Wie entfalten Reallabore Wirkung für die Transformation? Eine embedded-agency perspective zur Analyse von Wirkmechanismen in Reallaboren [How do real-world labs create impact for sustainability transformations? An embedded-agency perspective on analysing mechanisms of change in real-world labs]

The central concern of real-world lab research is the inter- and transdisciplinary generation of socially robust transformation knowledge. Despite the fact that real-world labs explore and study fundamental mechanisms of change, there are few approaches that deal with this question from a systematic, theoretical and methodological perspective. Concrete real-world lab projects should be able to live up to their claim as a central research mode, supporting sustainability transformations. Thus, approaches are required that foster a broader understanding of mechanisms of change in real-world labs. ... mehrWe find promising approaches that describe mechanisms of change along discipline-specific analytical and empirical scales. Key challenges are to develop analytical frameworks that integrate such approaches from different disciplines, and to identify mechanisms of change in a systematic and comprehensive way. In this article we present an embedded-agency perspective for analysing mechanisms of change in real-world labs and discuss the methodological implications. With the help of this analytical framework, real-world lab processes can be designed in such a way that relevant data is collected and transformative impacts can be assessed.