Note - this content is under construction. If you are interested in our lab, please be in touch.

The Towards Equitable Sustainability Transitions Lab (the" “TEST” Lab) is a collaborative transdisciplinary research practice that prioritizes accountable and reciprocal relationships with community partners on the frontlines of the climate crisis. The TEST Lab has the primary goal of supporting community partners. The Lab’s work is grounded in community relationships and takes place in short- and long-term collaborations.

The word “Lab” usually conjures up images of bright rooms with stainless steel equipment where scientists in labcoats conduct experiments. Increasingly, with larger social science research teams, and especially for collaborations with natural scientists, it’s common to refer to social science research groups as “Labs.” This is a Lab in the sense that it is a research group.

The TEST Lab is a “Collaborative Research Practice” which suggests taking a disciplined approach (like “Practices” in medicine or law, or the idea of “Best or Next Practices”) but also combines the commitment to cultivate a shared, evolving space for learning (like a “Community of Practice”), but with a more formal set of goals and objectives (like a “Research Team”).  It is also more structured than a “Research Collective.” 

The TEST Lab prioritizes the use of visual social science research methods which incorporate videography and photography into the research and collaboration process wherever possible (see for example, Bowness et al., 2024). Much of this work will be conducted in a physical office on campus, the Fostering Repair through Audio-visual Media and Engaged Scholarship Space (the “FRAMES” Space - under construction), located in the Department of Geography at Western University (SSC 2244) on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabeg, Onyota’a:ka, and Lūnaapéewak.

Interested in Joining the Lab?

please get in touch.