University-driven Innovation Labs as platforms for circulating knowledge and integrating futurizing practices for sustainable development

Being a main actor in regional innovation systems, academia has been confronted with drastically changed expectations in the recent past. The increased importance of societal relevant knowledge production for sustainable future development has brought university-driven transfer processes on the agenda of science policy and public interest. A need for sociotechnological innovation in the eye of contemporary societal challenges is contesting the role of academia urging for adaption in knowledge producing systems.
Innovation Labs as platforms for integrative experimentation with societal stakeholders are a novel research instrument in German academia that can shape both transformative knowledge and institutional change. While gaining popularity as an expedient approach for knowledge coproduction and circulation, little is known about how conceptional approaches and methods are applied to (re-)shape sociotechnological futures. Likewise, in what way circulating futures and knowledge confronts as well as changes the status quo of institutional conditions for conducting research has remained a dark spot. Consequently, our presentation is guided by the following questions: Which conceptional approaches and methods are applied in university-driven innovation labs to (re-)shape socio-technological futures, and how can coproduced futures and knowledge be aligned with adapted practices for institutionalised research?
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The research conducted is part of the interdisciplinary research project “TRANSFORM – the Transformative Institute”, which investigates pathways for implementation and institutional alignment of (with) transformative science in the German academia. The conceptional model applied encompasses characteristics and interactions among the individual, institutional and systemic level linked to transfer processes. The research design of the study presented is based on a comparative case-study approach. A total of nine university-driven innovation labs are selected for in-depth investigation and comparison. The analysis is accomplished by collecting qualitative data by conducting semi-structured interviews with the managers in charge of each of the selected innovation lab.