Agroecology living labs and landscapes: North-south co-learning about functioning, performance, and the role of research

Over the past decade or so, a host of initiatives and programs have been promoting the formation of Living labs across many regions and countries, with the aim to address wicked problems that require cross-scalar and multi-stakeholder action. Agroecological transition as a response to interlinked environmental and socioeconomic crises of food systems is one area in which LL have been considered critical for effecting changes. Despite using a common label and shared conceptual underpinnings, there seems to be significant differences in the way LLs are set up and how they perform in the North and in the South, and in the role played by research. There is hence a need to understand better the differences observed (role of overall socio-cultural and political context, role played by civil society, differences in understanding of agroecology and innovation, etc.). Such better understanding can contribute to enrich co-design processes in European ALLs on one hand and in the Global South on the other hand through cross-fertilization and to foster international co-learning.

The special session will focus on co-creation methodologies to support agroecological transition as a collective and transformative process. It will foster rich exchanges between approaches used in the North and South and aim to identify both similarities and contrasts and discuss the role of global exchanges and co-learning between and among the different Living Lab types.

Key Questions:
1. How is co-creation implemented in the various LLs (in terms of problem definition, decision-making, and innovation governance)?To what extent does co-creation as actually implemented in a variety of LL (re)shape who defines problems, makes decisions, and governs innovation?
2. How does co creation help connecting the local scale to territorial and other upper scales
3. How do co-creation and co-learning change the way knowledge is produced, validated, and circulated?

Expected outcomes
• Foster mutual learning across regions and teams in Europe and the global South and contribute to building / strengthening a continuous dialogue between ALLs in the north and south
• Highlight how LLs in the South and in the North succeed or fail in overcoming knowledge-related lock-ins, and draw generic lessons taking into account the context specificities
• Generate initial ideas about the usefulness of comparing LLs in the North and on the South and how such a comparison might be conducted