In modern knowledge societies, knowledge is increasingly co-produced in hybrid fora. Actors from heterogeneous contexts and social positions with different competences come together to discuss, negotiate and finally solve problems with real-life applications. The main goal of such a hybrid forum is to negotiate a common solution for very specific problems.

To date, little attention has been paid within sociology to this manner of common knowledge production in hybrid fora. Given the rise in popularity of hybrid fora, there is a need for empirical data. Addressing this need and filling this gap is a major goal of this thesis. Using the example of the construction of a specific set of quantitative Social Indicators, two case studies which illustrate how knowledge is co-produced in a hybrid forum will be presented.

Case Study I reconstructs the indicator production within an expert group of the European Commission. This group can structurally be characterized as a hybrid forum consisting of heterogeneous actors. The mission of this group is to create a set of indicators, namely the „European Dashboard on Youth Indicators“. This set of indicators is used as an information source for the promotion of evidence-based-policy-making for EU-Policy. This case study illustrates the structures and processes within a hybrid forum, reflecting the formative factors in the process and shows the final outcome of the indicator creation process. The analysis of this complex process highlights how the different perspectives of the stakeholders evolve and influence each other and which factors and conditions determine the decisions for the final integration of an indicator into the indicator system. This study also analyses which criteria are reflected in this hybrid context to evaluate the indicators and their consequences for practical use in different contexts of interest and application.

Case Study II builds on the results of Case Study I and reflects the possibilities, the potential and limitations of the practical application of the European Dashboard on Youth Indicators within the youth reporting system in Luxembourg.

The findings of these case studies provide a detailed and empirically grounded picture of factors influencing the indicator production within an expert group and the consequences for the alignment within a real-life application. Within the context of a rising awareness of the conditions of hybrid knowledge production, the results of these studies do not only offer a novel contribution for the perspective of the sociology of knowledge and research methodology, but also offer specific recommendations for the establishment of adequate contexts and structures for hybrid knowledge production in the context of practical applications.