Examining the dynamics of social cohesion: A call for a different perspective on scaling impacts of real-world laboratories

Abstract

Social cohesion is an important impact category for scaling real-world laboratory experiments. This idea has been largely overlooked in the transformative research debate. Based on observations within real-world laboratories that focused on iterative, co-creative, and practice-based climate change adaptation, we identify social cohesion, first, as a prerequisite for real-world laboratory impacts. Second, social cohesion can itself be an impact, enhancing the scaling potential of real-world laboratories. Cooperation can pave the way for amplifying real-world laboratories' activities temporally and spatially.