---
id: ch3-czech-bavarian
type: spine
title: "Czech-Bavarian border: a proposed innovation hub for Klatovy"
readingTime: 3
standalone: true
core: true
teaser: "Bavaria takes applied research out to rural districts through Technology Campuses; the Czech side of the Šumava has nothing comparable. The pilot plans to change that."
voice: universal
parent: null
recallQ: "What is the Czech-Bavarian pilot trying to transfer across the border, and what is the status of the Klatovy hub?"
recallA: "Elements of the Bavarian Technology Campus model, which takes applied research beyond the university into rural districts. The Innovation Hub in Klatovy is proposed in the RAP; a Memorandum of Understanding and a cross-border Steering Committee are planned to institutionalise it."
highlights:
  - "Territory: Klatovy district (Plzeň Region) in the Šumava – Bavarian Forest landscape, linked to Deggendorf"
  - "Brief: a cross-border innovation hub in Klatovy, inspired by Bavaria's Technology Campuses"
  - "The hub is proposed; a Memorandum of Understanding and a Steering Committee are planned"
  - "Open-call projects used the project's JackDaw tool; the pilot uses JackDaw, it does not develop it"
status: accepted
concept: czech-bavarian-pilot
conceptTitle: "The Czech-Bavarian pilot"
parents: pilot-network
lang: en
lens: czech-bavaria
depth: standard
formalism: none
visuality: balanced
lengthBand: deep
genre: explainer
state: core
carriers: prose|table|image
---

The Czech-Bavarian border region is rural, mountainous and sparsely populated, shaped by the Šumava and Bayerischer Wald (Bohemian and Bavarian Forest). The pilot focuses on the **Klatovy district** in the Plzeň Region and nearby rural areas. Across the border are the Bavarian research and innovation networks around Deggendorf.

![The main square of Klatovy](images/pilots/czech-bavaria.webp)
*The main square of Klatovy. Photo: PoliRuralPlus pilot materials (RP6), poliruralplus.eu*

| | |
|---|---|
| Territory | Klatovy district and Šumava (CZ); Bavarian Forest (DE) |
| Partners | Plan4All, P4A (lead); Deggendorf Institute of Technology, DIT; CCSS co-authored the policy brief |
| Theme | Cross-border rural innovation; transfer of the Technology Campus model |
| RAP | Czech-Bavarian RAP: roadmap for the Klatovy hub, post-2026 |
| Open calls | Outreach: FarmTourist. Mobilise: DIPS. Develop: LocalLinks.AI |

## The challenge

Businesses, farmers and municipalities here are far from research institutions, business support and advanced digital services. Urban incubator and campus models fit sparsely populated areas poorly. Climate pressure on farming and forestry, youth outmigration, labour shortages, different administrative systems and the language barrier all make it harder. The brief puts the gap plainly: Bavaria has a **decentralised network of Technology Campuses**, but the Czech side, especially Klatovy and the Šumava, has no comparable support structure.

## What the plan sets out

The brief recommends a **cross-border innovation hub in Klatovy**, inspired by the Technology Campus model, offering training, demonstration and networking for farmers, SMEs and rural innovators. Its other recommendations are training in precision agriculture, water management and regenerative practices; short supply chains and on-farm processing; equipping Local Action Groups to help with funding; and broadband and AI capacity in remote villages. The pilot describes its logic as **Connect → Experiment → Institutionalise → Continue**.

## Tools, open calls and status

- **FarmTourist** (Outreach) ran the "From Farm to Tourist" workshop in Klatovy in January 2025, with more than 40 farmers, tourism operators, policymakers and researchers.
- **DIPS** (Mobilise) held a two-day ideathon in Klatovy using [JackDaw](#c/jackdaw), MapWhiteboard and territorial attractiveness data. It produced four prototype concepts: Farmappka, AgriFarm, ViaPoint and a Regional Portal.
- **LocalLinks.AI** (Develop) maps short food supply chains in the Plzeň Region and uses JackDaw as a GeoAI chatbot.

JackDaw is a PoliRural+ platform tool that these projects **used**; the pilot does not develop it. The Klatovy Innovation Hub is **proposed**, and the planned MoU and cross-border Steering Committee are meant to keep it going after 2026. The 2026 pilot text describes the hub less as a building and more as a support model combining networks, digital tools, advice and cross-border cooperation. Chapter 4 seeds a [local GeoAI knowledge base](#c/local-geoai-kb) for the same Klatovsko territory.

**Sources:**
- D7.3 Policy Brief No. 1, Annex 6 "Unlocking Cross-Border Rural Innovation in Central Europe". [PDF](https://www.poliruralplus.eu/docs/349/D7.3_Policy_Brief_No.1.pdf)
- D5.1 Prepared pilot by Stakeholder Multi-Actor Approach, §2.6 "Czech-Bavarian border region, Czechia - Germany". [PDF](https://www.poliruralplus.eu/docs/150/D5.1_Prepared_pilot_by_Stakeholder_Multi-Actor_Approach_v1.0.pdf)
- D7.4 Exploitation plans and business models, edition 1, Annex A §1 "Czech Bavarian Border / Plzeň Region". [PDF](https://www.poliruralplus.eu/docs/342/D7.4_Exploitation_plans__business_models_edition_1_v1.pdf)
- D6.3 Comprehensive Report on Funded Activities and Impact Assessment (FarmTourist, DIPS, LocalLinks.AI). [PDF](https://www.poliruralplus.eu/docs/437/D6.3_Comprehensive_report.pdf)
- PoliRural+ website, pilot page "Czechia-Germany – Czech-Bavarian border region" (2024 and 2026 texts). [poliruralplus.eu](https://www.poliruralplus.eu/)