Science for a good consumer policy: CECORE and ICCR - a North Rhine-Westphalian initiative

Abstract

At the beginning of the new Millennium, the Danish consumer researcher Folke Ölander who passed away in 2013, complained about the static character of consumer research: It had no identity, missing capacities and it lacked legitimacy. But there was no reason for him to despair. Instead, he asked how "research relevant consumer policy could be intensified" (Ölander 2005, 26). His suggestion was to found a competence center for "collection and communication" to combine and connect the research activities "of many universities" (Ölander 2005, 27). Such a competence center would foster ties between science, consumer interests and policies and, if designed accordingly, could establish certain focal points and promote projects.