The nexus Institute for Cooperation Management and Interdisciplinary Research GmbH was founded in 1999.
It is an independent, interdisciplinary institute for applied research and cooperation with competencies in the fields of economic, social, cultural and engineering sciences. Thanks to its interdisciplinary approach and the variety of backgrounds and identities of its staff, nexus can take new and diverse perspectives and positions in the thrilling research field between technology and society. The comparison of multiple perspectives and the use of a multitude of methods enable innovative answers and solutions for complex issues. Beyond academic perspectives nexus integrates viewpoints and solutions from practical work life and takes into account everyday life experience through different empirical methods. nexus and its CEO, Dr. Hans-Liudger Dienel, count among his most important contractors and clients companies (Linde AG, Volvo Stiftung) as well as various federal and regional ministries and the European Commission.

nexus is active in thematic and project-specific-research networks which are constituted by a multitude of competent partners according to the respective demands. nexus has especially close connections with Technical University Berlin, the Social Science Research Centre Berlin (Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin) and Hochschule Magdeburg-Stendal (FH).

nexus is devoted to applied research and learns from comparison, especially comparison on an international level. nexus investigates how similar issues and phenomena were being defined, identified and solved in different areas. nexus staff covers competencies in practically all major European languages.

nexus is committed to the concept(s) of sustainable development. During recent years social and economical sustainability has been added to the original concept of saving natural resources. Today, conceptual contributions on sustainable development require the combination of diverse perspectives, such as ecological and technical, those of management and economical or those of the cultural and social sciences. The ambitious approach of sustainable development often leads to problems when it comes to realizing practical solutions. Practice-oriented, realisable concepts are rare and therefore a prime focus of the work at nexus.