The advisory board advises the Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Archives in its academic research on the activities of the state security service of the GDR. Another purpose of the advisory board is to support the research and publication activities as well as the exchange of information with other academic institutions.

Klaus Schroeder has a doctorate in sociology and a habilitation in political science. He is based at Freie Universität Berlin, where he heads a research association on the SED state, which he co-founded in 1992. Schroeder's research focuses on the history of the division of Germany, the history of the GDR, the reunification process, and the issues of extremism and the welfare state.