The major social and environmental challenges of our time – loss of biodiversity, climate change, soil degradation and social injustice – call for new approaches to science. Excellent research not only generates knowledge but also has a tangible impact.
The
Innovation Centre for Agricultural System Transformation (IAT) is a collaboration between the
Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), the
University of Kassel,
Justus Liebig University Giessen and
Geisenheim University. Together, we are breaking new ground in knowledge production: open, participatory, long-term, practice-oriented and impact-driven.
We bring together stakeholders from business, government, academia and local communities who want to shape the future of the agricultural landscape together. To this end, we are establishing living labs in five regions of Germany. There, we are working to ensure that agriculture best meets the needs of society and provides secure incomes. We will try out new approaches, test innovations and learn together.
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Our Research approach in Brief
The IAT conducts
research in, on and with living labs – that is, in real-world contexts, together with stakeholders from the field, public administration, civil society and politics. We use
co-design methods to develop research questions together with local people and to design transdisciplinary solutions. Our research is:
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Innovative and experimental – we test new forms of collaboration in real-world workshops of change.
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Systemic and multi-perspective – we view agriculture through the interplay of ecological, economic and social dimensions.
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Long-term and reliable – rather than project-driven individual measures, we establish long-term cooperation networks in which we define and address research questions on an equal footing with non-academic stakeholders.
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Accessible and transparent – through open science, knowledge dissemination and new formats for measuring impact.
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Scientifically excellent – through methodologically sound impact analyses, data infrastructures, monitoring concepts and interdisciplinary collaboration.
In the living labs, long-term collaborative structures are established with relevant stakeholders from land use, politics and regional practice. Together, we address key issues of land use and regional value creation at the landscape scale – such as mixed-crop farming on low-yield soils in Brandenburg or sustainable viticulture systems in Hesse.
The IAT will create new, permanent infrastructures for transdisciplinary research, knowledge exchange and innovation. In doing so, it will combine the ZALF’s existing research expertise with new capabilities for collaborative and transformative research.
The IAT is being established as a permanent strategic special project. This was preceded by a multi-stage review process conducted by the Leibniz Association and the
German Science Council.
Our living labs
- East Brandenburg arable farming region (multifunctional and diverse arable farming systems)
- Havelland Luch (climate protection and grassland use in lowland moor regions)
- North Hesse Loess plain (intensified organic farming)
- The Hessian low mountain range (integrated plant-animal-agricultural systems)
- Rheingau (multifunctional and climate-resilient viticulture systems)
Zukunft Land
Zukunft Land is the overarching initiative and serves as the umbrella organization for all real-world laboratories and participating stakeholders. Zukunft Land represents a collective movement toward the future, fostering a new form of cooperation between academia and the field to drive the innovative and sustainable development of agricultural and food systems—even beyond individual regions.
(Click on the logo to visit the Zukunft Land website)
Our Working Groups
The research topics of the Innovation Centre for Agricultural System Transformation (IAT) address the following UN sustainability goals, which are also anchored in the German Sustainable Development Strategy: Zero Hunger (2), Good Health and Well-being (3), Clean Water and Sanitation (6), Affordable and Clean Energy (7), Responsible Consumption and Production (12), Climate Action (13), Life Below Water (14) and Life on Land (15).
Job Offers
The IAT will create new positions in research, services and administration in Brandenburg and at three locations in Hesse. You can find the corresponding job advertisements in our
job offers from the year 2025 onwards.
