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Experimenting with Meaning: Reallabor as a Travelling Concept in Germany’s Innovation Landscape

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  • Fraske, Tim

Abstract

The concept of Reallabore (real-world laboratories) has undergone remarkable semantic evolution in Germany - rooted in the experimental turn in social sciences, shaped in sustainability research, and culminating in national innovation policy. This paper frames Reallabore as a travelling concept: a term that shifts in meaning as it moves across institutional, disciplinary, and political contexts. Drawing on perspectives from economic geography, it traces four distinct phases in the evolution of the term, highlighting the tensions and strategic translations that have shaped its development. Understanding such conceptual trajectories is key to interpreting the performative power of innovation discourse in regional policymaking.

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  • Fraske, Tim, 2025. "Experimenting with Meaning: Reallabor as a Travelling Concept in Germany’s Innovation Landscape," EconStor Preprints 322478, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:esprep:322478
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rose, Michael & Wanner, Matthias & Hilger, Annaliesa & Deffner, Jutta & Führ, Martin & Kleinhauer, Silke & Schenten, Julian, 2019. "Das Reallabor als Forschungsprozess und -infrastruktur für nachhaltige Entwicklung: Konzepte, Herausforderungen und Empfehlungen," Wuppertal Papers 196, Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy.
    2. Timo von Wirth & Lea Fuenfschilling & Niki Frantzeskaki & Lars Coenen, 2019. "Impacts of urban living labs on sustainability transitions: mechanisms and strategies for systemic change through experimentation," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(2), pages 229-257, February.
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    5. Coenen , Lars & Hansen , Teis & Rekers , Josephine V., 2015. "Innovation Policy for Grand Challenges. An Economic Geography Perspective," Papers in Innovation Studies 2015/13, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    6. Ron Boschma, 2005. "Proximity and Innovation: A Critical Assessment," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 61-74.
    7. Lina Berglund-Snodgrass & Dalia Mukhtar-Landgren, 2020. "Conceptualizing Testbed Planning: Urban Planning in the Intersection between Experimental and Public Sector Logics," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(1), pages 96-106.
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy

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