Gain a better understanding of how to deal with land as a resource

Land is a vital and increasingly scarce resource. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funds nine innovation groups of researchers and experts that want to develop trend-setting and feasible solutions for a sustainable land management by 2020. Since January 2015, inter 3 and the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) are jointly responsible for their scientific coordination and advice.

Turning good ideas into good practice: the innovation groups

With this funding program, BMBF pursues a new approach to pave the way for sustainable innovations from theory to professional practice: right from the beginning scientists and practitioners equally work together in teams. They do not only develop applicable solutions for land management but also a concept for their implementation. Moreover, all participants can qualify for innovation management in the context of sustainable land management.

The aim is to develop feasible solutions for a sustainable handling of land with actual evident benefit for different user groups like farmers, property owners, municipalities etc.

inter 3 and ZALF support the innovation groups by providing professional input as well as by means of networking, coaching, and a highly visible PR.

Constructive interference, creative coaching: The scientific coordination project

Based on its expertise in innovation management, inter 3 is responsible for the innovation coaching and the management of the project. ZALF gained expertise in scientific coordination during the previous project "sustainable land management” and is therefore responsible for the embedding of transdisciplinary solutions into overall policy and fields of action.

The main activities of the scientific coordination project include:

• designing an effective networking as well as internal and external communication channels,
• supporting the development and implementation of the innovative concepts and of a series of seminars on innovation management, project related coaching and professional input on innovation research, innovation strategies, land management and knowledge transfer,
• analyzing the innovation processes and their embedding into practice of sustainable land management, and
• developing recommendations for action in order to support the implementation of innovations for sustainable land management.

The scientific coordination projects have two funding periods 2015-2017 and 2018-2020 parallel to the innovation groups.