11 Real-World Laboratories Initiated by Practitioner …
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credibility with regard to the handling of sensitive data. This is likely to affect the
trust required to acquire regional cooperation partners for transformative research,
and the quasi-public role of mediating between possibly competing partners could
only be played to a very limited extent in the best case (Yildiz and Schön 2014).
As a result, in order to maintain transdisciplinary infrastructure in the long run,
other ways of obtaining sustainable funding must be found by EAA in this specific
case and by other practitioner stakeholders seeking to establish real-world laboratories. One option could be a system of mixed financing, comprising continuous
funding from state and local resources, together with the acquisition of external
funding for research to ensure the independence and impartiality of the real-world
laboratory. In this way, the Anhalt Real-World Laboratory could be stabilised as an
independent sponsor of transformative research and regional development, akin to an
(economic) development agency. With regard to ensuring sustainable infrastructure,
the challenge is principally to ensure continuous work processes. This is not possible
in the case of project funding alone. After all, funding shortfalls will inevitably
occur between a funding project and the next funding projects, ideally following
straight on from the first. Unlike research institutions, which are equipped with basic
funding, practitioner stakeholders are particularly affected by such shortfalls. Moreover, subsequent funding is uncertain, and there are limitations to the capability of
the content to tie in with previous funding, due to the fact that support programmes
are usually themed. Besides the (political) will to establish experimental spaces and
to actively co-create them, the funding issue therefore becomes a key issue for the
establishment of longer-term, viable infrastructures for real-world laboratories (see
Kanning and Scurrell 2018).
11.3.6 Regarding Continuous Processes of Reflection
and Learning
To assess the processes of reflection and learning, emphasis is placed below on the
level of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary cooperation (Singer-Brodowski et al.
2018) as well as the associated role of accompanying research (Defila and Di Giulio
2018b).
When it established the Anhalt Real-World Laboratory, EAA already made provision for accompanying research. The discussions about the topic proved to be difficult. This was because partners with previous experience in transdisciplinary research
expected to be closely involved in the real-world laboratory, while the majority of
partners assumed that traditional observational research would be conducted. The
accompanying research was thus established in the context of a Ph.D. project at the
Berlin Social Science Center (WZB), financed by the real-world laboratory. In the
light of the findings on relations between researchers, accompanying researchers and
financial backers presented in the meantime by Defila and Di Giulio (2018b), it is
now possible to make a more detailed assessment of this issue.
219
credibility with regard to the handling of sensitive data. This is likely to affect the
trust required to acquire regional cooperation partners for transformative research,
and the quasi-public role of mediating between possibly competing partners could
only be played to a very limited extent in the best case (Yildiz and Schön 2014).
As a result, in order to maintain transdisciplinary infrastructure in the long run,
other ways of obtaining sustainable funding must be found by EAA in this specific
case and by other practitioner stakeholders seeking to establish real-world laboratories. One option could be a system of mixed financing, comprising continuous
funding from state and local resources, together with the acquisition of external
funding for research to ensure the independence and impartiality of the real-world
laboratory. In this way, the Anhalt Real-World Laboratory could be stabilised as an
independent sponsor of transformative research and regional development, akin to an
(economic) development agency. With regard to ensuring sustainable infrastructure,
the challenge is principally to ensure continuous work processes. This is not possible
in the case of project funding alone. After all, funding shortfalls will inevitably
occur between a funding project and the next funding projects, ideally following
straight on from the first. Unlike research institutions, which are equipped with basic
funding, practitioner stakeholders are particularly affected by such shortfalls. Moreover, subsequent funding is uncertain, and there are limitations to the capability of
the content to tie in with previous funding, due to the fact that support programmes
are usually themed. Besides the (political) will to establish experimental spaces and
to actively co-create them, the funding issue therefore becomes a key issue for the
establishment of longer-term, viable infrastructures for real-world laboratories (see
Kanning and Scurrell 2018).
11.3.6 Regarding Continuous Processes of Reflection
and Learning
To assess the processes of reflection and learning, emphasis is placed below on the
level of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary cooperation (Singer-Brodowski et al.
2018) as well as the associated role of accompanying research (Defila and Di Giulio
2018b).
When it established the Anhalt Real-World Laboratory, EAA already made provision for accompanying research. The discussions about the topic proved to be difficult. This was because partners with previous experience in transdisciplinary research
expected to be closely involved in the real-world laboratory, while the majority of
partners assumed that traditional observational research would be conducted. The
accompanying research was thus established in the context of a Ph.D. project at the
Berlin Social Science Center (WZB), financed by the real-world laboratory. In the
light of the findings on relations between researchers, accompanying researchers and
financial backers presented in the meantime by Defila and Di Giulio (2018b), it is
now possible to make a more detailed assessment of this issue.