About Dr. Raffael Himmelsbach
Nice to meet you.
What are you curious about?
I've always been fascinated by what sustains cooperative problem solving. This question led me from degrees in political science to consulting with people invested in shaping the organisations they work in.
Curriculum Vitae Dr. Raffael Himmelsbach
Professional background
Last updated 5 August 2026
Work experience
04/2025 —
Founder, Raffael Himmelsbach Consulting e.U.
Coaching, training, and process facilitation for people and organisations in research and healthcare. Registered business activity: management consulting.
06/2024 — 09/2026
Co-Director, Research Group Senescence and Healing of Wounds, Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft, Vienna.
Established and led a multidisciplinary research group. Recruited staff internationally and built the organisation. Led team and strategy meetings. Held budget and personnel responsibility for about 15 full-time equivalents and about one million euros per year. Reported to supervisory bodies. Led the research programme on patient access to chronic wound health services in Austria.
01/2018 — 04/2020
Senior Adviser, Governance and Strategy, Centre for Digital Life Norway at NTNU, Trondheim.
Advised the scientific leadership on strategy and research policy. Led organisational development through retreats, vision processes, and self-evaluation. Managed a decentralised matrix team, including financial and activity planning. Reported to the board and the Research Council of Norway. Advised project leaders on public engagement and collective learning. Designed and delivered training.
06/2016 — 12/2017
Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University.
Managed work within the EU Horizon 2020 project SMART-map. Planned, facilitated, and evaluated stakeholder workshops.
04/2015 — 05/2016
Postdoctoral Researcher, Centre for Climate Science and Policy Research, Linköping University, Sweden.
Conducted a qualitative interview study on perceptions of geoengineering, with a focus on European Union advisory bodies and research agendas.
09/2011 — 08/2012
Visiting Researcher, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States.
Research stay funded by a mobility fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation. Researched science and research governance.
06/2010 — 01/2011
Civil service as Research Associate, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Produced research reports on the economic situation of semi-nomadic livestock herders and analysed the environmental effects of overgrazing.
09/2006 — 06/2013
Research and Teaching Assistant, Institut d’études politiques et internationales, Université de Lausanne.
Taught comparative politics, Swiss politics, the history of ideas, and social theory. Provided research assistance and conducted doctoral research.
Education
06/2014
PhD in Political Science, Université de Lausanne.
Dissertation: Playing second fiddle: Expert advice and decision-making in Switzerland. Supervisor: Professor Dietmar Braun. Awarded the Faculty of Social Sciences Prize.
2006
License ès sciences politiques [MA/Magister equivalent]
Electives in environmental economics, statistics, and Russian. Thesis on pasture management and institutional design in Mongolia.
Professional development
06/2026
Visual thinking & graphic recording
Two day crash course on the fundamentals of using visualisation in group moderation. Trainer: Harald Karrer, Vienna.
10/2025
Personality Profiler Coach Certificate, LINC GmbH
Certification training for applying personality profiles in coaching, based on the scientifically validated five factor model.
11/2024 — 03/2025
Coaching training
Coaching Campus, Neuwaldegger Beratungsgruppe, Vienna. Coaching training programme, focused on systemic and solution-focused coaching.
09/2024 — 03/2025
Entrepreneur exam, Austrian Chamber of Commerce.
Business administration programme covering accounting, legal frameworks, marketing and human resource aspects of entrepreneurship.
03/2024 — 09/2024
Designing and delivering psychology-informed trainings
A method by Christine Hoffmann, VIenna. Topics: audlt learning, training design, presenting, facilitating.
2022 — 2023
Voice and Media Coaching
15 individual coaching units with Heilwig Pfanzelter.
2018
Research Leadership Course, Research Council of Norway.
Three modules over eight course days.
08/2018
ASTP Proton Summer School, Venice, Italy.
Capturing and Optimizing Business Research Opportunities.
Publications
Select publications
Peer-reviewed journal articles
Drgac, D., and Himmelsbach, R. (2023). Acts of negotiation: Toward a grounded theory of nursing practice in chronic wound care in Austria. BMC Health Services Research, 23, Article 1253. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-10276-2
Himmelsbach, R. (2018). How scientists advising the European Commission on research priorities view climate engineering proposals. Science and Public Policy, 45(2), 230 to 241. https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scx053
Doctoral dissertation
Himmelsbach, R. (2014). Playing second fiddle: Expert advice and decision-making in Switzerland. Doctoral dissertation, Université de Lausanne. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279041356_Playing_Second_Fiddle_Expert_Advice_and_Decision-Making_in_Switzerland
Book chapters
Himmelsbach, R. (2019). Politikberatung in der Schweiz. In S. Falk, M. Glaab, A. Römmele, H. Schober, and M. Thunert (Eds.), Handbuch Politikberatung, 2nd edition. Springer. https://www.springerprofessional.de/politikberatung-im-politischen-system-der-schweiz/16903686
Himmelsbach, R. (2012). Collaborative pasture management: A solution for grassland degradation in Mongolia? In J. Dierkes (Ed.), Change in democratic Mongolia: Social relations, health, mobile pastoralism, and mining, pp. 165 to 194. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004231474_010
Himmelsbach, R. (2012). Beratung im Kontext der politischen Problemlösung: Der neue Finanzausgleich und die Reform der Aufgabenteilung zwischen Bund und Kantonen in der Schweiz. In A. Benz (Ed.), Politikberatung in Verfassungsreformen, pp. 31 to 64. Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag.
Research reports
City of Vienna. (2026). Wiener Wundbericht. City of Vienna, Strategic Healthcare Services. https://www.wien.gv.at/spezial/wundbericht/
Schneider, C., Drgac, D., Niederleithinger, M., Hruschka, V., and Himmelsbach, R. (2022). Die Versorgung chronischer Wunden durch das österreichische Gesundheitssystem: Eine Übersicht, version 3. Ludwig Boltzmann Research Group Ageing and Wound Healing. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6572802
Wibeck, V., Hansson, A., Himmelsbach, R., Fridahl, M., Linnér, B. O., and Anshelm, J. (2016). Policy brief on climate engineering. Centre for Climate Science and Policy Research, Linköping University.
Usukh, B., Binswanger-Mhize, H. P., Himmelsbach, R., and Schuler, K. (2010). Fostering the sustainable livelihood of herders in Mongolia via collective action. Mongolian Society for Range Management, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
Mongolian Society for Range Management, Binswanger-Mhize, H. P., Himmelsbach, R., and Schuler, K. (2010). Livelihood study of herders in Mongolia. Mongolian Society for Range Management, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
Health information
Niederleithinger, M., Dörner, G., Drgac, D., Schneider, C., Morasek, K., Fille, A., and Himmelsbach, R. (2024). Schritt für Schritt bei schwer heilenden Wunden: Was Sie jetzt tun können. Ludwig Boltzmann Research Group Ageing and Wound Healing. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10894302
Online Version: https://www.wunde-heilt-nicht.at
Organisational analyses and evaluations
Himmelsbach, R. (2025, November 18). The Centre for Digital Life Norway at nine years: Insights from the legacy workshop. Centre for Digital Life Norway. https://zenodo.org/records/18403612
Himmelsbach, R. (2024). Evaluation des Pilotprojekts eHealth-gestütztes Wundmanagement: Telekonferenz und Telekonsil. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12750727