Grünhof // Social Innvovation Lab

Grünhof is a leading social innovation lab based in Freiburg, Germany, empowering changemakers, startups, public institutions, and civil society actors to collaboratively shape a more just, sustainable, and resilient society.

At the heart of Grünhof lies the Social Innovation Lab – a dynamic platform and incubator supporting cross-sectoral innovation processes. It brings together municipalities, NGOs, citizens, and entrepreneurs to develop solutions for complex social challenges using co-creative methods, system thinking, and human-centered design.

What We Do:

• Facilitate innovation labs and incubator programs for social entrepreneurs and civic innovators

• Support municipal transformation through participatory processes and prototyping

• Create learning ecosystems and training formats around impact design, inclusive governance, and democratic innovation

• Build bridging infrastructures between public sector, grassroots initiatives, and the social economy

Grünhof is both a physical coworking & community space and a methodological hub for participatory change – grounded in the belief that real innovation happens when diverse actors work together beyond silos.

Our Relevance for EU Collaboration:

With extensive experience in designing regional innovation ecosystems, matchmaking formats, and translocal knowledge transfer, Grünhof is a valuable partner for European initiatives aiming to strengthen the social economy through network building, peer learning, and capacity development.