Central Administration

The central administration of the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation) assists the President. It serves the Foundation as a whole and is the central provider of administrative services for all five of the SPK's institutions.

Außenansicht der Villa von der Heydt (Opens Enlarged Image)

The Villa von der Heydt is the seat of the President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. © SPK / Tomek Kwiatosz

Assisting the President

The President's Office deals with fundamental issues and scientific and cultural policy topics from the President's area that are relevant to the Foundation across all institutions. The overall project management and project management for the reform of the SPK and responsibilities for Foundation-wide cross-sectional tasks are also located there.

The Media and Communications Department is in charge of public relations, press information, marketing and special events for the SPK. In particular, it addresses questions of cultural policy and issues of relevance throughout the Foundation. The press officers and the online editorial staff also belong to this department. In addition, the Media and Communications Department bears editorial responsibility for important publications such as the Jahrbuch Preussischer Kulturbesitz (Yearbook) and the SPK Magazine.

The Central Administration as a Service Provider for the SPK's Institutions

The Department of Budget and Financial Services and Internal Services of the Central Administration has the following areas of responsibility:

  • The department coordinates, documents, and carries out sponsoring and fundraising activities on behalf of all parts of the Foundation.
  • The Budget and Financial Services Unit is responsible for the Foundation's budget and accounting, from the drafting of the budget to the preparation of annual financial statements. It supports the institutions in all budgetary matters and exercises an overarching controlling function over the Foundation's budget. At the same time, the unit directly administers the budget for the Central Administration and the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin as well as Foundation-wide donations and special funds. The unit also serves as administrator for the accounting software MACH and as a central point of contact for issues pertaining to the budget and accounting system of the federal government and related access rights.
  • Through the Unit for Exhibition Projects and Third-Party Funding Projects, the department coordinates applications for third-party funding on behalf of all parts of the Foundation. This unit is also responsible for managing third-party funds on behalf of the Central Administration and the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Likewise, it manages the exhibition budget of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.
  • Central Procurement Services conducts the procedures for awarding public contracts in accordance with the regulations on public procurement. These contracts govern services, construction, supplies, and concessions for individual institutions and the Foundation as a whole. It is also responsible for evaluating the admissibility of exemptions in cases where public contracts are to be awarded without soliciting alternative bids, and for evaluating the admissibility of modifications to orders as part of the change order management at SPK. Central Procurement Services also provides information and advice to all parts of the Foundation regarding any questions about the regulations governing the awarding of public contracts.
  • The Internal Services Unit is in charge of managing the basic affairs of workplace health and safety and implements the regulations on working hours (clocking in) in the SPK. In addition, Internal Services is responsible for the facility and material management of the Central Administration and for vehicle issues.

The Human Resources Department of the central administration is the central point of contact in all matters concerning personnel at the Foundation. It coordinates personnel planning and the hiring of new employees. It also takes care of employees and advises managers.

The central Legal Office is the contact for all legal issues in the Foundation. In particular, the staff of the Legal Office advises the Foundation management and the personnel in the institutions on all questions of ownership having to do with Foundation collections, on contract issues, questions related to inheritance law and copyright, and in all legal questions dealing with the rules and conditions for the use of facilities and with construction projects. It also carries out duties in the field of data protection.

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) is responsible for the Foundation-wide strategic orientation and management of IT as well as the Organization Unit which helps the SPK institutions optimize processes and structures. In doing so, it ensures the best possible use of available resources. The unit also sees to it that all employees of the Central Administration are provided with IT services. Foundation-wide administration-related IT processes are managed from here.

The Construction and Technology Department represents the SPK as the client in all planning and construction matters. To this end, it is the central point of contact for the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the federal and state authorities involved. The department accompanies the projects from the initial concept development to the handover of the finished building and works closely with the SPK institutions and the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBR). It is responsible for overarching construction issues such as overall budget planning, the development of CAFM and the site management of Museum Island as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The department is also responsible for the strategic planning and operational implementation of SPK's sustainability goals in the construction sector. It also manages the special building maintenance program, which was adopted in 2020 for ten years and has a considerable financial volume for the refurbishment of the properties. Together with the BBR, the project team supports the facilities in implementing the measures and carries out cost control.

The interests of the employees are represented by the Foundation's Staff Council as well as the individual staff councils of the institutions and of the central administration. They are augmented by individual representatives for employees with special needs and for equal treatment. In addition, there are special officers to ensure that the mandatory requirements concerning data privacy [internal link] and the prevention of corruption are fulfilled within the Foundation.

The Office of the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (German Digital Library) has been located at the Foundation since 2011. The office represents the library's competence network and assists it in its work.