The Social Innovation Unit is dedicated to the interactions between science and various stakeholders at the interfaces between different scientific disciplines, policy, civil society and business. The department actively promotes the establishment of cooperations and networks, offers professional, needs-based training and further education in the field of public engagement and promotes cooperation between groups of actors in the urban natural space.

On the one hand, the department conducts social science studies such as network analyses, content analyses, surveys and interviews in order to research the corresponding dialogue and negotiation processes at the interfaces between scientific, political and other social actors. On the other hand, the department actively supports the museum in its goals of "communicating knowledge" and "changing society" by operating information portals, holding workshops and events with various formats and objectives, and involving members of civil society in scientific and deliberative processes. With the "Berlin School of Public Engagement and Open Science", the museum aims to advance the professionalisation of public engagement in a pioneering role nationally with its partners. The Social Innovation Unit is structured as follows: Human-nature relationships in the Anthropocene, Citizen Science and Open Science and Education.