In 2018, the VHB Rating 4.0 working group, led by spokesperson Prof. Dr. Hans Ulrich Buhl and composed of representatives from 13 Scientific Commissions (SCs), embarked on the development of a successor to JOURQUAL3. After ten meetings, some of which lasted several days, the working group presented its concept proposal at the beginning of 2020. The need for revision was identified and addressed at the VHB General Assembly in March 2020.

In 2021 and 2022, Prof. Dr. Jutta Geldermann, as Vice-President of the VHB, conducted ten workshops and online meetings with representatives of all SCs, some of which lasted several days. The scope of the new survey was defined during these meetings, which included the separate evaluation of journals, commentaries, and proceedings.

The evaluation dimensions and their respective categories were also established, including 'scientific quality', 'transfer relevance', 'practical relevance', and 'discipline reference‘.

The Steering Committee, which includes the VHB Advisory Board and the VHB Executive Board, decided in November 2022 to conduct the VHB Rating 2024 in its present form, i.e. as an established concept of a publication media rating modified to the specific requirements of the SCs based on a member survey.

The VHB Advisory Board established a new working group early in 2023 to handle the preparatory organization, creation of the first media catalogues, development of the preliminary survey, communication with the SC representatives, and development of the main survey for the VHB Rating 2024.

The working group was composed of seven members representing the 18 SCs of the VHB. Prof. Dr. Christian Koziol, Head of Research and Publications on the VHB Executive Board since 2023, chaired the working group. The pre- and main survey were programmed by QUESTIONSTAR survey specialists from Motaev Marx Motaev GbR.

With the publication of the rating on the VHB website, the working group responsible for the 2024 VHB rating has successfully completed its work.