(09.09.20) The original plan was to hold the ECPR annual conference in Austria's fifth largest city, Innsbruck, but it had to be rearranged as a virtual conference due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Over 2200 participants from around the world enjoyed the opportunity of taking part in this political science symposium from 24 to 28/08/2020 and at the same time celebrating the 50th anniversary of the ECPR.

The conference organisers provided participants with a graphically very attractive online platform where they could view the programme and find a list of all exhibitors. Profiles of the exhibitors were also stored on this online platform, including that of Research in Germany. This contained a short information video about Research in Germany as well as documents and links giving participants information about research into political science in Germany and about funding opportunities. The online platform's chat function enabled participants to pose individual questions to the Research in Germany team.

The initiative was also represented at the virtual symposium during online sessions on 24/08 and 25/08. On the first day, for instance, Research in Germany hosted a virtual reception at which the researchers who attended were given short presentations providing information on the research and funding situation in Germany. The "Global development dynamics of social policy" collaborative research centre (CRC) at the University of Bremen also took this opportunity to present its core research areas to the audience. Participants subsequently had the opportunity to pose specific questions to the initiative's representatives and to the CRC. The online seminars held on 25 August 2020 provided international researchers with extensive information on Germany as a research location, funding programmes and on the work of two clusters of excellence (ECONtribute: Markets & Public Policy and Contestations of the Liberal Script). This session also enabled international researchers to pose questions via the chat function and these were subsequently answered in the plenum.

Attendance at the ECPR's first virtual annual conference was higher than at any of the organisation's previous events, so Research in Germany could be presented to even more international researchers than would have been the case at a traditional conference.

Contributors to the Research in Germany sessions at the virtual conference:

• Cluster of excellence: ECONtribute: Markets & Public Policy
• Cluster of excellence: Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS)
• CRC: Global development dynamics of social policy
• Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
• German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
• Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation)

Further information

• On the ECPR annual conference
• Research in Germany