The "Great Transformation" and the Role of Science
Energy transition, transport transition, agricultural transition, construction transition, etc. are major challenges of our time. For the health of the planet and its people, the shift to sustainability is more urgent than ever in a time of crisis. By this we mean development "that meets the needs of today’s generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs and choose their own lifestyles." (Definition of sustainability by the Brundtland Commission, 1987). How can we succeed in changing our thinking? What helps us to leave the familiar paths, break routines, and make our behavior and lifestyle sustainable? What gives us the final push to move from knowledge to action?
Science, aware of its social responsibility, is looking for new ways to focus research on meeting these challenges. The complexity of problems such as climate change, resource scarcity, and the transformation of cities demand solutions for society as a whole and cannot be tackled in isolation. The "Great Transformation" calls for profound ecological, technological, economic, institutional, and cultural transformation processes. There is no recipe for success. Especially in the past decade, different research formats of cooperation between science and society became increasingly important and raised high expectations of being able to find such "recipes." The exchange and merging of different expertise and experiences in the joint research process opens up new perspectives for creating new knowledge that enables action.
“To me, a Real-World Laboratory means hands-on sustainability research in collaboration with all key stakeholders who are made participants from the beginning. By joining forces, we can tackle major societal challenges such as climate neutrality.”
Real-World Laboratory and Real-World Experiments
In the early 2010s, the term "Real-World Laboratory" appeared in transformative research – science that initiates and investigates social change. In a Real-World Laboratory, scientists from various disciplines and affected stakeholders from politics, business, cultural affairs, administration, and civil society enter into real-world problem contexts (for example, in a region, city, quarter, or on a university campus). Together, they formulate questions (co-design) and develop solution strategies (co-creation) that include social and technological innovations. For even if everyone largely agrees on the goals and their social relevance, the ways to achieve them must first be negotiated, taking into account different perspectives and interests.
Only if necessary compromises are reached, can real-world experiments – the core of a Real-World Laboratory – be supported by the majority of stakeholders, and their findings can gain more acceptance. In a "real-world experiment", jointly developed solutions are tested in real space and under real-world conditions in order to learn from them. A laboratory situation in a real-world context brings many challenges, but, on the other hand, has great advantages. The findings of a local real-world experiment are specific and suitable to be put into practice, and can ideally be transferred to other contexts. The open-ended research in a Real-World Laboratory also allows the real-world experiments to fail.
"In its transdisciplinary and transformative approach, the research format of the “Real-World Laboratory” assumes a positive future state. Conducting research in a Real-World Laboratory opens up a space for thought and action alike. By designing a different future, ideas become spatially concrete and thus tangible in urban spaces. In addition, reality and existing knowledge are questioned and new knowledge is created through experimentation: Citizenry, administration, and science jointly negotiate and actively shape our living environment."
Shaping the Future in the Real-World Laboratories
Real-World Laboratories are places of experimentation and innovation, they are understood as incubators of a desirable future reality. Real-World Laboratories can be used to drive social change in all four dimensions of transformative future design.
Real-World Laboratories are large-scale research projects that scientists initiate and implement together with the public. In Real-World Laboratory projects, knowledge exchange is actively practiced between academic institutions and the city/region. The involvement of non-academic actors in research projects increases the societal relevance and impact of the research results.
As one of the first federal states, the state of Baden-Württemberg has been funding Real-World Laboratories since 2015. Since then, a wide variety of projects in the state have been supported, developed and implemented during funding periods of usually 3 years. After adjustment of the funding conditions, Real-World Laboratory projects will be announced in a two-stage application procedure, and the actual funding period of 3 years will be preceded by a one-year design phase.