Agroecological food system Living labs for Farm and landscape Transformation

Our approach is transdisciplinary, participatory and change-oriented by using action research in Living Labs (LLs). This means bringing together an array of actors with diverse perspectives to collaboratively address challenges, explore solutions and drive tangible change in the real world. The LLs will operate iterative cycles of action and research, each of which will imply mapping the current situation, envisioning desired futures, and planning and taking informed actions. Accompanying research by the project scientists will examine the LL processes and their outcomes in terms of agroecological transformation of landscapes.

The project builds on LLs in the southwest (PT, ES) and north (SE, DK, NO) of Europe, in locations where the consortium partners are actively engaged in initiatives encompassing multiple actor groups such as farmers, agricultural advisers, food distributors, canteen personnel and users, citizenry, municipalities and counties, including decision and policy makers.

The LL objectives are to: 1) facilitate multi-stakeholder LLs, 2) explore forces that support and hinder a transition
3) develop a participatory framework for evaluating impacts of the LL activities. These objectives will be achieved by participatory, multi-criteria and mixed methods, contributing to societal learning about sustainability pathways.