The project consortium comprises the Leibniz Institute for Ecological Spatial Development (IÖR) – as coordinator of the overall project – as well as Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (TRAWOS Institute, headed by Prof. Dr Raj Kollmorgen), the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography (IfL) in Leipzig, the Institute for Social Innovation e.V. (ISInova) in Berlin, the Institute for Cooperative Studies e.V. and the Seminar for Rural Development (SLE) at the Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute for Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences at Humboldt University in Berlin.
Innovations are important drivers of societal change and set the pace for the apparent progress of human development. However, in light of crises such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource scarcity, the negative consequences of this progress are becoming increasingly evident. It is now widely recognized that a transformation toward more sustainable ways of living and economic activity is necessary. How can such transformative change be achieved in cities and regions? How can they strengthen their capacity to adapt—their “transformative capacities”—and thereby initiate and accelerate processes such as the energy transition? What role do innovations play in this context? These questions are at the heart of the project “ATRAKTIV – Building Transformative Capacities to Activate Regional Innovation Systems,” which began its work in November 2022.
The project aims to challenge the traditional understanding of innovation, which has primarily focused on technological progress and economic growth. Accordingly, ATRAKTIV broadens the perspective to include not only technological and economic innovations but also social innovations that are linked to sustainable and public-interest-oriented ways of thinking, acting, and organizing.
The originality of the research idea underlying the project lies in the development of an expanded analytical framework for the identification and assessment of regional innovation systems. To this end, the project introduces the concept of transformative innovation systems, which entails new requirements for innovation policy that will be explored throughout the course of the project.
From our perspective, innovation systems can be considered transformative when the innovations they generate contribute to fundamental societal change towards sustainable development. In developing this concept, we draw particularly on models of “transformative social innovation” and, more broadly, “transformative innovation” developed within transition studies, as well as on the concept of “transformative capacities”.
“If we are to achieve the transition to a sustainable and at the same time innovative society—that is, a society that remains dynamic rather than becoming static—we need more than the development and promotion of traditional regional innovation systems that reflect the specific characteristics of local economic and social environments and politically mobilize their potential. It is equally necessary to involve civil society actors, as well as alternative business, work, and social models and practices—from community-supported agriculture and co-working spaces to citizen-owned power—without which such a transformation cannot succeed,” explains project leader Prof. Raj Kollmorgen.
”The project team is investigating how these diverse developments can be more effectively harnessed to drive transformative change at the regional level. The research focuses on four predominantly peripheral and rural regions that lack a strong economic center and are commonly classified as “structurally weak” districts: the district of Görlitz (including the Upper Lusatia region) in Saxony, Dithmarschen in Schleswig-Holstein, and the districts of Kyffhäuser and Saale-Holzland in Thuringia.
The project pursues three main objectives. First, it seeks to move beyond the traditional understanding of structural weakness and (economic) innovation capacity by developing a new and broader analytical framework based on a mission-oriented understanding of innovation systems. Second, through collaboration with and empirical investigation of four regions classified as “structurally weak,” the project aims to examine which patterns and dynamics of innovation can be identified within these regions according to the developed framework, and how they can be assessed and measured. Third, building on these findings, the project seeks to develop concrete governance approaches, methods, and instruments that can support regions in strengthening their transformative capacities and in activating and enhancing regional sustainability-oriented innovation systems.
What characteristics distinguish transformative innovation systems from non-transformative ones, and how can societal innovation capacity for shaping transformative change be assessed? How do the characteristics of such systems differ in “structurally weak” regions? Which spatial and temporal patterns and dynamics of transformative innovation systems can be identified, and what role do endogenous and contextual factors play in the selected regions?
The project involves the introduction and development of the concept of a transformative regional innovation system. It integrates approaches from four fields: transformation research, innovation geography, sociology, and research on alternative forms of engagement and organizational structures. The integrative approach will be applied and tested in four peripheral regions in Germany using methods derived from transformation research.
The collaborative project ATRAKTIV is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for a duration of three years. It is part of the funding program „REGION.innovativ. Regionale Faktoren für Innovation und Wandel erforschen – Gesellschaftliche Innovationsfähigkeit stärken“.
