TY - JOUR

T1 - Jointly experimenting for transformation?

T2 - Shaping real-world laboratories by comparing them

AU - Schäpke, Niko

AU - Stelzer, Franziska

AU - Caniglia, Guido

AU - Bergmann, Matthias

AU - Wanner, Matthias

AU - Singer-Brodowski, Mandy

AU - Loorbach, Derk

AU - Olsson, Per

AU - Baedeker, Carolin

AU - Lang, Daniel J.

PY - 2018/1/1

Y1 - 2018/1/1

N2 - Real-world laboratories (RwLs, German Reallabore) belong to a family of increasingly popular experimental and transdisciplinary research approaches at the science-society interface. As these approaches in general, and RwLs in particular, often lack clear definitions of key characteristics and their operationalization, we make two contributions in this article. First, we identify five core characteristics of RwLs: contribution to transformation, experimental methods, transdisciplinary research mode, scalability and transferability of results, as well as scientific and societal learning and reflexivity. Second, we compare RwLs to similar research approaches according to the five characteristics. In this way, we provide an orientation on experimental and transdisciplin ary research for societal transformations, and reveal the contributions of this type of research in supporting societal change. Our findings enable learning across the different approaches and highlight their complementarities, with a particular focus on RwLs.

AB - Real-world laboratories (RwLs, German Reallabore) belong to a family of increasingly popular experimental and transdisciplinary research approaches at the science-society interface. As these approaches in general, and RwLs in particular, often lack clear definitions of key characteristics and their operationalization, we make two contributions in this article. First, we identify five core characteristics of RwLs: contribution to transformation, experimental methods, transdisciplinary research mode, scalability and transferability of results, as well as scientific and societal learning and reflexivity. Second, we compare RwLs to similar research approaches according to the five characteristics. In this way, we provide an orientation on experimental and transdisciplin ary research for societal transformations, and reveal the contributions of this type of research in supporting societal change. Our findings enable learning across the different approaches and highlight their complementarities, with a particular focus on RwLs.

KW - Living labs

KW - Real-world laboratory

KW - Reallabor

KW - Societal transformations

KW - Sustainability transitions

KW - Transdisciplinarity

KW - Transformation labs

KW - Urban transition labs

KW - Sustainability Science

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85046150920&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.14512/gaia.27.S1.16

DO - 10.14512/gaia.27.S1.16

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85046150920

VL - 27

SP - 85

EP - 96

JO - GAIA

JF - GAIA

SN - 0940-5550

ER -