About neks
The Network of Research Ethics Committees in the Social Sciences (neks) is an association of individuals and institutions committed to ethical review and consultation in social science research.
The social sciences encompass a wide range of disciplines and research traditions. This diversity is important to us and should be appropriately considered in ethical review processes. These processes also take place in very different institutional contexts and frameworks. The network brings together various disciplinary and organizational perspectives of ethical review and consultation practice.
Neks is open to anyone involved in the ethical assessment and review of social research, such as through university-wide or subject-specific Research Ethics Committees (RECs) at universities, research institutes, or within professional associations. Currently, we focus on the German-speaking region but welcome interest from other parts of the world.
The network was initiated in September 2023 at the symposium “Research Ethics and Ethics Reviews in the Social Sciences” in Munich and formally established in July 2024.
Target Groups
Objectives and Tasks
Neks promotes the exchange and collaboration among members of Research Ethics Committees (RECs) and other bodies that assess social science research and advise researchers on ethical issues. The network also aims to provide mutual support and consultation for members, as well as a platform for sharing information and discussing issues related to the ethical review of social science research.
Additionally, neks engages in academic and policy discussions on the development of ethical review processes in Germany to represent the interests of its members.
Neks is not a Research Ethics Committee (REC) and does not conduct ethical reviews of research proposals.
Speakers
The speaker team is elected every two years by the members of neks. The speakers volunteer their time and efforts to represent the interests of neks and its members. The current speaker team was elected on July 5, 2024.
The speaker team can be contacted at neks@uni-bielefeld.de.
Prof. Dr. Hella von Unger (Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich)
- Chair of the Research Ethics Committee (REC) of the Faculty of Social Sciences at LMU
- unger@lmu.de
Dr. Eva Berens (University of Bielefeld)
- Scientific Director of the Office of the University-wide Research Ethics Committee (REC) at the University of Bielefeld
- eva-maria.berens@uni-bielefeld.de
Dr. Herwig Reiter (German Youth Institute, Munich)
- Member of the Research Ethics Committee (REC) of the German Youth Institute
- reiter@dji.de