IOER in the Leibniz Association

Leibniz research networks are dedicated to a particular topic and are set up by the Leibniz Board at the suggestion of the community. The aim is to bundle, exchange and further develop the professional and methodical-technical competencies of the participating Leibniz institutes and to make them widely visible. In particular, the IOER plays a leading role in co-shaping the following LRN:

LRN Environmental Crisis – Crisis Environments (CrisEN): The aim of the research network is to examine environmental crises and their social, political, economic, legal and cultural context in a global perspective. Knowledge is generated that helps to better understand the mechanisms of crises in their complexity as well as the interdependencies between the different crisis phenomena. Based on the findings, options for the societal crisis management are developed.

Contact: Prof. Dr. Jochen Schanze (Member of the Steering Group)

LRN Biodiversity: The research network combines the expertise of various Leibniz institutions from the environmental, life, spatial, social and economic sciences. The scientists conduct interdisciplinary research to explore the biological diversity of life and to find socially relevant solutions for the protection of biodiversity and its sustainable use. Together with external partners, the members of the network address questions of particular societal relevance on a national and international level. Another focus of the LRN is the knowledge transfer for politics and society with the ambition to raise awareness for the ongoing loss of biodiversity and to support the general appreciation of biodiversity in society.

Contact: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wende (Member of the Steering Group)

Leibniz Research Alliances (LRA)

Leibniz Research Alliances pursue the goal of bundling complementary competencies of the institutes and thus paving the way for particularly successful research projects with a high profile. They are central contact points for policy makers and business, sponsors, the media and civil society. Leibniz Research Alliances are open to cooperation with universities, other non-university research and infrastructure facilities, as well as international research groups and partners from industry. The IOER contributes with its interdisciplinary spatial and environmental science competence to the following LRA:

Leibniz Competition

In the context of the Leibniz Competition the Institute regularly competes for funding to implement strategic projects and promote outstanding scientists. Currently, the following projects are realized in this context:

Leibniz-Junior Research Group:
Urbane Mensch-Natur Resonanz für eine Nachhaltigkeitstransformation (URBNANCE)

In an era characterised by exceeded planetary boundaries and rapid urbanization, the material and immaterial (re-)connection of human and nonhuman nature is crucial. In view of these challenges, the interdisciplinary junior research group develops as a potential lever for sustainability transformations the conceptual account "urban human-nature resonance" for 1) describing urban human-nature connection integratively, 2) assessing responsive human-nature connections and 3) exploring human-nature connection impacts on sustainability transformation.

Contact: Dr. Martina Artmann

Leibniz-Transfer:
Transfer of Urban Sustainability Transition Knowledge: Towards Climate-Neutral Cities 2030 – The City of Görlitz as a Pilot  (TRUST)

In the TRUST project, the IOER is breaking new ground in the field of knowledge transfer. With the goal of making the city of Görlitz climate-neutral by 2030+, visions, transformation paths and experiments are co-produced within a transdisciplinary and transformative research approach (transition governance). TRUST builds on current findings from sustainability, transformation and urban research. The Görlitz pilot project is a reference case for other German and European small and medium-sized cities in peripheral regions.

Contact: Dr. Markus Egermann

Leibniz-Kooperative Exzellenz:
Landscape Criticality in the Anthropocene – Biodiversity, Renewables and Settlements (CriticaL)

In the project, the permeability of built-up areas, in particular of wind and solar power plants, for wildlife is to be investigated. Data on the movement behavior of wildlife will be linked to the locations of energy plants and thus impermeability will be identified and ideas for increasing permeability will be developed. In a collaboration between spatial planning, physics and ecology, the project aims to contribute to identifying land use concepts that reconcile biodiversity conservation and climate mitigation.

Contact: Dr. Martin Behnisch

Working Groups

Staff members of the IOER participate in a number of Leibniz working groups (WG) for continuous networking and exchange at all levels:

WG Libraries and Information Centres - Contact:  Evi Rockstroh
WG Equal Opportunities and Diversity - Contact: Ulrike Schinke und Dr. Neelakshi Joshi
WG Citizen Science - Contact: Dr. Anna-Maria Schielicke
WG Europe - Contact: N.N.
WG Finance - Contact: Heike Bernhardt
WG Research Data - Contact: Dr. Stefano Della Chiesa
WG International Affaires - Contact:  N.N.
WG IT - Contact: Carsten Hantzsch
WG Sustainability Management – Contact: Mirjam Rockstroh
WG Open Access - Contact: Evi Rockstroh
WG Press and Public Relations - Contact:  Heike Hensel
WG Legal and HR - Contact: Heike Bernhardt
WG Knowledge Transfer - Contact: Dr. Anna-Maria Schielicke

The Leibniz Association (Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz e. V.) connects 97 independent research institutions. Their focus ranges from the natural, engineering and environmental sciences to economics, spatial and social sciences and the humanities.