The EISR project on the development of innovation service providers in structurally weak regions aims to gain insights into the question of how complex innovation contexts are presented at the regional level and how structurally weak regions in particular can initiate and successfully shape change through innovations.
Development of innovation service providers in structurally weak regions
The lack or low number of research firms and universities as well as other research institutions is the central challenge in developing the innovative capacity of structurally weak regions.
In its approach to strengthening the innovative ability of structurally weak regions, the project aims to analyze the potential for the development of innovation service providers in three structurally weak rural districts in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. This occurs in three phases:
Registration and classification of existing and potential innovation service providers in the districts of Nordsachsen, Meißen and Burgenlandkreis according to our classification model.
Analysis of existing and potential innovation service providers based on their compatibility, market access and willingness to invest in innovation activities.
Development of recommendations for action for local municipalities to promote innovation service providers
What is particularly innovative about the project is that it redefines the role of local innovation service providers, seeking, in particular, the further development of existing service providers (e.g., educational institutions) that may not yet see themselves as such. The research project provides a concrete approach as to how existing and locally-known actors can be integrated in structurally weak regions without having to create new actors.
Low-threshold recommendations for action are being developed under the project and are to be made available for the regions selected as models and other regions for future applications.
01. September 2022 – 31. August 2025
Ribeiro, A.; U. Dornberger
Nachhaltige Entwicklung von Innovationsdienstleistern im ländlichen Raum Sachsens & Sachsen-Anhalts. Forschungsergebnisse und Handlungsempfehlungen. SEPT Working Paper Series - Research Paper, No. 31, Juli 2025.
Ribeiro, A.; L. Diehl, U. Dornberger
Retrofitting the Future: Sustainable Development Through Inclusive Community Initiatives in East Germany’s Mitteldeutsches Revier Region. Proceedings of the 30th International Conference on Urban Planning and Regional Development in the Information Society (REAL CORP 2025). In: Schrenk, M. et al. (2025) (Eds.): Urban Innovation – To Boldly Go Where No Cities Have Gone Before: Medium sized cities and towns as a major arena of global urbanization, 2025. pp. 785-798
Ribeiro, A.; P. Barriga Ortiz, A. Ansari Vaghef, U. Dornberger
Quadruple Helix in East Germany: Developing a Model to Analyze Rural-District Intermediaries’ Transformation as Facilitators in Social Innovation. Proceedings of the International Conference on Emerging Challenges: Sustainable Strategies in the Data-driven Economy (ICECH 2024). In: Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, Vol. 320, April 2025.
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