How do living labs and related approaches support agroecological transitions? Socio-economic insights from a scoping literature review

Introduction Agroecological transitions require innovation that is technically sound, socially legitimate, and economically viable. This scoping review examines how living labs and related participatory approaches support these transitions across heterogeneous agricultural contexts, with particular attention to the integration of socio-economic dimensions into their design, implementation, and assessment. Methods We applied the Context–Intervention–Mechanism–Outcome (CIMO) framework to 52 empirical studies identified through a systematic Scopus search. The review was reported following the PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Results Knowledge co-production was documented in 50 of 52 studies, whereas practice change, socio-economic outcomes, empowerment, and institutional change were less consistently documented. Although socio-economic constraints were widely recognized, only 20 studies assessed socio-economic outcomes and 14 documented realized change. Institutional or policy change was documented in three studies. Reported outcomes varied with intervention purpose, scale, duration, and implementation conditions. Empowerment was most clearly documented where stakeholders influenced problem framing, iterative decision-making, experimentation, and interpretation. Context fit, facilitation, shared problem framing, iterative design, inclusive participation, and boundary objects emerged as recurrent enabling conditions. Discussion The findings suggest a knowledge-to-action gap and highlight the need to integrate socio-economic considerations throughout participatory processes. The review develops conditional design propositions concerning alignment between participatory design and intended outcomes, transition-support mechanisms, trusted intermediary infrastructure, and multidimensional longitudinal evaluation. These propositions require further empirical testing because mechanisms were inferred from heterogeneous and unevenly reported evidence.