GESIS is responsible for the implementation of the second cycle of PIAAC in Germany. Initiated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), PIAAC – The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies – assesses key competencies in the adult populations of the participating countries. PIAAC is designed as a multi-cycle survey, repeated every 10 years. Germany participated in the first round of PIAAC cycle one; GESIS was also entrusted with the German national project management in the first cycle of PIAAC.

The second cycle of PIAAC assesses the key competencies of adults aged 16-65 years in the domains literacy (including reading components), numeracy (including numeracy components), and adaptive problem solving. PIAAC is administered as a technology-assisted personal interview. The interview consists of a background questionnaire that collects important information about the respondent (e.g. education, occupation, skills use at work and in everyday life), followed by a one-hour cognitive assessment. The survey design is developed by an international consortium. This consortium also specifies a comprehensive set of standards and guidelines that cover all aspects of survey implementation. The NPM team at GESIS is responsible for defining and implementing these standards in the most appropriate way for the German context, thus ensuring a high quality of the data.

The survey instruments and procedures were tested in a field test in 2021. The main survey took place in 2022/2023. International and national results will be published at the end of 2024.