Bridging Gaps in Living Labs: Practical Insights for Real-World Innovation

_{Picture: Jelle Leusink}

Across Europe, the concept of Living Labs (LL’s) is expanding in an effort to stimulate partnerships and innovation. The European Union increasingly recognises Living Labs's value in addressing issues from urban planning to healthcare and education. 

The European Network of Living Labs defines them as follows:

"Living Labs are open innovation ecosystems in real-life environments using iterative feedback processes throughout a lifecycle approach of an innovation to create sustainable impact.” (Source)

From this definition, it is unclear how LL’s work in practice. Therefore, the following definition is proposed:‍

“Living Labs are real-world environments such as urban areas or communities, where stakeholders co-create, test, and implement innovative ideas, products, or services.”

‍Now we have clarified what Living Labs are, this article aims to share researchers' and practitioners' perspectives on working with Living Labs in practice, specifically with input from Wendy Scholtes-Bos, Living Lab Developer van Medical Delta VIT for life, and Jens Gijbels, director of Fundamentals. Finally, we will suggest key points valuable to creating the right learning environment in Living Labs. ‍

Origin of the term Living Lab

‍Before diving into the practitioner’s perspective, it is essential to understand the origins of Living Labs. The term was coined by Prof. William J. Mitchell, Prof. Kent Larson, and Prof. Alex Pentland from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). They view Living Labs as a user-centric method for sensing, prototyping, validating and refining complex solutions. The core intention of Living Labs was to test new technology with end users and encourage innovation. This still is the primary purpose of Living Labs; however, it is not necessarily the only one.

Living Labs mostly use the quadruple helix innovation model to collaborate with diverse stakeholders. This model is a network of relationships between academia, industry, government, and civil society/end users. According to academic literature, the civil society helix should be viewed as an arena where the relationships between academia, government, and industry generate societal value creation. But how does this look in practice?

Fundamentals regularly uses the quadruple helix innovation model to connect stakeholders and guide teams through organisational development and innovative processes, as seen in the Co-Design Studio minor and the Sustainable Campus Challenge.   

_{Source: Kris Steen & Ellen van Bueren 2017}

Living Labs in Practice 

Moreover, what does working with Living Labs in practice look like? Input from Living Lab practitioners and researchers from Dutch Universities of Applied Sciences and Universities was collected through conversations. The conversations showed that the biggest challenge, for most of them, is bridging the gap between the theory and practice of LLs.

Outcome vs. Process

For example, one practitioner mentioned that funding processes ask for specific outcomes of the Living Lab, which started a lively discussion about whether Living Labs should be outcome or process-orientated. 

According to Jens, the essential question to ask is: “What impact should the Living Lab have?” In other words, what do we want to achieve with the Living Lab? This question shifts the focus from thinking about an end product to what societal, structural, and behavioural change we want to achieve.

Roles

Furthermore Wendy Scholtes-Bos says, “In education, we tend to first think about everything and then do it. But we notice in a Living Lab that it is important to do it and then see how it works.” This comment shows that it is important to try things out, let people make things, test them and implement them in a real-life context.

Another question that came up was how to manage (power) relationships within Living Labs. Wendy Scholtes-Bos believes, “Not all of the stakeholders are equal because a student does not have the same decision power as a company… but everyone can contribute with their input.” 

Jens adds, “The role of the Living Lab facilitator is to ensure that all parties are treated equally. However, there may be moments when not everyone can participate, such as during stakeholder meetings. But the balance needs to be kept in check throughout the process.”  

Learning Environment 

Fundamentals argues that the learning environment is essential to starting a living lab. In the following paragraph, we will elaborate and share some key points on how to do that. 

1. Living Labs should directly connect with their surroundings and be lively places that keep people engaged and energised.
This means that local residents need to feel that the Living Lab is relevant to them. To achieve that, dare to go into the neighbourhood to observe, talk, think, and work with locals. Living Lab coordinators should be present and interact with locals regularly to keep people engaged and energised. In addition, Living Lab coordinators should have the skill to switch perspectives, ensuring that clients', students', and neighborhoods' needs are met. 

2. The physical space of the Living Lab should be a place that is related to the research being conducted and appeal to residents.
Therefore a chill-welcoming area, a workshop area, and rooms for smaller group work or personal conversations is important. It should also offer all the necessary facilities (e.g., printer, kitchen, whiteboards, moveable furniture). It is important to have moveable furniture to create a flexible space that people can arrange according to their preferences and needs. This directly gives them a sense of ownership, which is important when wanting to engage locals and students. In addition, it is fundamental to have material and basic facilities available so people can focus on the work.

3. Visibility is crucial.
• The location of the Living Lab in the neighbourhood is crucial to allow people to find it.
• It would be useful to have someone present to welcome visitors or people walking in.
• Hang up signs where you share what you offer to people and where they can find you. It is important to communicate about what you are busy with.

Interested to know more?
Feel free to get in touch if you're interested in starting a Living Lab or need help running one. We're eager to discuss the possibilities with you.

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