Innovation Groups for Sustainable Land Management

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is providing funding to nine Innovation Groups. By 2019, these Innovation Groups will have developed long-term, practicable solutions for using the resource land, focusing on both implementation-oriented research and innovation processes. These Innovation Groups focus on integrated land use, shaping the energy transition at the local level, and concepts of cultural landscape management. They are in the process of developing sustainable, applicable solutions for regions facing particular challenges in the light of climate change and structural economic changes.

The Innovation Groups enable the BMBF to forge ahead with new ways to put sustainable innovations into practical use: teams of scientists and practitioners work together as equals from the outset, leveraging each other's skills to become more qualified in innovation research and innovation management. Research institutions, municipalities, public utilities and regional planners, as well as farmers, energy producers, energy agencies and engineering companies are represented in these teams of scientists and practitioners.

Feasibility and transferability are crucial aspects of the concepts developed. Throughout the projects, Innovation Groups consider under which conditions their research results can be implemented; this ensures that their results have an impact in the real world. Innovation concepts are designed to foster the implementation of research results and processes – even after the end of the funding period.