Public Institutions
Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund NiedersachsenThe DGB in Lower Saxony represents the interests of around 644,000 trade union members at state level. It covers the regions of Oldenburg-Ostfriesland, Osnabrück-Emsland, Bremen-Elbe-Weser, Nord-Ost-Niedersachsen, SüdOstNiedersachsen, Niedersachsen-Mitte and Südniedersachsen-Harz.
The Social Innovation Advice Centre of the DGB Lower Saxony provides advice and support to potential applicants during the application process, from the initial brainstorming to the application stage. We help to identify local and regional needs, network relevant stakeholders, assist in publicising projects and help with individual concerns.

As an advisory body, the DGB is of course also available as a contact point for applicants who are not members of a trade union.

The Social Innovation Centre is led by Simon Rettenmaier. With a doctorate in philosophy of science and many years' experience as a lecturer at the university, he has a profound insight into innovative fields in various sectors and can provide interdisciplinary advice to projects from the application stage to the end of the project.

Foto Christoph Peters: DGB/Werner Musterer
Address
Otto-Brenner-Straße 1, 30159 Hannover, Germany
Contact
simon.rettenmaier@dgb.de
+49 511 12601-63
niedersachsen.dgb.de/stelle-fuer-soziale-innovation#:~:text=Seit%20Januar%202016%20gibt%20es,f%C3%BCr%20die%20Zukunft%20zu%20machen.
Social Media

Events

In this section you can see events in which the organization participates.
03.11.2026, 10:15 (GMT+01:00)
20-jähriges Jubiläum der LINGARethinking Aging and Driving Social InnovationFor 20 years, the Lower Saxony Initiative for Intergenerational Everyday Life (LINGA) has been building thematic bridges and driving social innovations for the older generation with a focus on Universal Design and digitalization – a reason for us to look back and think ahead. We cordially invite you to celebrate with us and discover new topics and trends. As a state initiative, we promote "Social Innovations for Generations in Everyday Life" and raise awareness for a sustainable demographic strategy as a cross-departmental, interdisciplinary ongoing task. LINGA is funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour, Health and Equality and also cooperates in various projects and events with the Lower Saxony Ministry of Economic Affairs, Transport and Construction. The cross-departmental work of the state initiative is also optimized by Niedersachsen.next GmbH as the project sponsor, bringing LINGA closer to the state's strategic planning and innovation policy. The transfer of knowledge and innovative solutions through cross-sectoral cooperation is one of LINGA's strengths! At an anniversary event, we want to offer our network and project partners as well as political and municipal representatives an opportunity to learn more about us and to network. We wish that this is also reflected in a short impulse from Minister Dr. Andreas Philippi and through participation in the panel discussion with politicians and State Secretary Matthias Wunderling-Weilbier.
Christoph Peters