be used for political purposes. For scientific institutions, this creates immediate risks concerning data protection, legal certainty, innovation capacity, and the credibility of open science.

ZB MED is responding to this situation with a realistic, step-by-step approach toward digital sovereignty. The focus is on three strategic areas:

1. Flexibility in the deployment and replacement of digital solutions
2. Capacity to shape technology through in-house technical expertise
3. Greater leverage and influence vis-à-vis technology providers

Public Money? Public Code!

The position paper links digital sovereignty with the values of open science. For ZB MED, open-source software is not merely a technical detail but a strategic instrument: it promotes transparency, reusability, and collaboration – core principles of open science.

While open source is already the standard for the development of scientific software at ZB MED, this is not yet the case for the IT infrastructure – from office software to solutions for providing virtual machines. This is precisely where the position paper comes in, marking the beginning of a deliberate transformation process.

An Impulse for the Scientific Community

So far, position papers on digital sovereignty have mainly been issued by public administration, policymakers, and the IT industry. Scientific (infrastructure) institutions that take this step institutionally and define concrete fields of action remain the exception.

“Digital sovereignty is not a state that can be achieved once and for all – it is a continuous process,” says Prof. Dr. Dietrich Rebholz-Schuhmann, Scientific Director of ZB MED. “We would be delighted if other institutions from science and research infrastructure engage in dialogue with us so that we can build experience together.”

Starting Realistically – Continuing Consistently

“The path toward digital sovereignty at ZB MED will not be a walk in the park, but rather a long-distance hike – yet we know our destination, we have our navigation in sight, and we are now setting out on the journey,” explains Franziska Fischer, Finance and Commercial Director of ZB MED.

The paper clearly states that immediate cost savings are not to be expected, that the existing dependencies are complex, and that cultural change takes time. This is precisely why it is necessary to begin the process now: waiting too long risks deepening those dependencies even further.

The position paper is publicly accessible and is addressed to internal and external stakeholders, partners, funding bodies, and the scientific community. ZB MED also sees it as an invitation to take joint action.

• to position paper (in German): Digitale Souveränität bei ZB MED

to full press release (in German)