Co-Creation Lab reduces the gap between research and practice

The Co-Creation Lab aims to tackle complex sustainability challenges that transcend disciplinary domain, sectoral and societal boundaries. A common feature of these challenges is that they are of an urgent nature while have conflicting objectives. They are also interconnected and have unpredictable consequences.

The Co-Creation Lab is led by Eva Friman, researcher at the Centre for Health and Sustainability.

“There are no easy solutions to these ’wicked problems’. Methods used within one disciplinary domain alone are not sufficient to deal with them, nor is expert knowledge alone. That is why we work in a transdisciplinary way – traversing disciplinary domain boundaries and different sectors of society – and allow different kinds of knowledge and experience to come together in the co-creation of innovations, new ways of thinking, and new ways of acting,” says Eva Friman. “Researchers from all over the University are very interested in being part of the Lab, which is very encouraging. I believe that this is partly because they want to contribute to a more sustainable society based on their own expertise, and partly because collaboration with others is stimulating for their own thinking,” she says.

Dealing with complex problems

When the Co-Creation Lab held its first workshop on 26 March 2025, around 50 people from different sectors of society participated. The aim of the workshop was to come up with a shared vision for how the Co-Creation Lab and the research within UUniCORN will have developed, and to look at the effects and impact it will have on society in five years’ time.

One of the participants was Maria Pettersson from Uppsala Municipality, an innovation manager who works with development and innovation matters centrally in the municipality. She wants to be a part of the Co-Creation Lab to get new input for her work and to develop new contacts. Maria Petterson says that UUniCORN and the Co-Creation Lab play an important role in dealing with the complex problems we face in the transition to a sustainable society.

“Listening to others and sharing my expertise from the municipality stimulates new ideas and creates new opportunities. The workshop was very rewarding and instructive, and I met many new people with skills that feel interesting and relevant to my job,” says Maria Pettersson.

Exchange between research and practice

Another participant was Jason Crawford, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Business Studies at Uppsala University. His research in accounting with a specific focus on the relationship between governance, sustainability, risk and AI.

“I’m very interested in UUniCORN’s and the Co-Creation Lab’s work to do with sustainability. This is a great initiative for building and sharing knowledge in an open and inclusive environment. The purpose of the Lab, which is to create a cross-disciplinary community, is excellent. We need exchanges between researchers and practitioners to solve the societal challenges and problems we face,” says Jason Crawford.

Jason Crawford says that co-creation in this form primarily gave him inspiration and an understanding of the challenges we face, and he stresses the importance of including perspectives from across different sectors of society.

“What I realised is that the challenges we face not only require a research perspective, but also the important perspectives that practitioners have. Researchers in academia will not solve these problems alone – we must involve different actors from across society. Especially those who are closest to and fully understand the problems. As researchers, we need to think about how we can become better at reducing the gaps between researchers and practitioners – and one way to do that is by finding a common language that we can use to reach out to and understand each other,” explains Jason Crawford.

A range of initiatives are needed in parallel

There are many benefits associated with the method of meeting across different kinds of boundaries and co-creating within the framework of the Co-Creation Lab. Jason Crawford highlights the value of being part of such a community.

“We’re trying to co-create a vision of the future we want to live in together and we also want to contribute to that future – not just in words but also in action. This kind of community is extremely important for being able to meet the challenges, implement measures, and contribute to the transitions we are all facing and that must happen, and I want to be part of this important community,” he says. 

The next concrete step for Jason Crawford is to share his thoughts and ideas with others.

“We need to work in parallel with a range of initiatives – from establishing ourselves as an important partner and resource in international and national debate on sustainability-related matters, to being active at a regional and local level here in Uppsala. For me, it’s about how I can contribute ideas, engagement and perspectives in a community with others, for a sustainable social transition,” says Jason Crawford.

Erica Magnusson