Lab 4: Making Systems Talk

How do fragmented efforts become usable systems?

Interoperability is often promised—but rarely delivered in practice. This lab starts from a fundamental reality: systems cannot interoperate unless they first align on what is being measured. Metrics and measurement frameworks form the foundation of standardisation, and without them, technical interoperability remains superficial or brittle.

Participants will explore where data breaks as it moves across actors, how metrics and standards are defined and governed, and whose perspectives shape what is considered “valid” or “comparable” across contexts. The discussion will examine how participation, validity, and comparability are built—or undermined—through measurement choices.

Grounded in real-world experience, the lab considers how agile, farmer-centred measurement can be integrated into broader digital public infrastructure, enabling systems to connect in ways that are not only technically compatible, but also meaningful, credible, and usable at scale.