138
L. A. Verhoef et al.
2 Developing the Framework
2.1 A Transformational Process Benefitting from Existing
Ecosystems
Fazey et al. (2018) state that “The most critical question for climate research is no
longer about the problem, but about how to facilitate the transformative changes
necessary to avoid catastrophic climate-induced change. Addressing this question,
however, will require massive upscaling of research that can rapidly enhance learning
about transformations.” However, it is not just climate change, which society faces as
a major issue relating to our environmental, social, and economic sustainability; and
similar levels of research and transformations are needed across a much wider range
of issues in our move towards a more sustainable future. Living Labs can be part
of the solution to these problems of upscaling research and enabling transformation
with many authors claiming that the most effective Living Labs are those making use
of an actual existing environment with its own “ecosystem” of physical environment,
structures, individuals, history, culture, weather, etc. - perfectly exemplified by the
university campus.
Dealing with the necessary rate and scale of the required societal transformations for a more sustainable future, requires a transdisciplinary approach, integrating
researchers and users (Baumgärtner et al. 2008; Boserup 2010; Farley et al. 2010;
Frame and Brown 2008; Kajikawa 2008; Kauffman 2009; Komiyama and Takeuchi
2006; Schneidewind 2010; Steinfeld and Mino 2009; Vandermeulen and Van Huylenbroeck 2008; Weinstein 2010). Jahn et al. (2012) defines Transdisciplinarity as “…
a critical and self-reflexive research approach that relates societal with scientific
problems; it produces new knowledge by integrating different scientific and extrascientific sights; its aim is to contribute to both societal and scientific progress;
…”. For a Campus Living Lab this means that it should consider those critical and
self-reflexive research approaches in order to conduct highly adaptive, reflexive, collaborative and impact-oriented research to enhance capacity to respond to the climate
and other sustainability challenges (Fazey et al. 2018). It is these ideas, which underpin the development of the Living Lab learning system framework outlined in this
chapter.
2.2 Requirements for a Valuable Framework
We have built this framework on a number of underlying assumptions of what our
universities have in common and share across continents: People, organisational
structures, place, costs, data and the desire to contribute to a more sustainable future,
locally and globally. The Living Lab framework presented, that we call a ‘Campus
as Living Lab’ learning system, aims to be useful in the following ways:
L. A. Verhoef et al.
2 Developing the Framework
2.1 A Transformational Process Benefitting from Existing
Ecosystems
Fazey et al. (2018) state that “The most critical question for climate research is no
longer about the problem, but about how to facilitate the transformative changes
necessary to avoid catastrophic climate-induced change. Addressing this question,
however, will require massive upscaling of research that can rapidly enhance learning
about transformations.” However, it is not just climate change, which society faces as
a major issue relating to our environmental, social, and economic sustainability; and
similar levels of research and transformations are needed across a much wider range
of issues in our move towards a more sustainable future. Living Labs can be part
of the solution to these problems of upscaling research and enabling transformation
with many authors claiming that the most effective Living Labs are those making use
of an actual existing environment with its own “ecosystem” of physical environment,
structures, individuals, history, culture, weather, etc. - perfectly exemplified by the
university campus.
Dealing with the necessary rate and scale of the required societal transformations for a more sustainable future, requires a transdisciplinary approach, integrating
researchers and users (Baumgärtner et al. 2008; Boserup 2010; Farley et al. 2010;
Frame and Brown 2008; Kajikawa 2008; Kauffman 2009; Komiyama and Takeuchi
2006; Schneidewind 2010; Steinfeld and Mino 2009; Vandermeulen and Van Huylenbroeck 2008; Weinstein 2010). Jahn et al. (2012) defines Transdisciplinarity as “…
a critical and self-reflexive research approach that relates societal with scientific
problems; it produces new knowledge by integrating different scientific and extrascientific sights; its aim is to contribute to both societal and scientific progress;
…”. For a Campus Living Lab this means that it should consider those critical and
self-reflexive research approaches in order to conduct highly adaptive, reflexive, collaborative and impact-oriented research to enhance capacity to respond to the climate
and other sustainability challenges (Fazey et al. 2018). It is these ideas, which underpin the development of the Living Lab learning system framework outlined in this
chapter.
2.2 Requirements for a Valuable Framework
We have built this framework on a number of underlying assumptions of what our
universities have in common and share across continents: People, organisational
structures, place, costs, data and the desire to contribute to a more sustainable future,
locally and globally. The Living Lab framework presented, that we call a ‘Campus
as Living Lab’ learning system, aims to be useful in the following ways: