Dr Detlef Böcking steps down as EDCTP General Assembly representative and technical advisor for Germany
The EDCTP Association would like to express its sincere appreciation to Dr Detlef Böcking, who will in April 2023 be stepping down from his position as Head of Group at the DLR project management agency (DLR PT) working for and on behalf of the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Division of Health Research. Since 2009, Dr Böcking has been charged to represent the ministry in EDCTP as deputy representative to EDCTP’s General Assembly (GA) for Germany, having already been involved in EDCTP activities since 2007. In September 2022 he stepped down as deputy GA representative and continued serving as a technical advisor for Germany. He has coordinated DLR PT’s team for global health issues and worked closely with BMBF in planning and implementing the ministry’s activity in research for Global Health, particularly in administering the ministry’s funding concept for neglected and poverty-related diseases.
Dr Böcking was elected as a member of the EDCTP Association Board from 2014-2019, serving as Vice-Chair from 2014-2017. He has relentlessly advocated for strategic decision-making at the GA, better cooperation between GA members and above all for a self-concept of EDCTP as a true Global Health Research Initiative. Among other activities, Dr Böcking has served on several GA working groups, notably on EDCTP collaboration with development cooperation agencies and Participating States’ Initiated Activities (PSIAs), both of which he chaired. Most recently, he has played a critical role in the preparations for the EDCTP2 successor programme, Global Health EDCTP3, as chair of the GA working group on Participating State contributions.
We thank Dr Böcking for his excellent and long-standing service to the GA and for being a stalwart champion of EDCTP’s continued growth, ambition, and advancement. His commitment, dedication, and invaluable contribution to the success of both the EDCTP1 and EDCTP2 programmes and the realisation of Global Health EDCTP3 is greatly appreciated. We wish him all the very best with his future endeavours.
Germany remains a highly committed member of the EDCTP Association and is currently represented on the General Assembly by Dr Henning Gädeke of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), who is also Chair of the Association Board and GA, Mrs Andrea Spelberg of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), and Dr Laura de la Cruz of DLR PT.