8 Innovations for Sustainable Land Management …
147
assumed that SLM innovations differ considerably from the “usual” types of innovation. While market-based (business) innovations are generated against the backdrop
of the interests of individual economic actors who often accept the externalisation
of costs, SLM innovations pursue a general interest and the idea of common goods
in a bid to avoid the externalisation of costs.
Thus, SLM innovations are based on a different set of push factors and are often
dependent on policy-driven innovation systems and the funding of collaborative
actors from science and practice (from different administrative levels and sectors).
The aim of this article is to identify specifics of SLM innovations and associated innovation processes by undertaking a comparative case study of nine research
projects
2 conducted within the German funding programme entitled “Innovation
Groups for Sustainable Land Management”. We argue that understanding these
processes is highly relevant in the bid to improve the steering and design of effective
innovation and transformation processes for SLM.
8.2 The “Sustainable Land Management” Innovation
System
Knowledge is considered a central resource in innovation processes (e.g. Howells
2002; Thornhill 2006); therefore, attention was increasingly focused on exchange
and cooperation between actors and organisations for developing and disseminating
innovations. This idea can be found in the discourse on “innovation systems”, where
innovations arise as a result of the interplay between different levels of an institutional structure (Edquist 1997). In this context, the meaning of “regional innovation
systems” (RIS) was increasingly discussed. RIS are “typically understood to be a set
of interacting private and public interests, formal institutions, and other organizations
that function according to organizational and institutional arrangements and relationships conducive to the generation, use, and dissemination of knowledge” (Doloreux
and Parto 2005, p. 134). So far, the concept of regional innovation systems has
been discussed as a concept of spatial positioning and clustering (national/regional;
increasing competitiveness of regions; regional development).
By offering various support measures to promote research and innovations in
SLM, national innovation policy seeks to initiate regional innovation systems via
innovation policy programmes. In Germany, for example, the Federal Ministry
of Education and Research (BMBF) launched a range of consecutive funding
programmes
3 dealing thematically with the integrated consideration of different uses
2 All nine research projects were accompanied by a scientific coordinating research project over a
period of five years. As part of this scientific coordinating project, the authors had very good access
to the documents and team members of all nine projects. The results of the comparative case study
are based on the analysis of qualitative interviews with coordinating scientists, and of documents,
participatory observations during numerous events (workshops, conferences), and informal talks.
3 https://www.fona.de/en/topics/land-management.php.
147
assumed that SLM innovations differ considerably from the “usual” types of innovation. While market-based (business) innovations are generated against the backdrop
of the interests of individual economic actors who often accept the externalisation
of costs, SLM innovations pursue a general interest and the idea of common goods
in a bid to avoid the externalisation of costs.
Thus, SLM innovations are based on a different set of push factors and are often
dependent on policy-driven innovation systems and the funding of collaborative
actors from science and practice (from different administrative levels and sectors).
The aim of this article is to identify specifics of SLM innovations and associated innovation processes by undertaking a comparative case study of nine research
projects
2 conducted within the German funding programme entitled “Innovation
Groups for Sustainable Land Management”. We argue that understanding these
processes is highly relevant in the bid to improve the steering and design of effective
innovation and transformation processes for SLM.
8.2 The “Sustainable Land Management” Innovation
System
Knowledge is considered a central resource in innovation processes (e.g. Howells
2002; Thornhill 2006); therefore, attention was increasingly focused on exchange
and cooperation between actors and organisations for developing and disseminating
innovations. This idea can be found in the discourse on “innovation systems”, where
innovations arise as a result of the interplay between different levels of an institutional structure (Edquist 1997). In this context, the meaning of “regional innovation
systems” (RIS) was increasingly discussed. RIS are “typically understood to be a set
of interacting private and public interests, formal institutions, and other organizations
that function according to organizational and institutional arrangements and relationships conducive to the generation, use, and dissemination of knowledge” (Doloreux
and Parto 2005, p. 134). So far, the concept of regional innovation systems has
been discussed as a concept of spatial positioning and clustering (national/regional;
increasing competitiveness of regions; regional development).
By offering various support measures to promote research and innovations in
SLM, national innovation policy seeks to initiate regional innovation systems via
innovation policy programmes. In Germany, for example, the Federal Ministry
of Education and Research (BMBF) launched a range of consecutive funding
programmes
3 dealing thematically with the integrated consideration of different uses
2 All nine research projects were accompanied by a scientific coordinating research project over a
period of five years. As part of this scientific coordinating project, the authors had very good access
to the documents and team members of all nine projects. The results of the comparative case study
are based on the analysis of qualitative interviews with coordinating scientists, and of documents,
participatory observations during numerous events (workshops, conferences), and informal talks.
3 https://www.fona.de/en/topics/land-management.php.