Synthesis publication on innovation lab results

Innovation Labs (ILs) form a key part of the NATURANCE project, offering participants collaborative spaces where they can challenge business-as-usual approaches through experimentation and social learning. As part of the third and final round of ILs, participants from financial, research and non-governmental institutions explored how insurance and financial services can support investment in nature-based solutions (NbS) and address climate-related challenges. These ILs, hosted by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), ICLEI Europe (ICLEI) and Stockholm University (SU), identified both international and region-specific barriers and opportunities for financing NbS for climate resilience. Each IL was attended by members of the NATURANCE Knowledge Networks, enriching the workshops with expert and context-specific insights.All ILs drew considerably on the experience of the two previous cohorts, particularly best practices in engaging diverse participants, designing compelling business cases and providing collaborative spaces for Knowledge Networks (KNs) to carry lessons from the ILs forward, fostering ongoing collaboration and uptake of results. The distinct themes chosen by the IL leads, including their main outcomes, are described below. KIT: Promoting a network of protected areas to support biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: an opportunity for nature conservation investments?This IL explored investment opportunities in nature conservation within the EU’s protected area network, responding to the urgent need to attract private capital alongside public funding to bridge the conservation finance gap. Bringing together researchers, experts and businesses, the IL assessed barriers, mapped financial instruments and explored how nature restoration can be made economically viable by linking protected area needs with private sector interests. Through three online workshops, participants first refined financial instruments and identified barriers, then explored enabling conditions and opportunities, and finally designed operational pathways for integrating nature conservation into private business and investments. The results were translated into a simplified Business Model Canvas, highlighting value propositions, financing instruments, challenges and trade-offs, and underscoring that integrated, transparent and context-specific investment frameworks can unlock private finance while delivering ecological, social and economic co-benefits. ICLEI: Advancing Nature-based Solutions through Innovative Resilience FinanceThe ICLEI IL focused on advancing NbS through innovative resilience finance, with the aim of unlocking investment in urban NbS and green infrastructure. Organised in three online sessions, the IL first identified key barriers and enablers for financing green infrastructure in cities, then explored innovative mechanisms such as public–private partnerships and the role of insurance, and finally shifted from strategy to action by allowing cities to pitch real NbS projects to panels of finance and insurance experts for live feedback. Drawing on concrete examples from cities such as Budapest, Gdańsk, Utrecht, Poznań, Aarhus, Paris and the Ruhr Region, the IL highlighted challenges including reliance on public funding, administrative complexity and limited private and philanthropic finance, while also identifying enablers such as blended finance, formal collaboration with investors and better articulation of co-benefits. Overall, the IL created a practical, interactive space for cities to build confidence, test ideas and move towards more bankable and scalable NbS solutions. SU: Wetland restoration as NbS: Management and financing needsThis IL examined the management and financing needs required to accelerate wetland restoration. In particular, it focused on the multiple ecosystem services wetlands can deliver, including carbon sequestration, flood and drought mitigation, nutrient retention and biodiversity enhancement. Across three sessions, the IL brought together landowners, municipalities, county administrative boards, NGOs, researchers and policy experts to identify practical barriers, risks and innovative financing pathways. The Swedish example showed that even where a lack of base funding is no longer the main constraint, complex and fragmented distribution mechanisms, short funding horizons and misalignment between national targets and local incentives can pose significant barriers to wide-ranging NbS adoption. Long-term risks, liability concerns, uncertainty over land value and knowledge gaps further reduce landowner engagement, limiting the potential contribution of NbS to climate-risk mitigation. The IL concluded that clearer incentives, better coordination across scales, and improved data and monitoring are essential to build confidence and enable landscape-scale wetland restoration. The outcomes of each IL were translated into training modules under Deliverable 2.5, derived from the business case analysis. The modules, hosted as accessible, user-focused webpages with visual and multimedia content, translate complex IL findings into practical knowledge products for key audiences, including insurance professionals, NbS developers, policymakers, researchers, and local authorities. Each module distilled lessons on innovative financing and risk management and linked to policy briefs and insight pieces (e.g. Deliverable 2.4), as well as reports and research outputs, supporting long-term uptake and the legacy of the NATURANCE project.