The Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES) is an interdisciplinary research institute of the University of Mannheim, founded in 1989. It is located in the square A5 of the city of Mannheim nearby the Mannheim Palace.
The institute devotes itself to research on societal and political developments in Europe. Research focus is located in comparative research on Europe and the investigation of the European integration. The MZES mainly carries out basic research, financed by external funds from the German national research foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft), foundations promoting scientific research, and research funds from the European Union. Furthermore, the MZES, neatly related to the Faculty for Social Sciences of the University of Mannheim, gives training and support to young social scientists, when starting their scientific careers. At present, approximately 80 social scientists and 60 students are working at the MZES. Thus, the MZES is the largest institute of the University of Mannheim, and the largest research institute of a German university in the field of the social sciences.
From 1989–1998 the institute was composed of four work units:
In 1999, these four work units were reduced to two:
The managing director and the directors of the work units together form the managing committee of the institute. The activity of the managing committee and the institute is controlled by an executive board. The institute's research program is outlined for three years and evaluated by an international scientific advisory board. An annual report informs about the institute's activity.
The managing director is elected by the executive board for a period of three years.
A manager supports the managing director in his/her work. This position was held from 1989–1997 by Andreas Weber, and from 1998–2009 by Reinhard Schneider. Since 2010 Philipp Heldmann is manager of the institute.