nexus combines practice and research
nexus designs and moderates participative processes: from complex citizen participation projects to multi-stakeholder formats. We design decision-making processes, focusing on transparent communication, active cooperation and sustainable consensus. nexus investigates how active citizenship and the participation of different actors can change social development. Therefore we realize application-oriented and practical research projects. nexus advises actors from politics and administration, develops concepts and strategies and evaluates processes and programmes. We optimise civil society infrastructures and services through individual solutions. Comprehensive needs analyses are the base for this. nexus works inter- and transdisciplinarily, locally, nationally and internationally on the topics of democracy and participation, sustainability, regional development, digitalization and health.
The nexus Institute is based in the Green Garage on the EUREF campus in Berlin-Schöneberg – a place where companies, start-ups and research institutions work together to find solutions for a sustainable future. Nestled between an urban industrial backdrop and green open spaces, nexus offers flexible spaces for participatory processes and diverse discourse. For special events, the garden hall of the historic Villa Morgenroth (built in 1911) at the Botanical Garden is also available.
Our Team
Management
Jacob Birkenhäger
Director, Head of Unit Civil Society
tel.: +49 30 4220664-05
mobile: +49 1577 2165066
jacob.birkenhaeger@nexusinstitut.de
Prof. Dr. Christiane Dienel
Director
tel.: +49 30 4220664-12
christiane.dienel@nexusinstitut.de
Prof. Dr. Hans-Liudger Dienel
Director
tel.: +49 30 4220664-0
dienel@nexusinstitut.de
Tzvetina Arsova Netzelmann
Head of Unit Health and Society
tel.: +49 30 4220664-02
arsova-netzelmann@nexusinstitut.de
Dr. Daniel Guagnin
Head of Unit Nets and Society
tel.: +49 30 4220664-17
mobile: +49 176 41741536
guagnin@nexusinstitut.de
Sabine Schröder
Head of Unit Infrastructure and Society
tel.: +49 30 4220664-30
schroeder@nexusinstitut.de
Dr. Birgit Böhm
Head of Academy for Participative Methods
tel.: +49 30 4220664-08
boehm@nexusinstitut.de
Research Associates
Claudio Altenhain
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-01
altenhain@nexusinstitut.de
Nicolas Bach
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-03
bach@nexusinstitut.de
Dr. Tobias Biehle
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-16
biehle@nexusinstitut.de
Eike Biermann
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-04
biermann@nexusinstitut.de
Dr. Thomas Blanchet
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-06
blanchet@nexusinstitut.de
Dr. Christine von Blanckenburg
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-34
blanckenburg@nexusinstitut.de
Wiebke Blum
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-07
blum@nexusinstitut.de
Dr. Claudia Bosch
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-09
bosch@nexusinstitut.de
Matthias Bottel
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-10
bottel@nexusinstitut.de
Dr. Carina Brumme
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-11
brumme@nexusinstitut.de
Laura Drechsel
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-0
drechsel@nexusinstitut.de
Ansgar Düben
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-13
dueben@nexusinstitut.de
Gesa Feldhusen
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-15
feldhusen@nexusinstitut.de
Katharina Fender
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-15
fender@nexusinstitut.de
Dr. Arnd Hofmeister
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-19
hofmeister@nexusinstitut.de
Maria Jacob
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-20
jacob@nexusinstitut.de
Justine Kenzler
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-22
kenzler@nexusinstitut.de
Andreas Meinlschmidt
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-47
meinlschmidt@nexusinstitut.de
Dr. Filipe Mello Rose
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-24
mello.rose@nexusinstitut.de
Ina Metzner
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-25
metzner@nexusinstitut.de
Philipp Offermann
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-26
offermann@nexusinstitut.de
Erik Ooms
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-27
ooms@nexusinstitut.de
Max Raucamp
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-28
raucamp@nexusinstitut.de
Nicola Rudow
Data Analyst
tel.: +49 30 4220664-41
nicola.rudow@nexusinstitut.de
Volkan Sayman
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-29
sayman@nexusinstitut.de
Felix Schürhoff
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-31
schuerhoff@nexusinstitut.de
Carlo Thomsen
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-33
thomsen@nexusinstitut.de
Uta Zetek
Research Associate
tel.: +49 30 4220664-35
zetek@nexusinstitut.de
Dr. Kerstin Lücker
Freelancer
tel.: +49 15150675377
kerstin.luecker@nexusinstitut.de
Administration, Communication, Event Management
Silvia Bronnert-Simon
HR Manager
tel.: +49 30 4220664-0
bronnert-simon@nexusinstitut.de
Antonios Hazim
Project Assistant
tel.: +49 30 4220664-0
hazim@nexusinstitut.de
Antje Heera
Communication and Events
tel.: +49 30 4220664-18
heera@nexusinstitut.de
Ruth Hirschhäuser
Office assistance
tel.: +49 30 4220664-49
hirschhaeuser@nexusinstitut.de
Daniel Jurischka
Project Administration and Controlling
tel.: +49 30 4220664-21
jurischka@nexusinstitut.de
Christian Kusch
Project Administration and Controlling
tel.: +49 30 4220664-23
kusch@nexusinstitut.de
Lutta Saifulina
Office Management, Accounting and Human Resources
Tel.: +49 30 4220664-0
saifulina@nexusinstitut.de
Sandrine Steinhoff
Graphics, Communication and Events
tel.: +49 30 4220664-32
steinhoff@nexusinstitut.de
Student Assistants, Volunteers
Alexandra Augustin
Student Assistant
tel.: +49 30 4220664-0
alexandra.augustin@nexusinstitut.de
Carolin Basaric
Student Assistant
tel.: +49 30 4220664-39
carolin.basaric@nexusinstitut.de
Paula Brämick
Student Assistant
tel.: +49 30 4220664-46
paula.braemick@nexusinstitut.de
Bahar Cati
Student Assistant
tel.: +49 30 4220664-0
bahar.cati@nexusinstitut.de
Solveig Döllefeld
Student Assistant
tel.: +49 30 4220664-0
solveig.doellefeld@nexusinstitut.de
Alexander Haro Hasprich
Student Assistent
tel.: +49 30 4220664-43
alexander.haro@nexusinstitut.de
Luise Hellwig
Student Assistent
tel.: +49 30 4220664-45
luise.hellwig@nexusinstitut.de
Oğulay Kapçak
Student Assistant
tel.: +49 30 4220664-38
ogulay.kapcak@nexusinstitut.de
Rabanus Metz
Participant in the Federal Ecological Volunteer Service
tel.: +49 30 4220664-36
rabanus.metz@nexusinstitut.de
Philipp Scheitz
Student Assistant
tel.: +49 30 4220664-0
philipp.scheitz@nexusinstitut.de
Paul Schlichting
Student Assistant
tel.: +49 30 4220664-0
schlichting@nexusinstitut.de
Emma Schreiber-Karaschewski
Student Assistant
tel.: +49 30 4220664-0
emma.schreiber.karaschewski@nexusinstitut.de
Diellza Shala
Student Assistant
tel.: +49 30 4220664-0
shala@nexusinstitut.de
Ayla Tiefenbach
Student Assistant
tel.: +49 30 4220664-0
tiefenbach@nexusinstitut.de
Amy Winkler
Student Assistant
tel.: +49 30 4220664-37
winkler@nexusinstitut.de
Jakob Zielke
Student Assistant
tel.: +49 30 4220664-0
jakob.zielke@nexusinstitut.de
Scientific Advisory Board
Elke Benning-Rohnke
Board member of FidAR / shareholder of the management consultancy Benning Company
Prof. Dr. Brigitte Geißel
Professor of Political Science at Goethe University Frankfurt, Head of the “Democratic Innovations” research centre
Prof. Dr. Norbert Kersting
Lehrstuhl für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft- Kommunal- und Regionalpolitik der Universität Münster
Claudine Nierth
Spokeswoman for the Federal Executive Board of Mehr Demokratie e. V.
Vigdis Nipperdey
Former Chairwoman of the University Council of the Technical University of Munich
Priv.-Doz. Dr. Ronald Pohoryles
(Chair from 10/2016-10/2023) ICCR Foundation non-profit private foundation
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Ortwin Renn
Chair, former Scientific Director at the Institute for Transformative Sustainability Research (IASS) and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Technische Universität Berlin
Dr. Nikolas Vortmeyer
Self-employed management consultant
Prof. Dr. Heike Walk
Chair for Transformation Governance at Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development
Former members of the Scientific Advisory Board
Sts a.D. Clemens Appel Prof. Dr. Meinolf Dierkes (Vorsitz 2004-2011) Prof. Dr. Dr. Heiner Legewie Prof. Dr. Heinrich Mäding (Vorsitz 2011-2016) Min. a.D. Prof. Dr. Ulrich Steger
Client
Partner
INNOVATION: The European Journal of Social Science Research
Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research is a social science journal on innovation, change and transformation of organisations, institutions and societies. It combines analytical and descriptive approaches with an attempt to discuss solutions, visions, roadmaps as well as threat scenarios and dystopias. This combination of hermeneutic analysis and application of deconstruction and construction are the cornerstones of the journal, which is open to all social and cultural sciences. Since 2017, the nexus Institute has been publishing the renowned English-language scientific journal Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research together with the European Association for the Advancement of the Social Sciences and the publishing house Routledge – Taylor Francis Group.
Planning cells database (Citizens Juries)
Planning cells are a form of citizen’s participation that was developed by Prof. Peter Dienel in the 1970s at the research centre for citizen’s participation at the University of Wuppertal. A similar concept is the idea of the Citizen’s Jury, which was designed in the 1970s by Ned Crosby at the Jefferson Centre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Both procedures are based on a random selection of participants and are therefore part of the „Mini-public“-formats of participation, representing citizens. This database was created by the nexus institute, which is run by Prof. Hans-Liudger Dienel, the son of Prof. Peter Dienel who developed the German version of the Citizen’s Jury, called a Planning cell (Planungszelle). The database aims to allow anyone interested to gain easier access to information about Citizens Juries conducted so far.