PFN at the WiTa 2024
05.-08.03.2024 | EVENT
“Agriculture and Food – Transformation Only Makes Sense Together” – Under this motto, the 2024 Science Conference (WiTa) took place at Justus Liebig University in Giessen.
Participatory research was one of the core topics of this year’s WiTa. The term “Living Lab”, or in German “Reallabor”, serves as an umbrella concept for participatory research conducted under real-world conditions with various stakeholder groups. In German-speaking countries, the term “Praxisforschung” is also used in the agricultural context—typically involving between two and four stakeholder groups, with the level of participation defined differently in each network.
Regardless of the exact definition, one thing is clear: conducting research under real-world conditions with the involvement of multiple stakeholders presents complex challenges for the scientific community. WiTa provided the perfect space for experienced and interested researchers to exchange ideas on these challenges and explore possible solutions in a workshop format.
Under the title “CO-CREATION, PRACTICE-BASED RESEARCH, LIVING LABS – HOW CAN PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH SUCCEED? CHALLENGES IN ACADEMIA“, the Farmers led research network Hesse (PFN Hessen), together with the Network for Organic Practice-Based Research, led a workshop with around 60 participants.
The workshop began with stakeholders from the best-practice project UMKREIS, part of the arable farming group within the Farmers led research network Hesse, where practice-based research takes place in a Living Lab setting. In five-minute presentations, the speakers—Peter Müller from Lettcheshof, Johanna Hoppe, and Prof. Dr. Miriam Athmann from the University of Kassel—shared their perspectives on practice-based research and their experiences with this approach.
You can find the workshop presentation here: Partizipative_Forschung_WiTa_Workshop_24
The goal of these insights was to highlight the perspectives of practitioners, conducting scientists, and scientific administration to introduce participants to our understanding of successful practice-based research.
