Private company

GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences

Logo: Propeller im Auftrag von GESIS, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons³

Organization

The GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences is the largest German infrastructure institute for the social sciences. It is headquartered in Mannheim, with a location in Cologne. With basic research-based services and consulting covering all levels of the scientific process, GESIS supports researchers in the social sciences.² It is part of Leibniz Association.¹ Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1986Founded¹

HeadquartersMannheim¹
Websitewww.gesis.org

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The GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences is the largest German infrastructure institute for the social sciences. It is headquartered in Mannheim, with a location in Cologne. With basic research-based services and consulting covering all levels of the scientific process, GESIS supports researchers in the social sciences. As of 2017, the president of GESIS is Christof Wolf.²

Corporate structure

GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences is part of a group headed by Leibniz Association. 105 entities, 2 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Leibniz Association Berlin
- GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences Mannheim
- German Institute for Global and Area Studies Subsidiary · Hamburg, Germany
- German Rheumatism Research Centre Subsidiary · Berlin, Germany
- Germanisches Nationalmuseum Subsidiary · Nürnberg, Germany
  - Deutsches Kunstarchiv im Germanischen Nationalmuseum Subsidiary · Nuremberg, Germany
- Kiel Institute for the World Economy Subsidiary · Kiel
- Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Subsidiary · Potsdam
- Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam Subsidiary · Potsdam, Germany
- Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID) Subsidiary · Trier
- Museum Koenig Subsidiary · Bonn
- Senckenberg – Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research Subsidiary · Frankfurt am Main
  - Museum of Zoology Dresden Subsidiary · Germany
  - Senckenberg am Meer Subsidiary · Wilhelmshaven, Germany
  - Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Subsidiary · Germany
  - Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment Subsidiary · Germany
  - Senckenberg German Entomological Institute Subsidiary · Germany
  - Senckenberg Museum Subsidiary · Frankfurt, Germany
  - Senckenberg Natural History Collection Dresden Subsidiary · Dresden, Germany
  - Senckenberg Research Institute Subsidiary · Frankfurt, Germany
- TIB – Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology and University Library Subsidiary
  - TIB Open Publishing Subsidiary · Hanover, Germany
- Academy for Spatial Research and Planning Subsidiary · Nord, Germany
- Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine Subsidiary · Hamburg-Mitte, Germany
- Deutsches Diabetes-Zentrum Subsidiary · Düsseldorf, Germany
- Deutsches Institut für Erwachsenenbildung Subsidiary · Germany
- Deutsches Museum Subsidiary · Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt, Germany
- DIPF | Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education Subsidiary · Germany
- DWI – Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials Subsidiary · Aachen, Germany
- Ferdinand-Braun-Institut Subsidiary · Treptow-Köpenick, Germany
- FIZ Karlsruhe Subsidiary · Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
- Fritz Lipmann Institute Subsidiary · Jena, Germany
- German Institute for Economic Research Subsidiary · Germany
- German Institute of Human Nutrition Subsidiary · Potsdam, Germany
- German Maritime Museum Subsidiary · Mitte, Germany
- German Mining Museum Subsidiary · Bochum, Germany
- and 69 more

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Established in 1986 as German Social Science Infrastructure Services (Gesellschaft Sozialwissenschaftlicher Infrastruktureinrichtungen), GESIS originally consisted of the three independent institutes:

Social Science Information Centre (InformationsZentrum Sozialwissenschaften, IZ) in Bonn,

Central Archive for Empirical Social Research (Zentralarchiv für Empirische Sozialforschung, ZA) in Cologne, and

Centre for Survey Research and Methodology (Zentrum für Umfragen, Methoden und Analysen, ZUMA) in Mannheim.

In 2007, the three GESIS institutes merged into one. In November 2008, GESIS added "Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences" to its name in order to emphasize its membership in the Leibniz Association.

In November 2011, GESIS Bonn and Cologne were merged into one location in Cologne.

From Wikipedia’s article on GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.⁴

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

Leibniz Association

From Wikidata.¹

Timeline

1986Founded Founded¹

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

1
WikidataGESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences on Wikidata
2
WikipediaGESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences on Wikipedia
3
Wikimedia CommonsGESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences logo by Propeller im Auftrag von GESIS, CC0
4
WikipediaGESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences on Wikipedia (revision used)