Tentative Theses on Transformative Research in Real-World Laboratories

Real-world laboratories are growing in popularity promising a contribution to both the understanding and the 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 realisation and in providing general insights, e.g. by learning from related international research approaches and dialog with international experts. Furthermore, it analyses 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.

This article by Niko Schäpke (Leuphana University of Lüneburg), Franziska Stelzer (Wuppertal Institute), Matthias Bergmann (ISOE - Institute for Social-Ecological Research) and Daniel J. Lang (Leuphana University of Lüneburg) was published in the journal "Technology Assessment - Theory and Practice" and is available for free download online.