Cross value chain living lab to explore the potential of increased production and consumption of fresh grain legumes in Denmark

The awareness about the importance of research and practice collaboration to explore how to overcome challenges in the agrifood system is increasing. The ambition of using a transdisciplinary approach can span from wanting to capture the complexity of the current systems and challenges, to embrace the diversity of knowledge existing among agrifood actors, to acknowledge the diversity of context specific conditions as well as to improve implementation and thereby long term sustainable changes in practice. One of the ways to establish such research-practice collaboration is through living labs. A living lab is defined by i) active involvement of actors in the lab, ii) working in real-life settings, iii) involving multiple kinds of stakeholders, iv) using a multi-methods approach and v) facilitating co-creation. However, little is known about how to create well-functioning agrifood living labs where learning and actual change occur. This study presents a four-year research project in which a cross value chain living lab (breeder, farmer, wholesaler, chef, educator and researchers) was established to explore the potential of increasing production and consumption of fresh grain legumes in Denmark. Following participatory methodologies the activities in the living lab involved phases of problem identification, design, experimentation and evaluation. One of the activities was testing new legume varieties from field to plate thereby activating all of the living lab actors’ competencies. A diverse range of empirical data from minutes of meetings, interviews, and observations to self-documentation by living lab actors was used to analyse the process. The study finds that working through a value chain living lab fosters new relations between value chain actors, provides insights to researchers and practitioners and allows new questions to occur. It also reveals a strong need for facilitation and skills to handle the very dynamic process and outcome. Furthermore, the study points towards the challenge of balancing between researching with and researching on. Discussing such issues seems important to ensure future conditions for meaningful agrifood living labs.