The SURE Knowledge Synthesizer: A Conceptual Tool for Urban Sustainability Research

The process of synthesis is key for the consolidation of new insights from existing bodies of knowledge, information, and data. In connection to other knowledge processes, e.g., inspiration, research or analysis, synthesis – as an activity of connection and convergence – is central to creating meaning and understanding. It builds upon principles of integration, unification, and generalisation as prerequisites for the inference of reliable and replicable knowledge. Synthetic processes are significant when dealing with large data sets or disparate and heterogeneous information. Especially in explorative research projects, the synthetic integration of a multitude of inputs is crucial to generating valuable and applicable knowledge output. As a key idea, the paper puts forward the concept of a Knowledge Synthesiser as a heuristic device to shape the knowledge generated in larger research programmes. Resting on general models of information processing and knowledge life cycles, the Synthesizer is conceptualised as a system that generates meaningful knowledge output by interconnecting different functional layers and modules, e.g., for knowledge collection, structuring, or integration. The specific case at stake is the German funding priority “Sustainable Development of Urban Regions” (SURE). Ten projects with approximately 150 partner institutions generate a large body of research about urban sustainability and innovation. The Synthesizer has been conceptualised to facilitate the convergence and integration of this knowledge and to create insights about the SURE funding priority and about future urban development in general. Specifically, the Synthesizer has various practical purposes for the research programme: · Structuring and safe-keeping the results from the ongoing research · Allowing easy access to the research findings · Enabling deep analysis of the collected data and information · Linking information to create new insights. · Outlining future trends in urban sustainability research · Supporting research policy-making. In response to the overarching research programme and its purposes, a system architecture has been created to be implemented as a prototype tool for the SURE funding priority. From the variety of functional and technical requirements, an overall schematic design has been created that eventually led to a Minimal Viable Synthesiser concept – the outline for the technical implementation of the key features and functionalities the Synthesizer needs to supply to the SURE funding priority.