The Research Lab for Global Futures and Complex Systems (GFL) at the University for Continuing Education Krems is an interdisciplinary and transnational research platform dedicated to understanding and shaping the futures of complex Coupled Human and Natural Systems (CHANS). This includes, among other areas, research on societal governance, democratic institutions, food and agricultural systems, raw material supply, innovation and technological ecosystems, educational systems, and planetary health.
GFL’s work encompasses the analysis of past developments and current dynamics of these coupled systems, as well as the exploration of their potential future trajectories in a polycrisis world. It also entails developing and implementing of appropriate interventions.
Bringing together various scientific disciplines, a broad range of systems science approaches, complexity research, and transdisciplinary methodologies, GFL addresses global but also regional and local challenges that transcend disciplinary, institutional, and geographical boundaries.
Serving as an umbrella framework, the Lab connects complementary research initiatives that share a commitment to integrative and reflective thinking, real-world relevance, and international collaboration. The Lab provides a shared space for scientific inquiry, methodological innovation, and societal engagement aiming to generate robust knowledge to navigate uncertainty, transformation, and sustainability in a rapidly changing world.
Collaboration with external partners
The Lab collaborates with external partners (in alphabetical order) from the African Plant Nutrition Institute (Morocco), Arizona State University (USA), the Central University of Modern Technology (Sierra Leone), the Complexity Science Hub Vienna (Austria), the Dr Hilla Limann Technical University (Ghana), the European Communication Institute (Greece), the Freiberg University of Mining and Technology (Germany), the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (Nigeria), the Global Phosphate Institute (Morocco), Max Planck Institute (Germany), the Medical University of Vienna (Austria), Harvard University (USA), Isara (France), the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece), Njala University (Sierra Leone), Oxford University (UK), the Poznan University of Economics and Business (Poland), the Santa Fe Institute (USA), the University of Basilicata University (Italy), the University College Dublin (Ireland), the University of Energy and Natural Resources (Ghana), the Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal), and, the Ötscher-Tormäuer Climate Research project in the Ötscher-Tormäuer Nature Park as an outstanding example of one of our regional partners. The Lab integrates and supports the following core initiatives:
Transatlantic Research Lab on Complex Societal Challenges
The Transatlantic Research Lab on Complex Societal Challenges is a collaborative platform dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary, systems science based, and transdisciplinary research on the most pressing and interconnected challenges facing contemporary societies.
International Raw Materials Institute (IRMI)
The International Raw Materials Institute (IRMI) is a transdisciplinary research and innovation platform dedicated to sustainably explorating, managing, and governing mineral resources. IRMI connects science, policy, industry, and society to address global resource transitions and sustainability challenges. IRMI also examines how raw materials function as strategic assets within the global political economy.
Transdisciplinary Social Transition Institute (TSTI)
The Transdisciplinary Social Transition Institute focuses on advancing sustainable societal transformations through integrated research, education, and innovation at the intersection of social, economic, and environmental systems.
