H2020 INSPIRATION Project: Integrated Territorial Planning, Land Use and Land Management Research Action

A strategic research agenda for better use of land and soils in Europe. Research on soil and land use is fragmented in Europe. Researchers and practitioners have developed a comprehensive agenda on the main knowledge gaps that research must address for the benefit of current and future society. Across Europe, research on sustainable land use and soil management involves different disciplines addressing issues in fields as diverse as spatial planning, biology, agriculture, archaeology, hydrogeology, sociology, and economics. A more integrated approach and better coordination of research and innovation actions in Europe are needed to optimize the use of research and close knowledge gaps for the sustainable use of natural resources.

The EU-funded INSPIRATION project studied how to meaningfully address knowledge gaps in soils and land use in integrated scientific research, given that land-use change is recognized as the main driver of biodiversity loss. The team set out to explore which research can generate the knowledge that stakeholders demand so that land and soil management is fundamental to a sustainable future. What can be done better with land and soil? “The underlying premise of INSPIRATION was that understanding and managing land and soil services are critical for many important reasons,” said Detlef Grimski, project initiator. This includes societal needs for food, drinking water, energy, housing, and infrastructure, as well as the need to preserve soil biodiversity and overcome challenges such as climate change.

To achieve its goals, INSPIRATION was developed by an interdisciplinary team spanning all relevant fields of science and policy. The research team, in particular, assessed what research should be considered by involving a wide range of societal stakeholders to provide input from their perspective. The team began developing its Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) on soil and land from scratch based on the research needs of stakeholders in 17 countries. "We followed a bottom-up approach, involving more than 500 experts across Europe. Using a conceptual model as a baseline, we collected stakeholders' research needs, verified them, and then prepared an implementation network," said project coordinator Dr. Stephan Bartke. Developing a Conceptual Model The conceptual model helped identify the themes that INSPIRATION used to understand the characteristics of different countries. The team developed the model to treat land and the soil-sediment-water system as assets and stores of natural capital that minimize ecosystem depletion. This project has not been without challenges.

Dr. Bartke explains: "There are competing interests regarding land use among social actors, such as farmers, spatial planners, developers, the manufacturing industry, and residents." The team concluded that for such a model to work, it was also necessary to consider everyday decision-making about land management, in relation to the overall impact of human land-use decisions, and work to minimize it. In summary, the researchers assigned four themes to the conceptual model: societal demand, natural capital offerings, land management, and total impacts.

In addition, a fifth group of collected cross-border knowledge needs was analyzed, for example, related to data monitoring or methodological issues relevant to the four key themes. Verification of stakeholder research needs. Consortium members identified the research needs and knowledge gaps of stakeholders in the field of land and soil, including funders, scientists, and policymakers. They interviewed over 370 stakeholders, and more than 500 attended national and international workshops to verify the research needs of each of the 17 countries and Europe. Project partners dedicated a phase of the project to defining and developing the transnational and transdisciplinary Social Impact Analysis (SRA). To do so, they interacted and networked with funding agencies across Europe; a process they plan to continue long after the project concludes.

INSPIRATION results have contributed to the recent Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) report on land degradation and restoration. Preparing for SRA Implementation The team held several online workshops with stakeholders to unravel the SRA format that would satisfy all project objectives within the 17 countries. The workshops led to the decision that anticipated returns to funding institutions would be highlighted, and researchers would be motivated by the impact of their work on society and the environment.

The SRA is available online at www.inspiration-agenda.eu (www.inspiration-agenda.eu): free access, navigation, and search functionality for everyone, particularly for land and soil stakeholders. Looking to the future: Following the matchmaking events, the INSPIRATION team found that several funding institutions in several countries are motivated to implement parts of the SRA for integrated spatial planning, land management, and land use in Europe. The team is currently facilitating a funder platform that will focus on transnational soil and land management research projects.