ILS RESEARCH GGMBH

Their core work

ILS Research is a non-profit spatial research institute based in Dortmund, Germany, specializing in how people relate to places — from rural communities struggling with depopulation to cities managing newcomer integration. Their work bridges urban and regional development with social inclusion research, using multi-level analytical frameworks (micro, meso, macro) and mixed methods approaches. They contribute applied social science expertise to large European consortia studying migration, rural renewal, and urban food systems, typically as a third-party research contributor providing localized case studies or analytical depth.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

ILS Research entered H2020 in 2019 focused on rural challenges — land access, new entrants into farming, and rural innovation through RURALIZATION. By 2020-2021, their focus shifted decisively toward urban integration topics: migrant youth empowerment, city food systems, and arrival infrastructures as sites of belonging. This trajectory shows a consistent thread (how people find their place in communities) applied to increasingly urban and migration-focused contexts.

ILS is moving from rural spatial research toward urban migration and integration studies, making them a strong partner for future projects on inclusive cities and newcomer settlement.

How they like to work

ILS Research operates almost exclusively as a third-party contributor (3 of 4 projects), joining large consortia — their 70 unique partners across 18 countries come from just 4 projects, indicating very large consortium sizes. This pattern suggests they provide specialized analytical depth on German or regional case studies rather than driving project design. Their single participant role in ReROOT (their only directly funded project) may signal a move toward more active engagement.

Despite only 4 projects, ILS has touched 70 unique partners across 18 European countries, reflecting their embedding in large-scale EU research consortia. Their network is broad but likely shallow — many one-time connections through massive projects rather than deep recurring partnerships.

What sets them apart

ILS Research occupies a distinctive niche at the intersection of spatial science and social inclusion — they study how physical places shape belonging, whether in depopulating rural areas or cities receiving newcomers. Few German research institutes combine urban/regional planning expertise with deep migration and integration research at multiple analytical scales. For consortium builders, they offer the ability to provide rigorous German case studies within comparative European projects on place-based inclusion.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ReROOT
  Their only directly funded project (EUR 202,087) and only participant role — signals a strategic move from third-party contributor to active research partner on arrival and integration infrastructure.
• MIMY
  Demonstrates their core methodological strength: multi-level analysis (micro, meso, macro) applied to vulnerable migrant youth, combining spatial and social research frameworks.
• FoodE
  Shows cross-sector reach — applying spatial research methods to urban food systems and citizen science, connecting their social inclusion expertise to environmental and food policy.