Retrofitting the Future: Sustainable Development Through Inclusive Community Initiatives in East Germany’s Mitteldeutsches Revier Region

This paper examines community-led innovation efforts in the Mitteldeutsches Revier, East Germany’s coal-producing region undergoing a seismic transition. These initiatives are reshaping the local innovation system, in performing some of the functions of the traditional pillars of industry, government, and academia amid limited resources. The case studies we look at here rely on trial-and-error methods and local knowledge to act as transfer intermediaries between their communities and external actors. They retrofit old factories, repurpose historical landmarks, and redistribute funds from the coal industry to participatory planning, environmental rehabilitation, and other forward-looking projects. Multifaceted, inclusive collaborations involving different demographic groups, craftspeople, and scientists focus on talent retention, digitalization, and sustainability, addressing broader challenges linked to economic transition. But despite their creativity and resilience, these initiatives encounter persistent barriers such as inadequate infrastructure, unstable funding, participant disengagement or distrust, and overburdened leaders who struggle to meet their goals within institutional frameworks. Through interviews with leaders of selected initiatives, this study explores their obstacles, motivations, existing resources, and learning processes. It focuses on how they transform knowledge into actionable strategies and develop the capability to innovate despite persistent local deficiencies and bureaucracy. Beyond technical expertise, these organizations rely heavily on collaborative decision-making and social connectedness, which propel inclusivity and a shared sense of purpose. These elements, we argue, are essential for achieving sustainable local development in resource-constrained areas. Our analysis points especially to the importance of socialization, as we found the nurturing of strong networks, trust, and a collaborative spirit across stakeholder groups to be a core capability to absorb, apply, and transfer knowledge within a local innovation system.