The Governing Council of the Institute safeguards the interests of the federal and state governments, which jointly support the Institute. The Council is composed of three representatives each from the State of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Federal Government, as well as one representative each from the other Federal States. The committee exercises the joint supervisory function of the research institute's sponsors and is responsible for the following: the mission statement, the research programme and the NIPAG budget. It is also responsible for quality assurance measures.