The High-Tech Agenda Germany, with its focus on six key technologies, is the Federal Government's flagship strategy for research, technology and innovation. In a statement published today, the Ecological Research Network (Ecornet) – a network of eight leading sustainability research institutes in Germany – calls for the Agenda to place sustainability and societal resilience at the heart of its future development. The network argues that the Agenda and its technology roadmaps should do more to address today's major societal challenges and support the transition to a sustainable economy and society. To achieve this, they should be informed by the latest evidence from sustainability and resilience research. Ecornet submitted the statement as part of the Government's current consultation on the High-Tech Agenda Germany. Ecologic Institute is a member of Ecornet and endorses the network's recommendations.

Sustainability should be built into every stage

For Ecornet, sustainability cannot remain a cross-cutting consideration or an afterthought. It must be embedded throughout the entire innovation process – from research and technology development to deployment. The network rejects the notion that competitiveness and sustainability are at odds. On the contrary, sustainability is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage across many technology and industrial sectors, particularly in an increasingly uncertain geopolitical environment.

Ecornet therefore calls for the High-Tech Agenda Germany to build on the strengths of the Federal Ministry's Research for Sustainability (FONA) strategy, the fifth edition of which was published last week.

• Read Ecornet's press release on the new FONA strategy

Putting people at the centre of innovation

The High-Tech Agenda currently focuses strongly on competitiveness, economic value creation and technological sovereignty. While these are important objectives, Ecornet believes the Agenda should place equal emphasis on tackling the challenges people face in their everyday lives. Innovation only delivers lasting benefits when social considerations, such as employment, fairness and social justice, are taken into account alongside technological progress. The Government's ambition to create a "participatory agenda" will also only be realised if civil society is meaningfully involved. Bringing together researchers, businesses, policymakers and civil society would make the High-Tech Agenda a genuinely shared national endeavour. This requires a broader understanding of innovation. Technological innovation alone is not enough; social, cultural and institutional innovation are equally important and mutually reinforcing. Together, they create the vibrant innovation ecosystem that the Agenda seeks to foster.

Transdisciplinary research drives better innovation

Ecornet's statement highlights the value of transdisciplinary research in strengthening innovation. This approach, developed and advanced by the Ecornet institutes, brings researchers together with policymakers, businesses and civil society from the outset, ensuring that innovation benefits from a wider range of knowledge and perspectives. Innovation rarely follows a linear path. Transdisciplinary methods help navigate this complexity, making innovation processes more transparent, inclusive and better equipped to deliver solutions that work in practice.

About the Ecological Research Network (Ecornet)

Ecornet brings together more than 1,000 staff across eight independent research institutes working to develop practical pathways towards environmentally sustainable and socially just futures. The network's research on socio-ecological transformation is rooted in a vision of a democratic, vibrant society. Through their research and transdisciplinary approach, the Ecornet institutes actively contribute to shaping the transformations needed for a sustainable future.