Jacob Birkenhäger

Scientific Director, Managing Director, Head of Unit Civil Society
Tel.: +49 (0)1577 2165066
jacob.birkenhaeger@nexusinstitut.de

Jacob Birkenhäger is Managing Director of the nexus Institute and heads the Civil Society division.

He studied political science, philosophy and public law at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz from 2007 to 2015, focussing on the comparison of political systems, the performance of democracies and questions of political participation and social involvement. For his master’s thesis, he investigated the extent to which specific educational programmes in South Africa increase opportunities for civic engagement and political participation.

Before joining nexus, Jacob Birkenhäger worked as a consultant at ifok from 2015 to 2024, where he designed, implemented and supported a wide range of citizen and public participation processes. His role in the development of citizens‘ councils in Germany and the European Citizens’ Forums at European Union level should be emphasised. He established and managed the Deliberation, Open Government and Democracy business unit at ifok and was responsible for numerous projects in this context.

Jacob Birkenhäger is an internationally recognised expert in the conception, moderation and political integration of citizen and public participation processes and open government strategies. He has many years of experience in the moderation of workshops, citizen dialogues, expert and policy panels and major events. Jacob Birkenhäger knows from his extensive experience that dialogue and cooperation always lead to better and more sustainable results if they are well done and well moderated.

Jacob Birkenhäger is a volunteer on the boards of Mehr Demokratie e.V. and Masifunde Bildungsförderung e.V.