Bridging people and markets

Wegweiser has been developing studies, conferences and specialist publications since 1996 at the interface between government, business and society. The focus is on issues where political decisions, public responsibilities and economic implementation are intertwined.

Complex challenges cannot be resolved from a single perspective or within institutional boundaries. Wegweiser brings together knowledge, experience and the people who bear responsibility – so that decisions can be made on a sounder basis and change becomes possible.

Wegweiser Research & Strategy examines developments, markets and structures. Wegweiser Media & Conferences brings the resulting topics and insights to conferences, specialist media and dialogue forums.

In this way, analysis, strategic context and professional exchange come together to form a shared working approach.

Wegweiser emerged from an economic policy transformation mandate issued by the Federal Government. The company’s roots lie in the ‘Market & State’ working group of the Treuhandanstalt and its subsequent successor organisation, the Federal Agency for Special Tasks Related to Unification. It supported companies in the new federal states by providing market analyses, publications and dialogue forums to help them tap into new customers, partners and markets.

In 1996, the working group was spun off as an independent company. Wegweiser was initially indirectly owned by the Federal Government. Its remit combined economic policy objectives with concrete market development: knowledge, networks and entrepreneurial perspectives were intended to contribute to providing practical support for structural change.

Privatisation marked the start of a fundamental strategic reorientation. What began as direct support for individual companies in gaining market access evolved into an independent group of companies which today develops studies, consultancy projects, conferences and specialist media for public institutions as well as major national and international companies. The original core mission has been preserved: to identify political and economic developments at an early stage, to understand markets and structures, and to bring together the people responsible for driving change. This institutional heritage continues to shape Wegweiser to this day – in its understanding of government functions and decision-making processes, in its insight into political contexts, and in the integration of analysis, strategy and dialogue.