Stakeholder participation in research projects

The Agenda 2030 stresses the importance of stakeholder integration in decision-making processes in the field of sustainable development and strengthening the science-policy interface. In this context, ÖFSE focuses on participatory research and stakeholder participation.

Participatory research aims at joint production of knowledge by researchers and local stakeholders and the acquisition of new insights from both perspectives. In recent years - also in development and sustainability research - we have seen the advancement of a multitude of participatory processes and methods. Depending on the purpose, stakeholders can be involved in different ways and in different phases of research projects, including the definition of the research question and hypotheses, the collection and analysis of information, and the reflection and application of research results. Via co-creation between researchers and different groups of stakeholders, diverse types of knowledge (e.g., cognitive, emotional, intuitive, experiential and contextual knowledge) can be mobilized. Importantly, research results can be made more socially relevant. To become an integral and valuable component of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research projects, these participation processes are carefully designed, implemented and reflected upon, in close cooperation with the local partners and the entire research team.

ÖFSE is engaged in various forms of participatory development and sustainability research and designs stakeholder processes in research projects.

Project examples


FUSE – Food Water Energy in Urban Sustainable Environments

Many cities are facing increasing pressure on existing natural resources. Increasing urbanisation and the effects of climate change intensify this pressure. In this context, it is of great importance for cities to take measures to ensure the long-term supply of water, food and energy. Decision-makers and other stakeholders need scientific evidence to help them assess the long-term impacts of policies and strategies.

The FUSE (Food Water Energy for Urban Sustainable Environments) project aims to help meet these challenges. In the project, an integrated system model is being developed for the two case study regions of Pune (India) and Amman (Jordan), which makes it possible to assess the long-term effects of political decisions. An essential prerequisite for the project is the involvement of local stakeholders. ÖFSE staff members Karin Küblböck, Ines Omann and Hannes Grohs are responsible for this stakeholder participation process. This includes workshops at the beginning and end of the project period. At the first workshops in spring 2019 in Pune and in Amman, a total of around 200 stakeholders took part.

> More information

> Stakeholderworkshop India (PDF)

Stakeholder workshop Jordan (PDF)

APCC Special Report 22 - Structures for Climate-Friendly Living

Under the umbrella of the "Austrian Panel on Climate Change" (APCC) at the Climate Change Center Austria (CCCA), renowned experts from the Austrian climate research community summarise the current state of research on climate change in Austria at regular intervals. They highlight measures for climate change prevention and adaptation and thus provide the public with a well-founded basis for decision-making.

The APCC Special Report 22 is an evaluative summary of current research on the transformation towards structures that enable climate-friendly action and thus life for all. With a systematic presentation of effective options for courses of action, the report contributes to climate policy debates. Narratives link theories of societal transformation with strategies to sustainably address the climate crisis.

The preparation of the APCC Special Report 22 is accompanied by a stakeholder process coordinated by ÖFSE staff member Karin Küblböck together with Ines Omann (Sustainable Quality of Life - Research and Process Support).

> More information on the report and the stakeholder process

Publications on the topic:

Bericht zum Stakeholder-Prozess

APCC Special Report: Strukturen für ein klimafreundliches Leben

Willi Haas / Paula Bethge / Hannah Lucia Müller / Ernest Aigner / Christoph Görg / Klaus Kubeczko / Ines Omann / Karin Küblböck / Andreas Muhar

Wien, December 2022

Am 28. November 2022 wurde der Special Report des Austrian Panel on Climate Change (APCC) "S ...

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Documentation of Stakeholder Workshops in Pune, July 2022

Sustainability Living Lab for Food – Water – Energy in Urban Environments

Karin Küblböck / Steven M. Gorelick / Irene Garousi-Nehad / Ankun Wang / Ju Young Lee / Raphael Karutz / Christian Klassert / Bernd Klauer / Yuanzao Zhu / Heinrich Zozmann / Mikhail Smilovic / Peter Burek

Vienna, December 2022

FUSE (Food-Water-Energy for Urban Sustainable Environments) is a transdisciplinary research  ...

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Stakeholder Workshops Informing System Modeling — Analyzing the Urban Food–Water–Energy Nexus in Amman, Jordan

Bernd Klauer / Karin Küblböck / Ines Omann / Raphael Karutz / Christian Klassert / Yuanzao Zhu / Heinrich Zozmann / Mikhail Smilovic / Samer Talozi / Anjuli Jain Figueroa / Hannes Grohs / Jasmin Heilemann / Steven M. Gorelick

September 2022

Large cities worldwide are increasingly suffering from a nexus of food, water, and energy su ...

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Klimarat der Bürgerinnen und Bürger

Klimaneutralität bis 2040: Die Empfehlungen

ARGE Klimarat (ÖGUT – Österreichische Gesellschaft für Umwelt und Technik, pulswerk GmBH, PlanSinn GmbH) (Hrsg.)

Wien, June 2022

Was müssen wir heute tun, um morgen in einer klimaneutralen Zukunft zu leben? Zufällig ausge ...

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Documentation of Stakeholder and Expert Workshops, and Strategic Policy Thinker Dialogue in Amman, September 2021

Sustainability Living Lab for Food – Water – Energy in Urban Environments

Ines Omann / Karin Küblböck / Hannes Grohs / Raphael Karutz / Steven M. Gorelick / Christian Klassert / Bernd Klauer / Yuanzao Zhu / Heinrich Zozmann

Vienna, May 2022

FUSE (Food-water-energy for Urban Sustainable Environments) is a transdisciplinary research  ...

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Capturing Stakeholders’ Challenges of the Food–Water–Energy Nexus — A Participatory Approach for Pune and the Bhima Basin, India

Raphael Karutz / Ines Omann / Steven M. Gorelick / Christian J. A. Klassert / Heinrich Zozmann / Yuanzao Zhu / Sigrun Kabisch / Annegret Kindler / Anjuli Jain Figueroa / Ankun Wang / Karin Küblböck / Hannes Grohs / Peter Burek / Mikhail Smilovic / Bernd Klauer

April 2022

Systems models of the Food–Water–Energy (FWE) nexus face a conceptual difficulty: the system ...

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Working Paper 63

The role of sustainability living labs in understanding food-water-energy nexus challenges and solutions in India and Jordan

Karin Küblböck / Ines Omann / Hannes Grohs / Raphael Karutz / Christian Klassert / Bernd Klauer / Yuanzao Zhu / Heinrich Zozmann / Mikhail Smilovic / Steven M. Gorelick

Wien, May 2021

There are a multitude of challenges confronting resource-limited, rapidly growing cities tha ...

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Policy Note 38

Das Potenzial transdisziplinärer Forschung für eine Ressourcenwende am Beispiel des Dialogprozesses „zukunftsfähige Rohstoffpolitik“

Karin Küblböck

May 2021

Um das nötige Wissen für eine Ressourcenwende zu generieren und zu verbinden, sind – angesic ...

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Documentation of Stakeholder and Expert Workshops in Amman, March 2019

Sustainability Living Lab for Food – Water – Energy in Urban Environments

Ines Omann / Karin Küblböck / Hannes Grohs / Steven M. Gorelick / Anjuli Jain Figueroa / Raphael Karutz / Christian Klassert / Bernd Klauer / Heinrich Zozmann / Mikhail Smilovic

Vienna, September 2019

FUSE (Food-water-energy for Urban Sustainable Environments) is a transdisciplinary 3-year re ...

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Documentation of Stakeholder and Expert Workshops in Pune, February 2019

Sustainability Living Lab for Food – Water – Energy in Urban Environments

Karin Küblböck / Ines Omann / Hannes Grohs / Raphael Karutz

Vienna, August 2019

FUSE (Food-water-energy for Urban Sustainable Environments) is a transdisciplinary 3-year re ...

more