The state of Schleswig-Holstein funds Green Ecolution

Green Ecolution is one of 17 projects that Schleswig-Holstein finances through the Offene Innovation (“open innovation”) state program. On 14 October 2025 all project teams met at the Innopier in Kiel to sign the contracts, in the presence of Dirk Schrödter, the state’s minister for digitalization and head of the state chancellery. For Green Ecolution this means six-figure funding; in total the state provides close to three million euros for the 17 projects.

Selected from 61 ideas

The funding came out of a competitive selection process. The call for concepts by DigitalHub.SH drew 61 submissions from all over Schleswig-Holstein this year, about a third more than the year before. An expert jury assessed the concepts by criteria including practical relevance, scalability and reusability. Those three describe the core of Green Ecolution rather well: the platform is built for practical use in Flensburg, as open source, and in a way that other municipalities can adopt it.

The day at the Innopier

In Kiel the teams first presented their projects on stage; for Green Ecolution with a look at the starting point and the vision. Then came the signatures. Signing for Green Ecolution were Schrödter, Alexander Rosenthal (DigitalHub.SH), Malte Zinke (Digitalagentur), Inga Marken and Dr. Marcus Ott (both City of Flensburg) and Cedrik Hoffmann (PROGEEK).

Signing the cooperation contracts at the Innopier in Kiel

Flensburg was represented twice that day. Alongside Green Ecolution, DimA also received a commitment, a digital multilingual medical history form for GP practices. With these projects, the city shows how municipal innovation, open source and digital sovereignty go hand in hand, as Schrödter put it.

From the university into municipal routine

Green Ecolution originated as a research project of master’s students at the Flensburg University of Applied Sciences. With the funding it becomes a tool for everyday municipal work: the City of Flensburg carries the project, PROGEEK handles the implementation. The goal is an open source platform for sensor-based green space management that shows which trees and green spaces need water. The work on it starts now.