Stakeholder Analysis for the Climate-Neutral Building Forum
Innovation
Research alone doesn’t change buildings – real impact happens when knowledge is put into practice. The Climate-Neutral Building Forum (GeFo) by dena aims to accelerate this transfer and align more closely with the real needs of the building sector.
The Assignment
On behalf of dena and funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), we conducted a targeted stakeholder analysis to improve knowledge transfer between applied research and practice in the building sector. The aim was to identify concrete needs, barriers, and accelerators from the perspective of relevant actors, in order to foster the practical implementation of innovations and provide dena’s policy advisory work with an evidence-based foundation.
Our Approach
1. Targeted Stakeholder Identification
Together with the GeFo team, we identified key stakeholders across four core sectors: 1) Funding bodies, 2) Planning & architecture, 3) Science & research, 4) Construction & start-ups
2. Qualitative Interviews & User Research
We conducted around 20 structured interviews to understand real-world barriers to innovation transfer: Where does it stall? What formats are missing? What’s needed for effective implementation?
3. Analysis & Strategic Insights
We systematically analysed the qualitative data and clustered findings into core needs and transfer obstacles. Based on this, we derived actionable recommendations for the BMWK and for the future development of GeFo.
4. Results Report & Visual Presentation
All insights were compiled into a clearly structured report for political communication and internal use by dena – designed to be understandable, visually accessible, and ready for strategic implementation.
The Result
The project delivered valuable insights into what various stakeholder groups need for more effective research transfer in the building sector. These results form a strategic foundation for evolving the GeFo platform and advising the German government. The visual report enhances communication of the core findings to political stakeholders.
- Project lead and methodological design
- Execution of interviews and qualitative analysis
- Deriving strategic fields of action for knowledge transfer
- Report creation and visual communication for BMWK stakeholders
