Seeding Institutions, Harvesting Transformations
A Hybrid Governance Model for Living Labs in Agricultural Landscapes
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21649754 |
|---|---|
| Authors | H Azadi (0000-0002-5108-1993, Department of Geography Ghent University Ghent Belgium, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue | 10 |
| Pages | 4457-4471 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Land Degradation and Development (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1085-3278 • E-ISSN: 1099-145X |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/ldr.70389 |
| OpenAlex | W7117577321 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 63 |
Agricultural landscapes are intricate socio‐ecological systems that are undergoing fast transformation as a result of competing demands for land for food, energy, housing, and infrastructure. Meanwhile, emerging co‐designed sites known as “living labs” (LLs) unite many stakeholders to develop, test, and apply sustainable solutions in real‐world contexts. Despite many promises of LLs, the governance and institutional arrangements that enable these laboratories to generate transformational and long‐lasting results have not yet been fully articulated. This study introduces a Hybrid Governance Model (HyGoM) that integrates six complementary governance theories—participatory, adaptive, polycentric, network, reflexive, and transformative governance—into a coherent polycentric governance framework. Conceptualizing the landscape living labs (LLL, henceforth, “3L”), it translates governance theory into a detailed institutional design, specifying how such labs should be configured and spelled out at micro, meso, and macro levels to ensure legitimacy, continuality, and scalability. The model's efficacy can be empirically validated through co‐designed projects and real‐world case studies that demonstrate its application in enhancing climate resilience in agriculture and increased farmer adaptive capacity. Hence, HyGoM contributes to theory by bridging land governance system and transformation science and provides a blueprint for research institutions seeking to institutionalize LLs as credible governance infrastructures for achieving land degradation neutrality and sustainable landscape transformation
Agriculture · Blueprint · Climate governance · Corporate governance · Multi-level governance · Sustainability · Sustainable agriculture · Sustainable development · Transformational leadership · Transformative learning · Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development · Open Source Software Innovations · University-Industry-Government Innovation Models
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| Highly cited | No |
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