Refine
Year of Publication
Document Type
- Contribution to Periodical (11)
- Peer-Reviewed Article (8)
- Report (1)
- Working Paper (1)
Division
In the past few decades, geochemically scarce metals have
become increasingly relevant for emerging technologies in
domains such as energy supply and storage, information and
communication, lighting or transportation, which are regarded as
cornerstones in the transition towards a sustainable post-fossil
society. Accordingly, the supply risks of scarce metals and possible
interventions towards their more sustainable use have been
subject to an intense debate in recent studies. In this article, we
integrate proposed intervention options into a generic life cycle
framework, taking into account issues related to knowledge
provision and to the institutional setting. As a result, we obtain
a landscape of intervention fields that will have to be further
specified to more specific intervention profiles for scarce metals
or metals families. The envisioned profiles are expected to have
the potential to reduce action contingency and to contribute to
meeting the sustainability claims often associated with emerging
technol ogies.
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.
Labs in the real world : advancing transdisciplinary research and sustainability transformation
(2018)
There is a strong trend towards research in society-based laboratories,
especially in relation to sustainability. Semantic analysis reveals related discourses and emerging lines of inquiry, namely transformative potential, transdisciplinarity and learning. Real-world laboratories are a dynamic example of this research. Contributions of how to deepen and broaden their analysis are presented.
Transitions towards sustainability are urgently needed to address the interconnected challenges of economic development, ecological integrity, and social justice, from local to global scales. Around the world, collaborative science-society initiatives are forming to conduct experiments in support of sustainability transitions. Such experiments, if carefully designed, provide significant learning opportunities for making progress on transition efforts. Yet, there is no broadly applicable evaluative scheme available to capture this critical information across a large number of cases, and to guide the design of transition experiments. To address this gap, the article develops such a scheme, in a tentative form, drawing on evaluative research and sustainability transitions scholarship, alongside insights from empirical cases. We critically discuss the scheme's key features of being generic, comprehensive, operational, and formative. Furthermore, we invite scholars and practitioners to apply, reflect and further develop the proposed tentative scheme - making evaluation and experiments objects of learning.
Real-world laboratories are growing in popularity promising a contribution to both: the understanding and facilitation of societal transformation towards sustainability. Baden-Württemberg substantially funds real-world labs as part of the initiative "science for sustainability". To facilitate learning with and from these so-called BaWü-Labs, they are supported by accompanying research conducted by two teams. This article presents first insights and theses on real-world labs as a research format, based in particular on the work of the accompanying research team ForReal. The team supports the labs in their realization and in providing general insights, e.g. by learning from related international research approaches and dialog with international experts, and analyzes suitable quality features and methods (the latter together with the University of Basel team). The theses presented here put up for discussion first insights on real-world labs as a transformative research approach and reflect on them from a theoretical perspective. They illustrate the relevance of a goal-oriented use of methods and present learning processes as core characteristics of real-world labs. The theses were formulated based on discussions with the BaWü-Labs, exchange in international contexts as well as a thematic literature review.
Reallabore sind derzeit ein populärer Forschungsansatz an der Schnittstelle zwischen Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft. Neben vermuteten Potentialen, wie der Erzeugung von Transformationswissen und einem Beitrag zu gesellschaftlichem Wandel, gibt es auch vielfältige offene Fragen, u. a. im Hinblick auf das Verhältnis zu transdisziplinärer Forschung, der Übertragbarkeit des erzeugten Wissens oder der Gestaltung von Experimenten in der "realen Welt". Auch eine breit getragene Definition von Reallaboren existiert derzeit nicht. Dieses Diskussionspapier möchte daher dreierlei leisten: Es beginnt mit dem Herausarbeiten von Reallabor-Merkmalen als a) Beitrag zu Transformationsprozessen, b) Experimenten als zentraler Forschungsmethode, c) Transdisziplinarität als Forschungsmodus, d) dem Ziel der Ausweitung und Übertragung der Ergebnisse und e) Reallaboren als Orten wissenschaftlichen und gesellschaftlichen Lernens. Im Nachgang werden diese Merkmale durch Rückbezug auf die einschlägige Literatur vertieft diskutiert. Abschließend werden mit Reallaboren vergleichbare Forschungsansätze (Sustainable Living Labs, Urban Transition Labs und Niche Experiments) im Hinblick auf ihre Ausgestaltung der fünf herausgearbeiteten Merkmale vorgestellt und Reallabore damit in den internationalen Forschungskontext eingebettet. Das Diskussionspapier will damit Forschenden und Praktiker_innen in Reallaboren eine Orientierung ermöglichen. Die vorgestellten konzeptionellen Überlegungen basieren auf einem thematischen Literatur-Review, ebenso wie Diskussionen mit Reallabor- und Transformationsforschenden in nationalen und internationalen Kontexten. Sie sind im Rahmen der Begleitforschung des Forschungsprojektes "ForReal" zu den Baden-Württembergischen Reallaboren entstanden. Dem Charakter eines Diskussionspapieres entsprechend sind die hier vorstellten Rahmungen zum Reallaboransatz als Angebot zur Diskussion, Erweiterung und Verbesserung zu verstehen.
In the face of persistent sustain ability problems challenging economic development, ecological integrity as well as social justice, transformational changes are crucial. Proposed changes shall include, for instance, large-scale transitions of practices, infrastructures as well as values and priorities. In Germany, real-world laboratories are proposed for research in and with society, aiming to understand and contribute to transformations.
The transdisciplinary research mode has gained prominence in the research on and for sustainability transformations. Yet, solution-oriented research addressing complex sustainability problems has become complex itself, with new transdisciplinary research formats being developed and tested for this purpose. Application of new formats offers learning potentials from experience. To this end, we accompanied fourteen research projects conceptualized as real-world labs (RwLs) from 2015 to 2018. RwLs were part of a funding program on "Science for Sustainability" in the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg. Here, we combine conceptual and empirical work to a structured collection of experiences and provide a comprehensive account of RwLs. First, we outline characteristics of RwLs as transformation oriented, transdisciplinary research approach, using experiments, enabling learning and having a long-term orientation. Second, we outline eleven success factors and concrete design notes we gained through a survey of the 14 RwLs: (1) find the right balance between scientific and societal aims, (2) address the practitioners needs and restrictions, (3) make use of the experimentation concept, (4) actively communicate, (5) develop a "collaboration culture", (6) be attached to concrete sites, (7) create lasting impact and transferability, (8) plan for sufficient time and financial means, (9) adaptability, (10) research-based learning, and (11) recognize dependency on external actors. Characteristics and success factors are combined to illustrate practical challenges in RwLs. Third, we show which methods could be used to cope with challenges in RwLs. We conclude discussing the state of debate on RwLs and outline future avenues of research.
Effective actions to mitigate climate change are urgently needed, especially in the context of cities, which are major sources of global CO2 emissions. Establishing and managing knowledge systems that integrate local knowledge can contribute to establishing more effective responses to climate change as well as transformative change towards sustainability. However, it is still unclear how new forms of urban governance should acquire, store, create, or disseminate knowledge for fostering sustainability transitions effectively. In this study, we present a multilevel knowledge system approach based on design principles informed especially by the knowledge management literature. These address (i) working environments across multiple levels, (ii) knowledge forms and types, and (iii) knowledge processes. We apply this approach to municipal climate action in the German energy transition. In particular, we focus on the operational work of municipal climate action managers of regional centers of Lower Saxony, one of the largest of the 16 federal states, and investigate their involvement in knowledge processes. Based on semi-structured interviews in 14 of the 17 regional centers, we show that structural pre-conditions for successful knowledge management and organizational learning are present. However, we also show that there is a need for improvement regarding (i) the multilevel coordination for accelerating routine operation, (ii) the persistence of local operational knowledge, and (iii) the exploitation of local innovations. Relying on these results, we offer general recommendations for municipal climate action and suggest that policies should (i) rely on local knowledge for effective decision-making, (ii) foster multilevel exchanges of explicit and tacit knowledge for implementation, and (iii) enable open-ended learning processes that leverage local innovations for creating usable transformational knowledge.
There is urgent need to change the way we make use of non-renewable resources, especially metals, to sustain their availability for vital technologies associated with achieving change towards sustainability, but also to minimize negative impacts and to achieve a fair distribution of the wealth and burdens associated with their production and use. Especially public actors (state governments and administrations) have recently formulated strategies as a means to guide action fostering these goals. Yet, these strategies are very different in their character, which makes it difficult to compare them and learn how to best design strategies for a given context to contribute to the necessary change. To approach this question, we analyzed 37 national mineral resource-related strategy documents worldwide concerning their contextual conditions, motivation, and objectives. Following the general inputs for transition strategies (current and target state, transition strategy), we identified four clusters of strategy documents that share similarities in their approaches and support the development of specific recommendations for future strategy design in terms of both content and process. Designing strategies with a clear structure that interlinks a systems-based description of the current state, a clear vision (oriented at sustainability principles) and a sufficiently differentiated but at the same time flexible transition pathway improves their potential to contribute to more sustainable metal production and use.
2011 trat der Nawis-Verbund mit dem Vorhaben an, transdisziplinäre Nachhaltigkeitswissenschaft institutionell zu etablieren und einen Wandel im Wissenschaftssystem anzustoßen. Damit verbunden ist die neu gedachte Wissenschaftspraxis der transformativen Forschung, die eine analytische Komponente und einen normativen Auftrag umfasst.
LinkLab is a newly established working group under the umbrella of German Committee Future Earth (DKN Future Earth). It opens up a space to discuss relevant connections and interfaces between real-world lab research and various scientific disciplines, exploring fruitful connections and pathways for mutual learning for future sustainability-oriented research.
Das Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft und Klimaschutz (BMWK) möchte innovationsfreundliche Rahmenbedingungen für Reallabore schaffen. Im Sommer 2023 hat es dazu ein Grünbuch Reallabore veröffentlicht und einen Konsultationsprozess für ein Reallabore-Gesetz eingeleitet. Das Netzwerk Reallabore der Nachhaltigkeit begrüßt die Initiative, sieht aber zugleich erheblichen Gestaltungsbedarf. Die NaWis-Mitglieder unterstützen die hier vorgestellte Position des Netzwerks.
Ways of evaluating the societal impact of real-world labs as a transdisciplinary and transformative research format are under discussion. We present an evaluation approach rooted in structuration theory, with a focus on structure-agency dynamics at the science-society interface. We applied the theory with its four modalities (interpretation schemes, norms, allocative and authoritative resources) to the case of the Mirke neighbourhood in Wuppertal, Germany. Six projects promoted the capacity for co-productive city-making. The effects of the projects were jointly analysed in a co-evaluation process. Previously proposed subcategories of the modalities as an empirical operationalisation were tested and confirmed as being applicable. Five new subcategories were generated. The use of the modalities seems appropriate for co-evaluation processes. The tool is practical, focused on real-world effects, and suitable for transdisciplinary interpretation processes. We encourage further empirical testing of the tool, as well as development of the subcategories.