Transformative sustainability science aims to connect scientific knowledge with societal change in order to shape a sustainable future. However, the role of individuals in this field has not yet been sufficiently explored. Aspects such as agency – that is, the capacity of actors to act effectively – are gaining increasing attention, yet the individual level remains largely marginalized. This cumulative dissertation aims to close this gap and pursues three central research objectives:

1. Analyze the relationship between the individual and systemic levels in transformation theories, such as the multi-level perspective or resilience approaches, and synthesize sociological and philosophical theories conceptualizing this relationship.
2. Investigate the role of individuals and their experiences in transformative research contexts, particularly in real-world laboratories and experiments.
3. Demonstrate that and how transformative research formats can create spaces where individual agency is experienced, thereby contributing to sustainability transformations.

Based on a literature review, agency aspects and their relationship to the systemic level in transformation concepts and theories of sustainability science are explored. These theoretical foundations provide the framework for the empirical investigations in the case study of the real-world laboratory “Zukunftsstadt Lüneburg 2030+.” Between 2020 and 2023, 15 experiments were implemented in Lüneburg through collaboration between the municipal administration, civil society, and Leuphana University Lüneburg. These included the establishment of advisory services for housing projects or volunteer initiatives, the creation of community spaces in the city center, and the introduction of local delivery services by cargo bikes. The changes brought about by these temporary transformations were documented and the knowledge gained is now being incorporated into funding programs, research projects, and the urban development concept of the Hanseatic city.

During the evaluation of this real-world laboratory, the role of the individuals involved and their experiences were examined and considered in connection to the outcomes and impacts of the laboratory and the real-world experiments. To this end, semi-structured interviews were conducted with participating practitioners, researchers, students, and administrative staff to capture their roles and experiences. In addition, a pre-post survey was conducted among students at Leuphana University Lüneburg to find out whether experiences in project seminars related to the real-world laboratory contributed to a greater sense of agency than seminars without such a reference. The experiments were discussed in structured case reports. Based on this, correlations between the characteristics and the impacts of the experiments are now being analyzed using Qualitative Comparative Analysis.

This dissertation places emphasis on the individual and sheds light on their role and actions in sustainability processes in order to contribute to a better understanding of transformations. The focus on the experience of agency provides practical insights for designing real-world laboratories and other transformative research settings that aim to promote individuals’ active participation and agency. The dissertation thus contributes to advancing transformation concepts and to practically shaping sustainable transformation processes. It shows how real-world laboratories can serve as a framework that creates the conditions for individual and systemic change – thereby enabling meaningful sustainability transformations.

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