Quality Campaign of the German Federal Government

The Federal Government plays an important role in the further development of the building and planning culture in Germany. For this, IBAIBA Internationale Bauausstellung is a relevant and innovative format for urban and regional development which draws international attention. For more than 100 years, International Building Exhibitions have been a showcase and driving force for urban and regional development in Germany. An increasing number of federal states and municipalities – nationally and internationally – are using the format to address challenging urban development issues. IBA is not a certified label, International Building Exhibitions are a voluntary commitment. The Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community supports activities that ensure the quality and standards of the format an foster dialogue between the IBA.

In 2016, the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development launched the “IBA Qualitätsoffensive” quality campaign in close cooperation with the IBA Expert Council. In 2017, the Expert Council revised and refined the Memorandum on the Future of International Building Exhibitions from 2009, adding a handbook with recommendations on operational issues.

The Federal Government promotes exchange of experiences between IBA through its IBA meets IBA Network. It also strengthens national and international communication and cooperation, e.g. with the joint initiative National Urban Development Policy.

In order to intensify the specialist discourse on the future of IBA, the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development hosted an IBA Conference in 2019. The results of the conference were published in the workbook “IBA im Wandel – Zur Zukunft Internationaler Bauausstellungen” (“IBA in Transition – Towards the Future of International Building Exhibitions”) containing reflections, propositions and recommendations from conference contributors. In addition, the IBA Expert Council drew up for propositions for the further development of IBA on which future support by the Federal Government should be based. The propositions were published in the proposition paper “Thesenpapier des IBA-Expertenrats”.

Furthermore, the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development is committed to helping noteworthy IBA projects gain access to federal funding programmes. The Federal Government supports the IBA process by communicating all the instruments of the IBA Quality Campaign on this website under its own umbrella brand International Building Exhibitions.