Reflexive Sustainable Technology Labs: Combining Real-World Labs, Technology Assessment, and Responsible Research and Innovation

Oliver Parodi (), Paula Bögel, Richard Beecroft, Andreas Seebacher, Felix Wagner and Julia Hahn
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Oliver Parodi: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Paula Bögel: Vechta Institute of Sustainability Transformation in Rural Areas (VISTRA), University of Vechta, 49377 Vechta, Germany
Richard Beecroft: KIT Center Humans and Technology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76133 Karlsruhe, Germany
Andreas Seebacher: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Felix Wagner: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Julia Hahn: Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 22, 1-14

Abstract: There is an increasing call for science to contribute more to real-world solutions for a sustainability transformation. At the same time, the scientific landscape encompasses different concepts, which are characterized as practice-oriented, addressing social challenges and wicked problems, which thus offer potential to contribute to a transformation, notably: technology assessment (TA), responsible research and innovation (RRI), and real-world labs (RwLs). This article deals with the question of how these different concepts can be better integrated to contribute to a transformation. With this goal in mind, we analyze the three concepts, show their core characteristics, and identify their common key similarities. TA and RRI have rarely been connected to transformative sustainability research in general or RwLs in particular. Based on the key similarities and respective strengths of the three concepts, we suggest four ways to integrate the approaches, including the novel endeavor of a Reflexive Sustainable Technology Lab as the highest level of the concepts’ synthesis.

Keywords: sustainability transformation; transformative research; sustainability research; real-world lab; technology assessment; responsible research and innovation (RRI); participation; transdisciplinary (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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