Every Max Planck institute has a Fachbeirat, a board of outside experts who review its work. The board meets alle drei Jahre, every three years, and in some cases more often. It assesses the quality and originality of the research and whether the strategy and the resources fit. It does so in beratender Funktion, in an advisory role.
Every six years, there is an extended review. It looks at related institutes in one research field together.