INSTITUT FUER LAENDLICHE STRUKTURFORSCHUNG EV

Their core work

IFLS is a Frankfurt-based research institute specialising in the socio-economic and structural analysis of rural areas and farming systems in Germany and Europe. Their core work bridges agricultural science and public policy: they study how farming practices, land management decisions, and rural structures respond to economic pressures and regulatory frameworks. In EU projects, they contribute participatory research methods — working directly with farming communities to co-develop decision-support tools and test whether new approaches are actually acceptable and usable in practice. They sit at the intersection of agricultural economics, rural sociology, and policy analysis, making them a translator between research findings and real-world farm-level implementation.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 project (PEGASUS, 2015–2018), IFLS worked on the policy and economic dimensions of ecosystem services from land — a relatively broad, landscape-level framing with little farm-specific focus evident in the available data. By their second project (MIXED, 2020–2025), the focus had sharpened considerably: they moved toward mixed farming systems and agroforestry, with a strong emphasis on participatory methods, co-development with farmers, and the practical usability of research outputs. The shift is from studying land systems at a distance to working alongside farming communities to make research actionable.

IFLS is moving toward applied, farmer-facing research — their most recent work centres on making agricultural science usable in practice, which positions them well for multi-actor projects that need to demonstrate real-world uptake and policy impact.

How they like to work

IFLS has participated in both projects as a partner, never as coordinator — a consistent pattern even across a five-year gap between projects. With 32 unique partners across 15 countries from just two projects, they operate in large, internationally diverse RIA consortia rather than tight bilateral partnerships. This suggests they are a reliable specialist contributor that larger project leaders bring in for their socio-economic and participatory research capacity, rather than an organisation that drives project direction itself.

IFLS has built a network of 32 unique consortium partners across 15 countries through only two projects — an unusually broad reach for such a small portfolio, indicating they consistently join large, pan-European RIA consortia. Their geographic spread suggests strong connections across Western and Central European agricultural research communities.

What sets them apart

IFLS occupies a rare niche as a small, SME-classified research institute that brings rigorous socio-economic and rural structural analysis into large EU agricultural consortia — a profile more commonly held by universities or large think tanks. Their Frankfurt base and German agricultural policy expertise give them credibility in Germany's large farming sector, while their participatory research methods make them valuable in any project that must demonstrate real farmer engagement and policy uptake. For consortium builders, they offer a combination of academic rigour and practical field access that few institutes of their size can match.

Highlights from their portfolio

• MIXED
  Their largest and most recent project (EUR 280,500, running to 2025) covers mixed farming and agroforestry with a multi-actor, transdisciplinary approach — IFLS's most technically specific contribution to date, with clear deliverables around decision tools and policy impact.
• PEGASUS
  IFLS's first H2020 appearance tackled the economically and politically complex question of how to value and unlock ecosystem services from farmland — an early signal of their interest in the policy-science interface in agriculture.