154
J. Zscheischler and S. Rogga
8.4.1 Problem Definition of Projects and Societal Pressure
for Action
One central and frequently described success factor for innovation processes is the
consideration of concrete application needs raised by prospective appliers. As a
consequence, the question of how the problem is defined at the beginning plays a
decisive role for the design and development of solutions (e.g. Enkel 2009; de Jong
et al. 2016).
The majority of projects used the narrative of “increasing land use competition”
in order to prove the relevance of their research project and the desired solutions.
Here, the projects align their narrative with that of the funding agency, and address
the problem definition described in the announcement.
Applicants additionally formulate five other problem areas and fields of action:
(i) the loss of cultural landscapes, (ii) environmental degradation, (iii) increasing
land use conflicts, (iv) disparities between urban and rural areas and the challenges
of demographic change, and (v) the challenges of spatial justice. Thus, the projects
reflect a rather wide range of fields of action and current problems, and illustrate the
diversity of challenges in SLM. At the same time, it must be acknowledged that the
projects represent only some of the current land use challenges. Thus, other urgent
issues such as landscape fragmentation, climate change impacts, urban sprawl and
contamination remained unconsidered (see EEA 2019).
One striking aspect is that many of the nine research projects focus on the challenge of changing the energy system (APV-Resola, AUFWERTEN, INOLA, render,
EnAHRgie). This is not surprising, since the spatial dimension of renewable energy
production and distribution in Germany is decisive (see Meyer and Priefe 2015).
There is considerable pressure to act and transform the energy supply system, which
is discussed extensively by many societal actors.
8.4.2 Solution Strategies and Types of Innovation
It is striking that the concept of innovation, which is traditionally often equated
with the understanding of technological innovation, is significantly expanded in the
context of SLM. While there are still projects that focus on new technologies and
processes (such as agroforestry systems and agrophotovoltaic plants), most projects
place a strong emphasis on “social innovations”.
In the literature, there are different interpretative patterns of the term “social
innovation” and corresponding heterogeneous theoretical approaches. In accordance
with others (e.g. Taylor 1970; Brooks 1982; Schubert 2016), we consider the term as
an extension of the notion of technological innovation and define “social innovation”
as “new” practices that provide alternative solutions to persisting problems (Zapf
1989), driven by specific actors in specific operating contexts (Rogers 2003; Howaldt
and Schwarz 2010).
J. Zscheischler and S. Rogga
8.4.1 Problem Definition of Projects and Societal Pressure
for Action
One central and frequently described success factor for innovation processes is the
consideration of concrete application needs raised by prospective appliers. As a
consequence, the question of how the problem is defined at the beginning plays a
decisive role for the design and development of solutions (e.g. Enkel 2009; de Jong
et al. 2016).
The majority of projects used the narrative of “increasing land use competition”
in order to prove the relevance of their research project and the desired solutions.
Here, the projects align their narrative with that of the funding agency, and address
the problem definition described in the announcement.
Applicants additionally formulate five other problem areas and fields of action:
(i) the loss of cultural landscapes, (ii) environmental degradation, (iii) increasing
land use conflicts, (iv) disparities between urban and rural areas and the challenges
of demographic change, and (v) the challenges of spatial justice. Thus, the projects
reflect a rather wide range of fields of action and current problems, and illustrate the
diversity of challenges in SLM. At the same time, it must be acknowledged that the
projects represent only some of the current land use challenges. Thus, other urgent
issues such as landscape fragmentation, climate change impacts, urban sprawl and
contamination remained unconsidered (see EEA 2019).
One striking aspect is that many of the nine research projects focus on the challenge of changing the energy system (APV-Resola, AUFWERTEN, INOLA, render,
EnAHRgie). This is not surprising, since the spatial dimension of renewable energy
production and distribution in Germany is decisive (see Meyer and Priefe 2015).
There is considerable pressure to act and transform the energy supply system, which
is discussed extensively by many societal actors.
8.4.2 Solution Strategies and Types of Innovation
It is striking that the concept of innovation, which is traditionally often equated
with the understanding of technological innovation, is significantly expanded in the
context of SLM. While there are still projects that focus on new technologies and
processes (such as agroforestry systems and agrophotovoltaic plants), most projects
place a strong emphasis on “social innovations”.
In the literature, there are different interpretative patterns of the term “social
innovation” and corresponding heterogeneous theoretical approaches. In accordance
with others (e.g. Taylor 1970; Brooks 1982; Schubert 2016), we consider the term as
an extension of the notion of technological innovation and define “social innovation”
as “new” practices that provide alternative solutions to persisting problems (Zapf
1989), driven by specific actors in specific operating contexts (Rogers 2003; Howaldt
and Schwarz 2010).