Conventional welfare production is unsustainable. A societal emphasis on (green) economic growth may therefore be superseded by an extended concept of well-being. Taking a transformative approach, science may take part in catalysing this challenging transformation of both the understanding and the level of well-being. Instead of economic growth at the expense of sustainability, we aim to cooperatively refocus on integrating economic, social and ecological perspectives into a more holistic, sustainable approach to individual and municipal well-being in Wuppertal (Germany). Therefore, the research team investigates and develops concepts of local sustainable well-being production, e.g., by employing a new indicator system and the real-world laboratory approach. What are the conditions and constraints of transforming well-being in Wuppertal and most particularly of the role of scientists in this endeavour? Answering this research question with a comparative case study approach, we have analysed our resources, processes, contexts and normativity. The results show that the role of 'transformative scientists' in Wuppertal faces constraints of timing and funding, as well as challenges from the different demands of science and practice. Hampered co-design interacts with role conflicts. Open-minded stakeholders are crucial for local well-being transformation, as is the awareness that urban residential districts have bottomed out. However, the normative sustainability claims of the transformative research project are not fully shared by all of its stakeholders, which is both necessary and challenging for transformative research.
As transdisciplinary and transformative research approaches, real-world laboratories (RwLs) come with many pitfalls. Their design and implementation place high demands on everyone involved, which means that realistically, things rarely go smoothly. The following Design Report shares the lessons learned about establishing and adjusting communication and organisational structures in RwLs.What should we take into account when setting up real-world laboratories (RwLs)? In our analysis of the experience of (co-)designing three RwLs within the Well-Being Transformation Wuppertal research project, we examine both the origin of the project proposal and its implementation, from management, communication and inter- and transdisciplinarity to actor dynamics and recruitment criteria for staff. We especially highlight the effects of the initial co-design phase (project proposal) on the RwL’s implementation, focusing on the challenges which arose and how these were addressed.We conducted 19 semi-structured interviews, analysed relevant project documentation and reflected on the research team’s own experiences. The transdisciplinary and transformative dimensions of the RwL approach are the areas where significant lessons were learned. RwLs are unique in their extraordinarily strong need to balance different roles and resources, even as many of their challenges and solutions resemble those which also arise in transdisciplinary research. The uniqueness of RwLs lies in their objective to co-produce not only socially robust knowledge but also tangible real-world change through experimentation.
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