He presented findings of his research, focusing particularly on how political systems can design and adopt sustainable policies that better prepare them for long-term policy challenges. The event began with welcome speeches by Sven-Oliver Proksch, the former Managing Director of the Institute of Political Science and European Affairs at the University of Cologne, and by Matthias Heinz, the speaker of the Cluster of Excellence ECONtribute: Markets and Public Policy. This reflects Michaels Bechtel's affiliation as Professor of Political Economy in the Institute of Political Science and European Affairs, faculty member in the Cologne Center for Comparative Politics (CCCP), and senior researcher in ECONtribute.

The Inaugural Lecture was attended by many listeners from research institutions in the Cologne/Bonn area such as the CCCP, the Institute of Political Science and European Affairs, the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences, ECONtribute, GESIS, the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies as well as by many students of the University of Cologne. The event concluded with a lively discussion with the audience, with the Dean of the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences asking the first question to Michael Bechtel. The discussion covered, inter alia, the extent of under-preparedness, political consequences of Michael Bechtel's findings on policy design and implementation, and potential reforms based on population attitudes on issues such as climate protection and redistribution.