the team
Prof. Dr. Melanie Jaeger-Erben
Psychologist and sociologist. Professorship for “Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research” at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at TU Berlin. Specialist expertise in the fields of consumer research, changes in social practices, social science technology research and material culture. Methodological competencies in qualitative social research, mixed methods and transdisciplinarity.
Prof. Dr. Jana Rückert-John
Social scientist, associate. Holder of the professorship “Sociology of Food” at the University of Fulda. Speaker of the DGS-Section “Sociology of Agriculture, Agriculture and Nutrition”. Membership in the DGS-Section “Environmental Sociology”, the Consumer Sociology of the European Sociological Association (ESA) and Chair of the “Network Nutrition Culture”. Expertise in the fields of environmental sociology, sustainable consumption and nutrition, and gender research. Methodological competencies in quantitative and qualitative social research and statistics.
Dr. René John
Social scientist. Specialist expertise in the fields of innovation and social change, social engagement, organisational research and gender studies. Methodological competencies in qualitative and quantitative social research.
Alexandra von Brunn, M.Sc.
Environmental and resource economist. Studied economics and resource management at the University of Augsburg, Humboldt University Berlin and University of Dayton. Since 2023 Research Associate at the Institut für Sozialinnovationen, Berlin. Expertise in alternative economies, urban climate resilience and sustainable land use. Methodological competences in qualitative and quantitative social research, especially actor-network analyses and qualitative interviews. Research interests are socio-ecological systems approaches, especially in the context of urban and regional transformations.
Jonas John, B.A.
Japanologist and social scientist specializing in politics, protest research and governance. Academic training at the Free University of Berlin and Sophia University in Japan in the field of social science studies of Japan. Research assistant at the Institute for Social Innovation in Berlin since 2018 and research associate since September 2024. Research interests include geopolitical relations, gender studies and nutrition, and youth culture.
Jun Chu, M.A.
Sociologist and cultural anthropologist. Studies and doctorate at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen. Since October 2023 research associate at the Institut für Sozialinnovation, Berlin. Expertise in the fields of critical urban and migration research, citizenship, civil society, governance and socio-spatial change. Methodological competences in qualitative and quantitative social research, especially ethnography and qualitative interviews.
Elena Bettenhäuser, B.SC., B.A.
Sociologist and geographer. Studied social sciences and geography at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and the Universidade de Lisboa with a focus on human-environment relations. Studied Resource Management at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Geography of Global Inequalities at Freie Universität Berlin with a research focus on global North-South relations, land use conflicts and climate justice. Since 2024 student assistant at the Institute for Social Innovation Berlin.
Alberto Anticoli, M.SC.
Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Relations in Italy and interdisciplinary Master’s degree in Sustainable Development at Uppsala University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Practical experience working in environmental consultancies in Berlin and Madrid. Since July 2023 PhD student at the Department of Geosciences at Freie Universität Berlin. Research focus on analysing land processes, socio-ecological conflicts and transformations from an interdisciplinary perspective. Methodological competences in the application of multidisciplinary approaches.
Prof. Dr. Inka Bormann
Educationalist, Professor of General Education at the Free University of Berlin. Expertise in the areas of innovation and transfer research, innovations in the educational system, knowledge transfer, indicators and organizational theory.
Dr. Holger Braun
Sociologist. Expertise in the fields of participatory research of social problems and innovations and theories of social transformation
Dr. Sigrid Gronbach
Political scientist, lecturer at the Centre for Health, Rehabilitation and Care of Diakonie Deutschland. Specialist expertise in the fields of inclusion of people with disabilities, analysis of the welfare state (especially labour market and basic security policy), concepts of justice in social policy and socio-political reform discourses
Prof. Dr. Melanie Jaeger-Erben
Psychologist and sociologist. Professorship for “Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research” at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at TU Berlin. Specialist expertise in the fields of consumer research, changes in social practices, social science technology research and material culture. Methodological competencies in qualitative social research, mixed methods and transdisciplinarity.
Dr. René John
Social scientist. Specialist expertise in the fields of innovation and social change, social engagement, organisational research and gender studies. Methodological competencies in qualitative and quantitative social research.
Dr. Melanie Kröger
Social scientist. Specialist expertise in the fields of sustainable agriculture, sustainable consumption, organic farming, multifunctionality of rural areas and gender research as well as in the cross-cutting theme of inter- and transdisciplinarity. Methodological competencies in qualitative social research
Dr. Antonia Langhof
Sociologist at the University of Bamberg. Specialist expertise in the fields of organisation research and organisation theory.
Magdalena Meissner, M.A.
Gender studies and religious studies. Specialist expertise in the fields of recognition and distributive justice, consumer and sustainability research, civil sciences, social inequalities, heteronormativity and racism research and migration research.
Dr. Götz Richter
Social scientist and management consultant. Specialist expertise in the areas of consulting (tailor-made and targeted personnel placement, shift plan design, personnel development, quality assurance in customer contact, innovation-friendly corporate culture, group work, personnel management, intercultural communication, management of networks, operational work design and demographic change), Research (labour market policy, company working hours, professional biographies and labour market processes, biographical research, modernisation processes in the public sector, organisational development, intergenerational solidarity, part-time work) and evaluation (networks between business, science and administration and development cooperation, networks of training providers).
Prof. Dr. Jana Rückert-John
Social scientist, associate. Holder of the professorship “Sociology of Food” at the University of Fulda. Speaker of the DGS-Section “Sociology of Agriculture, Agriculture and Nutrition”. Membership in the DGS-Section “Environmental Sociology”, the Consumer Sociology of the European Sociological Association (ESA) and Chair of the “Network Nutrition Culture”. Expertise in the fields of environmental sociology, sustainable consumption and nutrition, and gender research. Methodological competencies in quantitative and qualitative social research and statistics.