What PLUS Change Project does

PLUS Change is a four-year Horizon Europe research project (2023–2027, Grant Agreement No. 101081464) that develops strategies and decision-making processes for sustainable land use addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, and human well-being. The project is coordinated by CzechGlobe, an institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, under Project Coordinator Julia Leventon, and operates as a consortium of 23 partner institutions across 14 European countries organised around 12 real-world practice cases in regions spanning the Netherlands, Slovakia, Belgium, Latvia, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Germany, Czech Republic, the UK, France, and Poland.

The project's technology stack combines transdisciplinary research methodologies across social, environmental, and spatial planning sciences. Core proprietary outputs include the Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) planning toolkit built on Hub4everybody, the Open Land Use Map geographic dataset, Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs) and System Maps for visualising feedback mechanisms in land cover change, Policy Simulations and Serious Games for stakeholder engagement, and the Possible Landscapes creative outreach programme using arts and storytelling for co-creation. Delivery mechanisms include eight multi-actor participatory workshops per practice case, four rotating General Assemblies, capacity-building workshops, an Ambassadors of Change programme with 15 community representatives, and an advisory board drawn from ESPON, adelphi, and Babeș-Bolyai University.

PLUS Change does not generate commercial revenue. The project is fully funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme and provides its tools, methodologies, and outputs freely to practitioners, policymakers, and regional stakeholders. Primary beneficiaries are regional, national, and EU-level policymakers, spatial and regional planners, academic researchers, NGOs, land users (farmers, landowners), and underrepresented communities served via the Ambassadors programme. The project has no traditional corporate ownership structure; it operates as a collaborative research consortium under a public research institute.

Name

PLUS Change Project

Legal name

PLUS Change

Website

https://pluschange.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PLUS Change is a Horizon Europe research project developing land use strategies addressing climate change, biodiversity, and human well-being. Coordinated by CzechGlobe with 23 partner institutions across 14 countries, it delivers free planning tools, methodologies, and creative programmes to policymakers and spatial planners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Prague

HQ country

Czechia

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Horizon Europe Research Funding: The project is funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101081464. This is a four-year research project (2023-2027) involving 23 institutions from 14 countries.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

PLUS Change is a Horizon Europe research project that develops strategies and decision-making processes for sustainable land use that address climate change, biodiversity loss, and human well-being challenges across Europe. It produces a portfolio of research methodologies and tools, including the Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) planning toolkit, Causal Loop Diagrams, the Pathways Method, the Open Land Use Map, Policy Simulations, and the Possible Landscapes creative outreach programme, applied through 12 Practice Cases involving 23 partner institutions and 15 Ambassadors of Change across 14 European countries.

Product overview

PLUS Change is a Horizon Europe research project (not a commercial product company) focused on developing strategies and decision-making processes for sustainable land use. The project offers a portfolio of research tools, methodologies, and creative programmes including: a Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) planning toolkit, the Circuville audio-visual storytelling tool, the Possible Landscapes creative outreach programme, the Open Land Use Map dataset, Causal Loop Diagrams, the Pathways Method, Policy Simulations, and Capacity Building Workshops. These tools are designed to support equitable land use decision-making across 12 European Practice Cases.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PLUS Change Planning Toolkit / Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) A digital planning toolkit hosted on a digital innovation hub (Hub4everybody), designed for land use decision-makers, containing narrative storylines, land use strategies, pathway exploration techniques, policy simulations, and training materials.
• Circuville An audio-visual story tool and drawing that envisions a circular and sustainable society, designed to spark conversations about possible future land use scenarios. Users choose from five different characters to discover the circular world.
• Possible Landscapes Creative Outreach Programme A creative outreach programme led by Biobased Creations that employs arts and storytelling methodologies to inspire stakeholders to imagine regenerative landscapes. Includes co-creation sessions across 12 Practice Cases resulting in visualized Possible Landscapes and live storytelling events.
• Open Land Use Map A comprehensive, openly accessible geographic dataset developed by Plan4All that provides detailed information about land use and land cover across various regions, used for modeling land use change scenarios.
• Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs) Visual system maps used to analyze issues related to sustainability, mapping feedback mechanisms between sectoral policies and land cover change. Applied at EU level and across 12 Practice Cases.
• Pathways Method A method for planning change in complex land-use systems, used to develop practical roadmaps for achieving sustainable land-use goals through policy simulations.
• Health, Wellbeing, Nature & Sustainability Toolkit A toolkit being piloted with Natural England for integrating health, wellbeing, nature and sustainability considerations into planning processes.
• Policy Simulations Co-created simulations with stakeholders to explore possible transformation pathways embedded in scenarios like shared socioeconomic pathways, enabling development of policies leading to desirable futures.
• Capacity Building Workshops Educational workshops designed to share tools, frameworks, and creative methods developed through the project, empowering spatial planners, policy actors, researchers, and community advocates.

Quantifiable outcome

• Eight multi-actor participatory workshops per practice case to facilitate transdisciplinary co-creation with stakeholders
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CzechGlobe (Global Change Research Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead partner coordinating the overall project including administration, management, scientific leadership, and integration across all project components. Led by Project Coordinator Prof. Dr. Julia Mildorfova Leventon. Manages the Department of Human Dimensions of Global Change focused on societal transformations toward sustainability.
• Plan4AllcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit association with mission to advance open data and open-source technologies in spatial and urban planning. Designs and implements the planning toolkit as a digital innovation hub (DIH) and contributes to modelling land use change scenarios using the Open Land Use map.
• Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research (KLI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndependent centre of advanced studies in life and sustainability sciences. Leads Work Package 1 on transdisciplinary integration, fostering reflexive learning, supporting integration into practice cases, and guiding partners on ethics, equity, and justice issues.
• VU Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM-VU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstitute at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, oldest environmental research institute in the Netherlands (est. 1971). Leads Work Package 4 on Future sustainable land use strategies, simulating impacts of future scenarios on land and wellbeing. Also represents the Amsterdam region Practice Case.
• Centre for Systems Solutions (CRS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit organization linking theory and practice through systems tools. Leading developer of social simulations and serious games on disaster risk, climate change, land and resource management. Strengthens engagement dimension and supports stakeholders in active participation in transformation pathway discussions.
• Institute for Urban Excellence (iUE/ISOCARP Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUrban think tank based in The Hague specializing in urbanism, citizen engagement, and capacity-building. Leads Work Package 6 on Communication, Dissemination, and Exploitation, ensuring project outcomes reach appropriate audiences inclusively and innovatively.
• UKF Nitra (Constantine the Philosopher University)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDepartment of Ecology and Environmental Science with experience in landscape planning, ecology, nature protection, and stakeholder engagement. Coordinates Nitra City practice case in Slovakia and leads research on political economies of land use change.
• Baltic Studies Centre (BSC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrivate non-profit research institute in Riga, Latvia specializing in sustainable rural and regional development, agri-food systems, and innovation. Provides evidence for enabling sustainable land use change and coordinates Kaigu Peatland practice case.
• University of Ljubljana (UL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLandscape as a Living Environment research group from Department for Landscape Architecture. Offers expertise in participatory scenario planning and land use change trajectories. Integrates and upscales practice case scenarios to EU-wide scenarios.
• KnowlEdge SRL (KE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental consultancy headquartered in Italy with international presence. Leads analysis on key policy drivers of future land use change including EU European Green Deal and Swiss/EU land use policies. Develops land systems scenario maps using co-creative, multi-stakeholder approach.
• Verein Parc ElacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMountainous nature park in canton Grisons, Switzerland. Serves as practice partner providing insights from practitioners including land users, local governments, and planners. Focus on supporting regional food system from farm to plate.
• Vlaamse Landmaatschappij (VLM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlemish Land Agency committed to developing resilient and vibrant open spaces. Lead partner for Flanders practice case, emphasizing supporting local initiatives and elevating environmental quality.
• Euregio Meuse-Rhine (EMR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the oldest cross-border institutions in Europe. Lead partner for Three Countries Park practice case, working on Euregional Action Plan for Climate Resilient Landscapes with focus on nature-based solutions for water retention.
• South Moravian Agency for Public Innovation (JINAG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional development agency transforming relationships between regional governments, development agencies, and policymakers. Lead partner for South Moravian practice case, informing climate adaptation measures and influencing national policies.
• Leuphana University LüneburgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity recognized for pioneering Europe's first School of Sustainability. Leads Task 2.2 on governance arrangements, tenure, and policy changes over time, conducting comparative case analysis across all 12 practice cases.
• Biobased CreationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeads the Possible Landscapes creative outreach programme, supporting co-creation processes through arts and storytelling methodologies. Creates audio-visual stories and installations to inspire sustainable landscape imagination.
• ESPON ProgrammeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory board member Marjan van Herwijnen provides expertise from territorial analysis and previous ESPON projects including EU-LUPA, LP3LP, and SUPER projects.
• adelphiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory board member Sarah Velten brings expertise in biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, and agricultural policy from this German sustainability think tank.
• Bab es-Bolyai UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory board member Tibor Hartel contributes expertise in population, community, landscape ecology, and human dimensions of conservation biology.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• JPI Climate (Joint Programming Initiative Climate): European trans-national research coordination body connecting national funding agencies and researchers on climate change. Comparable to PLUS Change as a multi-country European platform aligning research agendas and funding for climate-related land, energy, and adaptation research.
• ICLEI Europe: Network of European local and regional governments working on sustainability, climate, and biodiversity. Comparable as it engages municipalities in capacity building and policy co-creation for land-use and climate goals, sharing PLUS Change's stakeholder-engagement and toolkit approach.
• ESPON EGTC: EU-funded territorial research and observation programme that produces pan-European evidence for spatial planning and regional development. Highly comparable as a multi-country EU research platform that informs regional land-use and policy decisions, though ESPON is broader in scope and has an established permanent structure.
• European Environment Agency (EEA): EU agency providing environmental data, indicators, and assessment products across Europe. Comparable as the institutional source of land-use, climate, and biodiversity data that PLUS Change-style projects build upon, with a similar pan-European remit but a permanent public mandate.
• LIFE Programme projects (EU LIFE): EU funding instrument for environment and climate action, supporting integrated projects across Member States. Comparable as another EU-funded channel running large multi-partner environmental projects that target land use, climate adaptation, and biodiversity outcomes at regional scale.

Direct peers

• Plan4All: Non-profit association advancing open data and open-source technologies in spatial and urban planning; a core PLUS Change partner that also operates independently. Directly comparable as it develops the Digital Innovation Hub and Open Land Use Map data assets used by PLUS Change and other European planning projects.
• Biobased Creations: Creative studio leading the Possible Landscapes programme for PLUS Change using arts and storytelling methodologies. Comparable as a partner-level entity that also operates independently on biobased/circular built environment narratives, intersecting climate adaptation with creative communication.
• CzechGlobe (Global Change Research Institute): Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences coordinating PLUS Change and operating the Department of Human Dimensions of Global Change. Directly comparable as the lead research host conducting transdisciplinary sustainability research on land systems and societal transformation.

Emerging players

• Climate-KIC: EU-backed climate innovation community and knowledge hub driving systemic climate action through partnerships. Overlaps with PLUS Change in transdisciplinary climate adaptation work, but is more innovation- and entrepreneurship-oriented and operates a permanent organisational structure.

Others

• adelphi: German sustainability think tank providing advisory board expertise to PLUS Change through Sarah Velten on biodiversity and agricultural policy. Comparable as an adjacent policy/research consultancy active in EU climate adaptation, biodiversity, and land-use policy work, though it operates as a commercial non-profit.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/plus-change-project

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about PLUS Change Project