Thünen-Institut für Regionalentwicklung

What Thünen-Institut für Regionalentwicklung does

Thünen-Institut für Regionalentwicklung is an independent, non-profit research institute (e.V.) founded in 1990 in Tellow, Germany, and currently headquartered in Schlemmin (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern). The institute researches societal transformation processes in rural areas and supports the actors driving those transformations. Its portfolio combines applied research, citizen science tooling, and program management. Core research and program offerings include the Neulandgewinner funding program (supporting local change-makers with up to €50,000 per project and a €5,000 Neulandsucher track), the Engagiertes Land program (supporting approximately 93 rural engagement networks in partnership with DSEE and BBE), and an active slate of federally and foundation-funded research projects (ENKOR, LANDING, ERNTE, Transformationsgestalter*innen, Treiber der Transformation, Resiliente Kleinstädte, InnOasen, Landvorteil-InnoAtlas). The institute builds digital infrastructure for citizen-led rural data collection, notably the Landinventur web platform and mobile app for collaborative spatial observation, and the Landmaschine digital knowledge database. The Landinventur platform was funded by the BMBF from 2017–2020.

The institute operates through two legal entities: the non-profit research association (e.V.) in Schlemmin and the Thünen-Institut Genossenschaft eG, a cooperative economic entity established in 2016 in Berlin and relocated to Leipzig in 2023. It has no base government funding and does not sell commercial products or services. Revenue is generated from research grants and project funding sourced from German federal ministries (BMBF, BMEL, BMFSFJ), eastern German state governments (Freistaat Sachsen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Sachsen-Anhalt), and foundations including Robert Bosch Stiftung, Wüstenrot Stiftung, Deutsche Stiftung für Engagement und Ehrenamt, and Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Schleswig-Holstein. Go-to-market is event- and community-driven: research collaborations, public events including the annual ÜBERLAND Festival, workshops (Netzwerkstatt), and program-based funding rounds reaching rural citizens, civil society actors, and municipal partners.

The institute is led by sociologist Andreas Willisch (co-lead since 2002) and Diplom-Betriebswirtin Ines Hagenloch (jointly leading the cooperative since 2016 and managing the Neulandgewinner program office since 2012). The broader team of roughly 19 includes researchers, urban designers, cultural anthropologists, political scientists, illustrators, designers, and administrative staff. The institute should not be confused with the Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut (federal research institution under the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture).

Name

Thünen-Institut für Regionalentwicklung

Legal name

Thünen-Institut für Regionalentwicklung e.V.

Website

https://thuenen-institut.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Thünen-Institut für Regionalentwicklung is an independent German non-profit research institute (founded 1990) that studies rural societal transformation, manages the Neulandgewinner and Engagiertes Land funding programs for rural change-makers, and operates the Landinventur citizen science platform, serving rural communities, civil society actors, and policy institutions in Germany.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rural Development Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Educational Support Services (611710), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Institutional Capacity Building & Training (Workforce/Systems Strengthening) (BPADAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Technical Cooperation, Capacity Building & Policy Advisory Programs (BPADABAO), Research, Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Partnerships (EDADALAK)

Keywords

• Rural development research
• Citizen science platforms
• Community funding programs
• Societal transformation research
• Knowledge transfer services

Headquarters

HQ city

Schlemmin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Research Grants and Project Funding: The institute operates as an independent non-profit research organization without basic government funding. Revenue comes primarily from research grants and project funding from federal ministries (BMBF, BMEL, BMFSFJ), foundations (Robert Bosch Stiftung, Wüstenrot Stiftung, Deutsche Stiftung für Engagement und Ehrenamt), and state governments.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Thünen-Institut für Regionalentwicklung conducts applied research on societal transformation processes in rural areas and supports the actors driving that transformation. It manages funding programs (Neulandgewinner, Engagiertes Land) that channel grants up to €50,000 to local initiatives, and operates citizen science tools (Landinventur, Landmaschine) that enable rural residents to collect and share knowledge about their communities. Its work is delivered through research projects, workshops, mentoring, networking formats, and policy recommendations for regional development.

Product overview

Thünen-Institut für Regionalentwicklung is a non-profit research institute (e.V.) that conducts research on societal transformation processes in rural areas, rather than offering commercial technology products. Its portfolio consists of research projects, funding programs, and citizen science tools. Key offerings include: Neulandgewinner (a funding program supporting local change-makers with up to €50,000 per project), Engagiertes Land (supporting rural engagement networks with approximately 93 funded networks), and several research initiatives on rural transformation topics. The institute also operates two digital tools: Landinventur (a citizen science web platform for collective spatial observation) and Landmaschine (a digital knowledge database for rural practitioners). These tools and programs are interconnected—the Landinventur platform and Landmaschine database are used to support participants in the funding programs and document transformation activities across rural Germany.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Neulandgewinner: Funding program for local initiatives in rural Germany, initiated by Robert Bosch Stiftung in 2011, now jointly managed by Thünen-Institut and Neuland gewinnen e.V. Since 2021 consists of Neulandgewinner (up to €50,000) and Neulandsucher (up to €5,000).
• Landinventur
• Engagiertes Land
• InnoAtlas

Quantifiable outcome

• 93 rural engagement networks supported through Engagiertes Land program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Deutsche Stiftung für Engagement und Ehrenamt (DSEE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Joint implementation of the Engagiertes Land program supporting rural engagement networks. DSEE provides funding while the institute provides scientific support through Landinventur and workshop formats.
• Bundesnetzwerk Bürgerschaftliches Engagement (BBE)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partner in the Engagiertes Land program for supporting rural engagement networks across Germany.
• Neuland gewinnen e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Co-program office partner in the Neulandgewinner funding program. Since the 6th funding round, the two organizations run the program from a joint program office, providing funding up to 50,000 EUR for local transformation initiatives.
• Georg-August-Universität GöttingenmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner in the ENKOR research project investigating volunteer engagement in rural areas through comparative studies in nine rural communities.
• Hochschule Zittau-GörlitzmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Applied Sciences partner in the ENKOR research project on rural volunteer engagement.
• TH LübeckmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnical university partner in the Landvorteil-InnoAtlas project developing a map of social innovations.
• WandelLand e.V.majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCivil society partner in the Landvorteil-InnoAtlas project.
• Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Schleswig-HolsteinmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPolitical foundation partner in the Landvorteil-InnoAtlas project mapping social innovations.
• Co-Workland e.G.majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperative partner in the InnOasen research project on innovation places related to landscape.
• Humboldt-Universität zu BerlinmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner in the Wittenberge ist überall research project on social capital in shrinking regions.
• Brandenburg-Berliner Institut für Sozialwissenschaftliche StudienmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch institute partner in the Wittenberge project on social capital transformation.
• Stiftung Hamburger Institut für SozialforschungmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation partner in the Wittenberge project.
• Universität KasselmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner in the Wittenberge project.
• Maxim Gorki Theater BerlinmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTheater partner bringing public dialogue and performances to the Wittenberge transformation research.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bundesnetzwerk Bürgerschaftliches Engagement (BBE): National network for civic engagement in Germany — a direct current partner on the Engagiertes Land program. Comparable in advocating for civic engagement structures and policy advice on civil society at the federal level.
• Ecologic Institute: Berlin-based non-profit applied research institute working on environment, climate, and sustainability policy with strong EU and federal funding. Comparable in non-profit applied research model, federal ministry funding mix, and policy advisory role.
• Deutsches Institut für Urbanistik (Difu): Berlin-based non-profit research institute supporting municipalities with applied research on urban planning, civil society, and local democracy. Highly comparable as a non-profit that runs federally-funded research and program-management for cities/communities.
• Leibniz-Institut für Raumbezogene Sozialforschung (IRS): Leibniz Association research institute in Erkner studying social processes in spatial context. Comparable in producing applied social-science research on regional transformation, with a similar mix of federal- and state-funded projects.
• ILS – Institut für Landes- und Stadtentwicklungsforschung: Dortmund-based research institute on spatial development, mobility, and urban/rural transition. Comparable in applied research-to-policy pipeline and grant-funded project portfolio.
• IfLS – Institut für Ländliche Strukturforschung: Frankfurt-based non-profit research institute focused on rural development, agricultural policy, and rural transformation research in Germany. Directly comparable in mission, funding model (project-based grants), and policy advisory role.

Broad incumbents

• Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut (TI): Federal German research institute under the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, covering rural areas, forests, and fisheries. Frequently confused with Thünen-Institut für Regionalentwicklung; comparable only at the level of rural research mission, but vastly larger and state-funded.
• Bertelsmann Stiftung: Large German private foundation running its own programs on rural vitality, civic engagement, and democratic participation. Comparable only at the program-design/grantmaking level; far larger and broader in scope.

Emerging players

• Wissenschaft im Dialog: Berlin-based non-profit organizing science communication and citizen science projects across Germany. Comparable in citizen-science methodology and federal funding, but without the rural-development specialization.
• Bürger schaffen Wissen: Germany's national citizen-science platform coordinated by Wissenschaft im Dialog and the Museum für Naturkunde. Comparable in promoting citizen-science methodology and connecting citizens to research, with overlap to the Landinventur approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCTaAweCtpcznbs5X4ro1bTw
• Instagraminstagram.com/landlebtdoch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thuenen-regionalentwicklung

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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