Modernist social imaginaries in research funding for urban experimentation – a qualitative analysis of expectations and visions in German-language funding calls

Real-world labs, urban living labs and similar forms of participatory experimental research formats have spread not least in response to extensive research funding. The aim of this article is to examine the underlying funding expectations and visions, as expressed in public third-party funding calls, which may influence design and outcomes of transformative research in urban labs. Conceptually, the research builds on insights about the political role of visions and imaginaries in science and technology studies. The findings from the German-language funding context indicate that only vague notions of sustainability are articulated in the calls for proposals, whereas a clear call for transdisciplinary cooperation is made. Three transformation visions were identified that guide the calls for third-party funding for urban experimentation: the achievement of future sustainability through Changes in Behavior and Awareness; Technological Problem Solving; and the Reorganization of Infrastructures. The analysis suggests that the funding calls in all three visions conveyed a modernist imaginary of how the research should contribute to urban sustainability. Few incentives were provided to experiment with fundamental change beyond ecological modernization. • Modernist imaginary characterizes research funding for urban experimentation • Calls for transformative urban experiments formulate vague sustainability expectations • Modernist notion of a twin transition shapes funders' visions of urban labs