ROUNDTABLE ON CO-PRODUCTION OF KNOWLEDGE FOR TRANSFORMATIVE ACTION – (Hosted within track 8: Education and Skill)

Organizers

Frank Schwartze, University of Applied Sciences
Mayer Vivienne, University of Applied Sciences

Contributors

Anke Hagemann, TU Berlin
Wolfgang Scholz, TU Dortmund University
Susana Restrepo Rico, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences
Thi Binh Minh, Mientrung Institute for Scientific Research Vietnam
Tep Makhaty, Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia

The escalating planetary crises, including climate change, rapid urbanization, and social inequality, underscore the urgent need for transformative actions in urban planning. To address these global challenges, the potential of interdisciplinary collaboration, knowledge co- production and cross-sectoral partnerships to create innovative solutions tailored to the diverse needs of communities is increasingly emphasized and explicitly stated in the Cairo Call to Action, which captures the key messages of the recent World Urban Forum. 

In this roundtable, we will focus on universities’ role in the co-production of knowledge building on the findings and networks established during the past four years of research under the international, transdisciplinary funding priority SURE – Sustainable Urban Regions, bringing together researchers and knowledge networks across Europe and Asia. One of the key takeaways from this research is that knowledge co-production in urban research requires transdisciplinary teams and integrated efforts to build knowledge grounded in local realities while addressing global challenges. Localized data plays a central role here, enabling communities to provide grassroots insights that inform and refine urban planning efforts.

Universities, as "engines of knowledge,“ can play a pivotal role in supporting and involving communities in the generation, review, and analysis of data. However, effective co-production depends on mutual validation: local communities must review data to ensure relevance and accuracy, while open access, shared definitions and harmonized methodologies are necessary for comparability and to scale local impact across different regions. This inevitably raises the question about the transferability of knowledge - what can be transferred, and how, for example, methodologies can be adapted to different local conditions. These issues will be critically discussed in the roundtable by representatives of universities and knowledge networks with diverse international project experience.

To sum up, the roundtable will explore the challenges and opportunities of knowledge co-production in international urban research focusing on the role of universities and their networks. By emphasizing collaborative research that leads to tangible outcomes, the discussion will critically examine how universities can serve as catalysts for transformative action, driving progress through partnerships with local communities and policymakers and fostering international knowledge exchange. The session aims to build an international network of urban researchers advancing knowledge co-production through innovative methods, tools, and strategies. By uniting researchers from diverse networks, we seek to form strong coalitions to contribute to the pressing global and interconnected challenges that cities worldwide face today.

Key words: N/A