In view of growing, diversified utilisation demands and unresolved challenges such as biodiversity loss or climate change, innovative, context-specific solutions are needed to make the agricultural systems of the future more sustainable. In order to contribute to this transformation, the INNOVALAND consortium planned to design, test and evaluate three innovation processes in four "Innovaländer" in Hesse and Saxony:

First, an effective payment system for agriculture-based ecosystem services and other societal services has been developed.

Secondly, community innovation workshops were conducted in four local community networks. In these workshops, sustainable land use strategies are developed in order to develop local potentials for sustainable value creation.

Thirdly, digital innovation enabled the documentation of sustainable production systems. Multidimensional information on sustainability along the value chain was made available on a user-friendly platform. This increases transparency for consumers and thus promotes the development of new markets for sustainable production systems.

During the conceptualisation phase, INNOVALAND initiated a participatory process to recruit practice partners in order to critically reflect on ideas with stakeholders from politics, business and civil society in rural areas. Seven information events were organised. In order to select the most diverse and innovative regions possible, information events were organised in Hesse in the Werra-Meißner district (economically weakest region in Hesse with a highly structured landscape), the Wetterau district (high economic productivity, very good soils, proximity to the Frankfurt am Main metropolis), the Odenwald district (strong agricultural focus on fruit growing, low mountain range) and the Rhön (region with successful regional marketing for products and tourism, low mountain range). The events in Saxony took place in the Vogtland district (relatively strongly structured agriculture, much sideline farming, good tourism potential, low mountain region), the district of Görlitz (weak economic region, challenge of opencast lignite mining, poor soils) and the district of North Saxony (relatively homogeneous agricultural areas, mixed soil quality, proximity to the Halle/Leipzig metropolitan region). Mayors, the specialist departments of the districts for rural areas, farmers' and nature conservation associations, business development organisations, farmers and interested initiatives and people from civil society were invited to the events. Company partners were identified by the participants at information events, through existing contacts from previous projects and at the BIOFACH trade fair. Based on the letters and subsequent contacts, two "Innovaländer" were identified in Saxony and Hesse at the start of the main phase of the project.