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Implementation von Bildungsinnovationen in Netzwerken : Analyse von Schul-Unternehmens-Kooperationen
(2014)
Der vorliegende Beitrag setzt sich mit der Zusammenarbeit innerhalb eines Netzwerkes auseinander und betrachtet insbesondere die Rolle der Zusammenarbeit für die Implementation schulischer Innovationen. Untersuchungsgegenstand der explorativen Studie ist ein Netzwerk bestehend aus einzelnen Lernpartnerschaften zwischen Schulen und Unternehmen. Anhand von zwölf leitfadengestützten Interviews mit Personen aus vier Kooperationen innerhalb des Netzwerkes wird untersucht, 1) durch welche Kriterien die Qualität der Zusammenarbeit innerhalb des Netzwerkes beschrieben werden kann, 2) welche hemmenden und fördernden Bedingungen die Kooperation beeinflussen und 3) in welchem Zusammenhang die Qualität der Zusammenarbeit im Netzwerk mit der Implementation schulischer Innovationen steht. Befunde der Untersuchung geben Hinweise darauf, dass die Zusammenarbeit in Netzwerken als Instrument bei der Implementation von Innovationen angesehen werden kann und liefern mögliche Ansatzpunkte für die weiterführende Kooperations- und Netzwerkforschung.
Die Ausarbeitung eines Konzepts für Nachhaltigkeitsbildung, welches das Ziel hat, nachhaltige Lebensstile zu befördern, muss zwei Barrieren überwinden können: die eine vom Nichtwissen zum Wissen, die andere vom Wissen zum Handeln. Sie zu überwinden, haben sich u. a. zwei Forschungsstränge zum Ziel gesetzt: Die pädagogische Kompetenzforschung, welche die für eine nachhaltige Denk- und Handlungsweise notwendigen Fähigkeiten aufdeckt, und die umweltpsychologische Theorieentwicklung, welche das Zusammenspiel von Umweltbewusstsein und andere auf das Umwelthandeln einwirkende Faktoren fokussiert. Die "Forschungsgruppe Nachhaltiges Produzieren und Konsumieren" des Wuppertal Instituts hat durch den Versuch, beide Stränge zu integrieren, ein eigenes Bildungs- und Kommunikationskonzept zur Förderung nachhaltiger Denk- und Handlungsweisen entwickelt und in die praktische Bildungsarbeit übersetzt. Die Theorie und Praxis dieses Bildungskonzepts sollen hier vorgestellt werden.
Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung (BNE) wird zunehmend als soziale Innovation bezeichnet. In Lernprojekten der BNE können vor Ort Themen der Stadt- und Regionalentwicklung aufgegriffen und durch Lernende projektorientiert bearbeitet werden. In dem Beitrag wird dies an zwei Fallbeispielen verdeutlicht, die jeweils durch lokale BNE-Netzwerke getragen werden. Die Netzwerke werden vor dem Hintergrund der transition theory näher beschrieben und hinsichtlich ihrer Innovations- und Diffusionskraft im lokalen Raum beleuchtet. Abschließend werden notwendige Kompetenzen der Change Agents im Netzwerk skizziert.
Jointly experimenting for transformation? : Shaping real-world laboratories by comparing them
(2018)
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 transdisciplinary 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.
Against the background of environmental problems arising from the growing extraction of natural resources and resource depletion, achieving a sustainable development is an indispensable challenge in the twenty-first century. In this article we want to show how socio-technical and product-service innovations can change social practices - the routine doings in everyday life - and, thus, support transition of socio-technical systems. We introduce theoretical considerations on how social practice theories and the framework of the Multi-Level Perspective in transition research can be linked to better understand transition processes from a micro-macro-link perspective. We then present cases based on desk research in the field of practices in bathing, heating and nutrition to show how these have changed over the past decades. Building on this, examples of concepts for sustainable product-service-design in these areas are introduced as leverage points to change social practices in everyday life. These have been developed in research projects or design student seminar works, respectively. We argue that this implies sustainable product-service-systems should be developed in a user- and actor-integrated framework, such as Sustainable LivingLabs. The integration of users and other stakeholders into participatory co-creation processes enables tailored solutions that take actual routines and dependencies seriously into account.
Purpose - The Hot Spot Analysis developed by the Wuppertal Institute is a screening tool focussing on the demand of reliable sustainability-oriented decision-making processes in complex value chains identifying high priority areas ("hot spots") for effective measures in companies. This paper aims to focus on this tool.
Design/methodology/approach - The Hot Spot Analysis is a qualitative method following a cradle-to-cradle approach. With the examples of coffee and cream cheese hot spots of sustainability indicators throughout the entire life cycle are identified and evaluated with data from literature reviews and expert consultations or stakeholder statements. This paper focuses on the indicator resource efficiency as an example of how the methodology works.
Findings - The identified hot spots for coffee are the raw material procurement phase in terms of abiotic material, water and energy consumption, the production phase concerning biotic material and the energy consumption in the use phase. For cream cheese relevant hot spots appear in the raw material procurement phase in terms of biotic materials and water as well as biotic materials and energy consumption during the production phase.
Research limitations/implications - Life cycle analyses connected to indicators like resource efficiency need to be applied as consequent steps of a Hot Spot Analysis if a deeper level of analysis is eventually aimed at which is more cost and time intensive in the short term. The Hot Spot Analysis can be combined with other sustainability management instruments.
Practical implications - Research and management can be directed to hot spots of sustainability potential quickly which pays off in the long term.
Originality/value - The paper shows that companies can address sustainability potentials relatively cost moderately.
A key challenge of the 21st century is to transform society into one that features sustainable patterns of production and consumption. To achieve this, transition processes need to be designed in key areas such as housing, mobility and nutrition. The design and large-scale implementation of sustainable product service systems (PSS) is regarded a promising approach for sustainability transitions. Real-life socio-technical experiments are an important infrastructure for designing PSS in collaboration with stakeholders and users. In this paper, we argue that transdisciplinary and action research methods are required for institutionalising an experimental set-up and developing PSS within such infrastructures. We present the Sustainable LivingLabs (SLL) research infrastructure and its methodology as an example of such experimental settings. It was collaboratively developed with key stakeholders in three consecutive research projects and applied to e.g. heating and space heating. We show new qualities of SLL in relation to existing LivingLabs and approaches for PSS design and present its methodological three-phase model (insight research, prototyping, field testing) of research. Our article contributes to knowledge on a methodological framework and tool-kit for PSS development in SLL with a clear focus on socio-ecological sustainability. Intermediate findings confirm the high influence of user practices on heating energy consumption and show starting points for PSS development: e.g. transformational products, home-automation combined with consulting along value chains. We hypothesise that developing PSS in user- and stakeholder-integrated settings supports acceptance and diffusion and, by taking into account users' social practices of utilising novelties, reduces rebound effects caused by incorrect application.
Social innovations, which transform resource intensive routines and practices into low-resource ones, combined with socio-technically designed transition paths, which are created around sustainability and environmental criteria, are milestones for implementation and diffusion of SCP (Sustainable Consumption and Production). This paper analyses such processes based on eight key components in order to evaluate and explain transformation and transition towards a sustainable lifestyle. Actors on all levels of society are included in this approach, creating a whole framework. Global megatrends, such as climate change, demographic change or resource scarcity will be put into relation with current policies and production trends, which play an important role for the development of transition pathways and future scenarios. This will enable us to work out guidelines and ideas on how to create a more sustainable society specifically.
Resource efficiency in production and technological innovations are inadequate for considerably reducing the current use of natural resources. Both social innovations and a complementary and equally valued strategy of sustainable consumption are required: goods must be used longer, and services that support collaborative consumption (CC) patterns must be extended. "Using rather than owning" strategies, such as product sharing, have the potential to conserve resources. Based on the results of different German studies, this article highlights the resource-saving potentials of CC patterns and recommendations proposed for policies and further research questions. The purpose of this paper is to show that a general resource-saving potential can be realized by "use rather than own" schemes, depending on the application field and the framework for implementation. CC is suitable for making a positive contribution to achieving the Factor 10 target by playing an important role in changing consumer patterns.
A key factor to energy-efficiency of heating in buildings is the behavior of households, in particular how they ventilate rooms. Energy demand can be reduced by behavioral change; devices can support this by giving feedback to consumers on their behavior. One such feedback device, called the "CO2 meter", shows indoor air-quality in the colors of a traffic light to motivate so called "shock ventilation", which is energy-efficient ventilation behavior. The following effects of the "CO2 meter" are analyzed: (1) the effect of the device on ventilation behavior within households, (2) the diffusion of "CO2 meter" to other households, and (3) the diffusion of changed behavior to households that do not adopt a "CO2 meter". An agent-based model of these processes for the city of Bottrop (Germany) was developed using a variety of data sources. The model shows that the "CO2 meter" would increase adoption of energy-efficient ventilation by c. 12% and reduce heating demand by c. 1% within 15 years. Technology diffusion was found to explain at least c. 54% of the estimated energy savings; behavior diffusion explains up to 46%. These findings indicate that the "CO2 meter" is an interesting low-cost solution to increase the energy-efficiency in residential heating.