Exploring fruitful links between real-world laboratory and disciplinary research: Introduction of the DKN Future Earth working group LinkLab

335 GAIA 32/3 (2023): 335 – 337 COMMUNICATIONS Towa ds b idging disconnec s be ween eal-wo ld labo a o y and disciplina y esea ch The e ec s o his yea ’s ex emely ho summe , which can be empi ically a ib- u ed o human-made clima e change (IPCC 2023), ha e once again highligh - ed ha humani y is acing undamen al challenges h ea ening he in eg i y and e en he u u e exis ence o human-en i- onmen o social-ecological sys ems (Rock- s öm e al. 2023). A he same ime, he ecen ly published epo o he Ge man Council o Expe s on Clima e Change (Ex- pe en a ü Klima agen 2023) clea ly s a es ha policy measu es in Ge many o add ess his challenge a e insu icien . In addi ion, he e is a g owing demand om a ious sec o s o socie y o science o ac- i ely con ibu e o sol ing hese challeng- es, a he han me ely desc ibing hem. Agains his backg ound, ansdisciplin- a y and ans o ma i e esea ch p ac ices ha e been inc easingly called o and es- ablished since he ea ly 2000s. Based on he objec i e – o iginally o mula ed, o example, in Mode2 esea ch (Gibbons e al. 1994, Nowo ny e al. 2001) and pos -no - mal science (Fun owicz and Ra e z 1993) – o gene a e no only scien i ically, bu also socially obus knowledge, hese e- sea ch p ac ices p o ide a key ounda ion o he de elopmen o a a ie y o o ma s and esea ch se ings wi h an expe imen- al and ac ion-o ien ed cha ac e . Besides sus ainable and u ban li ing labs (Lied ke e al. 2015, Voy enko e al. 2016), u ban ansi ion labs (Ne ens e al. 2013), and ans o ma ion labs (Pe ei a e al. 2020), ci izen science app oaches ha e also been linked o ansdisciplina y esea ch and in es iga ed o hei ans o ma i e po- en ial ( on Gönne e al. 2023, Agnew e al. 2022). Membe s o he NaWis ne wo k ha e been ac i ely engaged in de eloping, p omo ing, and e ining such app oaches, pa icula ly in he con ex o eal-wo ld labs (RwLs) as se ings o ansdisciplin- a y and ans o ma i e esea ch p ac ices. RwLs as esea ch se ings build on eal- wo ld expe imen s as co e esea ch me h- od wi h he aim o ini ia e social lea ning p ocesses o sus ainable de elopmen and c ea e a space o con inuous lea ning o ans o ma ion (Caniglia e al. 2020, Mc C o y e al. 2022, Schäpke e al. 2018, Wan- ne e al. 2018). O e he las decade, much e o has been made o me hodologically sha pen he RwL concep . This includes de ining he co e cha ac e is ics o RwLs (Schäpke e al. 2018, Wanne and S elze 2019, Pa odi and S eglich 2021), de elop- Explo ing ui ul links be ween eal-wo ld labo a o y and disciplina y esea ch In oduc ion o he DKN Fu u e Ea h wo king g oup LinkLab LinkLab is a newly es ablished wo king g oup unde he umb ella o Ge man Commi ee Fu u e Ea h (DKN Fu u e Ea h). I opens up a space o discuss ele an connec ions and in e aces be ween eal-wo ld lab esea ch and a ious scien i ic disciplines, explo ing ui ul connec ions and pa hways o mu ual lea ning o u u e sus ainabili y-o ien ed esea ch. Annika Weise , Ma hias Wanne , F anziska S elze , Daniel J. Lang , Hilke Be ge , Agnes Fö s e , Ch is a Lied ke , Hans-Wol gang Mickli z , Jö g Niewöhne , Oli e Pa odi , Thomas Po has , Flu ina Schneide , F anziska Sö gel , Michael Ziehl , Gesa Zieme Explo ing ui ul links be ween eal-wo ld labo a o y and disciplina y esea ch. In oduc ion o he DKN Fu u e Ea h wo king g oup LinkLab GAIA 32/3 (2023): 335 – 337 | Keywo ds: eal-wo ld labs, esea ch me hodologies, sus ainabili y esea ch © 2023 by he au ho s; licensee oekom. This Open Access a icle is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional License (CC BY). h ps://doi.o g/10.14512/gaia.32.3.13 D . Annika Weise (co esponding au ho ) | Ka ls uhe Ins i u e o Technology (KIT) | Ins i u e o Technology Assessmen and Sys ems Analysis (ITAS) | Ka ls uhe | DE | annika.[email p o ec ed] NaWis: Annika Rehm | Wuppe al Ins i u e o Clima e, En i onmen andEne gy | Döppe s- be g 19 | 42103 Wuppe al | DE | +49 202 2492273 | [email p o ec ed] | www.wuppe ins .o g > 336 GAIA 32/3 (2023): 335 – 337 COMMUNICATIONS ing and es ing app op ia e me hods o esea ch and collabo a ion (De ila and Di Giulio 2019, Di Giulio and De ila 2018, Wanne e al. 2018), and de ining success ac o s (Be gmann e al. 2021) as well as e alua ing he impac o RwL esea ch1. While he e is gene al ag eemen ha he basic idea o ansdisciplina i y is o enable mu ual lea ning p ocesses among di e en knowledge domains, including di e en disciplines, and o gene a e new scien i ic insigh s in addi ion o con i- bu ions o sol ing o mi iga ing socie al p oblems (Jahn 2008), RwL esea ch o en emains la gely disconnec ed om mo e adi ional, disciplina y esea ch ou side in e - and ansdisciplina y sus ainabili- y esea ch. In many o hese disciplines, howe e , key challenges o RwL esea ch ha e long been ecognized and add essed: a ious disciplines ha e de eloped com- p ehensi e me hods, s a egies, commu- nica ion ools, and skills o deal wi h he demanding ask o no only collec ing da- a “objec i ely”, bu also in e ac ing close- ly wi h p ac ice pa ne s and socie al s ake- holde s du ing and as pa o he esea ch p ocess. O he s ha e specialized in issues ela ed o legal, e hical, o no ma i e im- plica ions o esea ch p ocesses, in e en- ions, and knowledge ans e . A he same ime, RwLs ha e g ea po en ial o en ich disciplina y esea ch h ough hei spe- ci ic app oaches and me hods. Thus, he e is a need o a comp ehensi e unde s and- ing o he pe spec i es and po en ials ha a g ea e in eg a ion o hese app oaches and me hods o e s o bo h eal-wo ld lab esea ch and disciplina y esea ch. Such a deepe unde s anding seems o be a sui - able s a ing poin o enable ui ul mu- ual lea ning p ocesses. The LinkLab wo king g oup: Objec i es and p ocedu e This is whe e he LinkLab wo king g oup comes in. Following epea ed calls om in e na ional science ne wo ks – includ- ing Fu u e Ea h – o mo e ansdisciplin- a y esea ch o ma s o s eng hen sus ain- abili y, an in e disciplina y DKN (Ge man Commi ee Fu u e Ea h) wo king g oup comp ising nine co e membe s is being se up wi hin he amewo k o Fu u e Ea h o wo k closely oge he on a de ined opic. The LinkLab wo king g oup b ings o- ge he esea che s om a a ie y o dis- ci plines, including spa ial and planning sciences, e hics and epis emology, legal s udies, design esea ch, digi al pa icipa- ion and da a science, an h opology and e hnology, and social-ecological sys ems esea ch. Some o hese disciplines ha e s ong o e laps wi h RwL esea ch, bu may di e in he me hods and app oach- es hey use. Fo example, spa ial and plan- ning sciences deal ex ensi ely wi h spa ial si ua edness, which is also a cha ac e is ic o mos RwLs. Design esea ch, as well as an h opology and e hnology, o en use highly pa icipa o y and pa icipa ing me h- ods in hei esea ch, which RwLs may also d aw upon. O he disciplines may cu en ly ha e less o e laps, bu o e in e es ing pe spec- i es o he u he es ablishmen o RwL esea ch. As an example, inno a ions in da a science and isualiza ion open up new oppo uni ies o pa icipa o y in ol e- men , and a be e unde s anding o he me hods and p ocedu es used in legal s udies can o e aluable insigh s in o how o app oach egula o y issues in mo e expe imen al esea ch app oaches. These disciplina y pe spec i es se e as a s a ing poin o explo e and de ine app oaches o delibe a ely designing and using in e disciplina y connec ions. I is expec ed ha he wo-di ec ional app oach p ac iced by he wo king g oup will ul i- ma ely bene i e e yone by enhancing he e ec i eness o esea ch p ojec s in ad- d essing sus ainabili y issues. To be mo e speci ic: RwL esea ch could bene i om many yea s o expe ience in e hnog aphic esea ch wi h ega d o collabo a ion be- ween wha used o be esea che s and he esea ched (Lassi e 2005) and be sensi- ized o social and socio-ma e ial issues ha may need o be conside ed in labo a- o y se ings, such as he possible in lu- ence o social di e ences on pa icipa ion o sha ed owne ship. In u n, in sys ems inc easingly o med by humans, pu e eco- logical esea ch may each a limi in ully unde s anding he impac s and in e ac- ions in changing en i onmen s. He e, RwL app oaches can p o ide a deepe un- de s anding o he eal-wo ld implica ions and unc ionali ies o speci ic ansi ion pa hways. App oaches om e hics and epis emology can con ibu e o a mo e e- ined unde s anding o he p ocesses o knowledge p oduc ion and hei po en ial implica ions o eal-wo ld ans o ma ion p ocesses, hus also ad ancing RwL e- sea ch as an es ablished esea ch ield. Th ough discussion ounds in di e - en cons ella ions, based on li e a u e wo k as well as a s uc u ed mapping and syn- hesis o app oaches, he LinkLab wo k- ing g oup aims o p omo e p o essional exchange among i s membe s and be- yond and o con ibu e o he scien i ic discou se on: ele an connec ions and in e aces be ween RwL ( esea ch) and a ious scien i ic disciplines, including good p ac ices and success ac o s o make hese connec ions ui ul; ways o o e come challenges and exploi un apped po en ial o be e capi alize on he me hodological epe oi e o di e en esea ch a eas; and NaWis – Ve bund ü nachhal ige Wissenscha The e is a need o a comp ehensi e unde s anding o he pe spec i es and po en ials ha a g ea e in eg a ion o app oaches and me hods o e s o bo h eal-wo ld lab esea ch and disciplina y esea ch. 1 A special issue o GAIA on impac s o RwLs on sus ainabili y ans o ma ions is planned o 2024. 337NaWis – Ve bund ü nachhal ige Wissenscha GAIA 32/3 (2023): 335 – 337 COMMUNICATIONS implica ions o esea ch and policy o enable impac ul, igo ous, and inclusi e RwL esea ch. Fu he s eps and in i a ion o collabo a ion The subs an i e wo k o LinkLab is guid- ed by hese co e aspec s o esea ch. The aim is o p oduce a se ies o conc e e ou - pu s a ge ed a bo h he scien i ic com- muni y and policy make s, including a pee - e iewed esea ch a icle and a policy pape . D a e sions o bo h documen s will be discussed in-dep h a he na ional le el wi h he scien i ic communi y and poli ical s akeholde s wi hin he g oup’s ne wo k. Insigh s om he wo king g oup will also con ibu e o shaping he na ion- al and in e na ional landscape o ans o - ma i e and ansdisciplina y esea ch and ela ed ac i i ies, o example on he na- ional le el h ough he ne wo k o RwL esea ch and he ecen ly ounded Socie- y o T ansdisciplina y and Pa icipa o y Resea ch (GTPF), bu also a he UN le - el (including Uni ed Na ions Inno a ion Technology Accele a o o Ci ies [UNI- TAC] and Uni ed Na ions Educa ional, Scien i ic and Cul u al O ganiza ion [UN- ESCO]), in which some membe s o he wo king g oup a e ac i ely in ol ed. In his way, hese ac i i ies con ibu e o es- ablishing a pe manen ne wo k o ex- change on he opic beyond he LinkLab p ojec . The wo king g oup wa mly welcomes u u e collabo a ion on he opic and in- i es o he esea che s o con ibu e hei expe iences and (disciplina y) pe spec i es. To his end, we will – among o he hings – de elop and publish a su ey o ad ance ou mapping o he esea ch landscape o e he coming mon hs. Please con ac he g oup h ough he co esponding au- ho o mo e in o ma ion o o exp ess you in e es in wo king wi h us. Acknowledgemen : This pape eme ged om a wo king g oup o he Deu sches Komi ee ü Nachhal igkei s o schung in Fu u e Ea h (DKN) on LinkLab, suppo ed by DKN and unded by he Deu sche Fo schungsgemeinscha (DFG, Ge man Resea ch Founda ion). Re e ences Agnew, S., K. Kopke, O.-P. Powe , M. Del Camino T oya, A. Dozie . 2022. T ansdisciplina y esea ch: Can ci izen science suppo e ec i e decision-making o coas al in as uc u e managemen ? F on ie s in Ma ine Science 9: 809284. h ps://doi.o g/10.3389/ ma s.2022.809284. Be gmann, M. e al. 2021. T ansdisciplina y sus ainabili y esea ch in eal-wo ld labs: Success ac o s and me hods o change. Sus ainabili y Science 16: 541 – 564. h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s11625-020-00886-8. Caniglia, G. e al. 2020. A plu alis ic and in eg a ed app oach o ac ion-o ien ed knowledge o sus ainabili y. 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