DATE & TIME
30 September 2026, 11:00 – 12:30
TRACKS
TRACK 2: Living Labs for Policy, Governance, Collaboration and Innovation Ecosystems
TRACK 5: Living Labs Operation, Methods, Tools, and Impact
ROOM
Darwin
TYPE OF SESSION
Topic Debate
Description
How can monitoring and evaluation move beyond accountability to actively strengthen Living Labs? Bringing together perspectives from different sectors and ecosystems, this interactive session explores how learning-oriented approaches can support stronger Living Lab methodologies, operational practices, and long-term impact.
Living Labs are increasingly recognised by the European Union as key approaches to address complex societal challenges and support innovation, sustainability, and policy objectives. They are now embedded in European strategies, funding programmes, and sectoral initiatives, including large-scale networks such as the one supported by SOILL for Mission Soil Living Labs. More than 200 projects from Horizon Europe alone currently use Living Lab approaches, or set up, expand and use Living Labs and are expected to monitor and report on their outcomes and impacts, with many more likely emerging from other programmes and initiatives.
As monitoring and evaluation requirements grow across sectors, Living Labs face an important challenge: how can evaluation move beyond accountability and reporting to actively strengthen Living Lab methodologies, operational practices, stakeholder engagement, values, and long-term impact?
This interactive session will bring together perspectives from different Living Lab ecosystems and sectors to explore how monitoring, evaluation, and learning processes can better support continuous improvement, adaptation, and impact creation across Living Labs.
Agenda
| Timeslot | Item | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 11:00 – 11:10 | Interactive Mentimeter icebreaker and framing introduction (ENoLL/SOILL): participant experiences with monitoring, evaluation, recommendations, and operational learning; overview of increasing EU expectations and Living Lab evaluation contexts. | Giulia Campodonico, Head of Projects (ENoLL) |
| 11:10 – 11:20 | Policy perspective (European Commission – DG AGRI): why Living Labs are increasingly monitored and evaluated; expectations related to evidence, impact, comparability, and learning. | Representative EC TBC (European Commission) |
| 11:20 – 11:50 | Reflection inputs from different Living Lab ecosystems and sectors: Urban resilience Living Labs (TU Delft), SOILL / Mission Soil Living Labs (Deltares), Climate Living Labs & harmonisation approaches (Laurea), Impact assessment through Key Value Indicators (KVIs) (i2cat). |
Dr. Teemu Santonen, Principal Lecturer (Laurea University) Heleen Vreugdenhil, Expert Innovation Processes (TU Delft – Deltares) Bep Schrammeijer, Assistant Professor (Athena Institute of the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam) Marta Martorell, Director, Digital Society Technologies (DST) research group (i2CAT) |
| 11:50 – 12:14 | Interactive audience discussion and collective reflection using participatory formats adapted to room setup (guided discussion, Mentimeter, thematic groups) | All |
| 12:14 – 12:20 | Closing synthesis and recommendations (ENoLL/SOILL) | Giulia Campodonico, Head of Projects (ENoLL) |
Speakers
Giulia Campodonico
Head of Projects, ENoLL & Coordinator of the SOILL-Startup Project
Giulia Campodonico
Head of Projects, ENoLL & Coordinator of the SOILL-Startup ProjectGiulia Campodonico has over 15 years of work experience in EU policies and projects in the Research and Innovation field. Her passion for technology, co-creation, and innovation led her to join ENoLL in 2022 as Head of Projects. In this role, Giulia focuses on coordinating the association work on proposal preparation and project management, while also supporting ENoLL’s services to members and advocacy efforts. In this context, Giulia is the coordinator of the SOILL Framework Partnership and the SOILL-Startup project. Funded by the European Commission’s Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”, these actions aim to support the network of 100 Soil Health Living Labs and Lighthouses across Europe. Before joining ENoLL, Giulia led the EU proposals team at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), where she worked on 150+ proposals and projects connecting research with real-world applications. Her background in political sciences, journalism, European studies, and project management brought her to Brussels, where she has worked for different European non-profit organizations, including EUROCITIES, as an EU project manager, focusing in particular on green and digital innovation.
Teemu Santonen
Principal Lecturer, Laurea University of Applied Science
Teemu Santonen
Principal Lecturer, Laurea University of Applied ScienceDr Teemu Santonen holds a DSc (Econ.) degree in Information Systems Science. He has published over 90 scientific articles, including 25 focused on Living Lab methods, services, business models, innovation network orchestration, and case studies. Santonen has coordinated and participated in numerous international and national Living Lab and open innovation projects across various domains, including health and wellbeing, creative industries, circular economy and sustainability, pedagogical development, and forestry, agriculture, and fisheries. He has been an ENoLL Council member since 2022 and is co-leading ENoLL’s Harmonisation Working Group, which aims to reconcile differences and promote coherence in Living Lab practices. He also serves on the scientific panels of both ENoLL and the International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM), and is a former board member of the Finnish Strategic Management Society. Before his academic career, Santonen worked for over a decade as a development manager in leading Finnish financial, media, and ICT sector organisations.
Heleen Vreugdenhil
Expert Innovation Processes, DELTARES
Heleen Vreugdenhil
Expert Innovation Processes, DELTARESDr. Heleen Vreugdenhil is an expert in innovation processes in water and environmental management. She earned her PhD from Delft University of Technology based on pilot projects in water management and specialises in designing, managing, and implementing innovations in complex multi-stakeholder settings such as river and coastal areas. Her work focuses on co-creation, knowledge management, and scaling innovations from pilot projects to full implementation and institutionalisation, with a strong emphasis on bridging science and policy to maximise impact. Her experience spans coastal restoration, river management, sustainable ports, offshore wind farms, nature-based solutions (NbS), business models for water landscapes, and operational river management pilots. She has led and supported projects on financing and institutionalising NbS, sustainability assessments, knowledge management, plastic removal, erosion prevention, and automated monitoring. Heleen holds a dual appointment at Deltares and TU Delft, connecting academic research with practical implementation. She teaches the Master’s course Building with Nature and Beyond and supervises PhD and MSc students. She is also active in the Netherlands Centre of River Studies (NCR), the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL), and serves on the editorial team of the International Journal of Water Governance. Her ambition is to strengthen collaboration between academia and practice to increase the impact of innovation in water management.
Marta Martorell Camps
Director, Digital Society Technologies (DST) research group, i2CAT
Marta Martorell Camps
Director, Digital Society Technologies (DST) research group, i2CATMarta Martorell Camps is the director of the Digital Society Technologies (DST) research group at i2CAT and a member of the Board of the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL). A specialist in digital social innovation, Living Labs, digital rights, and value-based impact assessment (Key Value Indicators – KVIs), she promotes ethical, inclusive, and people-centered approaches to digital transformation. She leads European and international projects related to the digital and green transition, socio-digital inclusion, international cooperation, and the development of open innovation ecosystems. She is a frequent speaker at international forums such as OpenLivingLab Days, the UN Science Summit, ISIRC, and the Smart City Expo World Congress. She is currently a PhD candidate in the Sustainability program at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), where she researches methodologies for assessing the impact of social and digital innovation aimed at generating public and social value.
Bep Schrammeijer
Assistant Professor, Athena Institute of the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam
Bep Schrammeijer
Assistant Professor, Athena Institute of the Vrije Universiteit in AmsterdamBep Schrammeijer is an Assistant Professor at the Athena Institute of the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Bep conducts transdisciplinary research into human-nature interactions and how we can monitor and inform the transformation to a social-ecologically sustainable future. Bep is involved with several projects on sustainable transitions in agri-food systems, just participation in nature-inclusive and healthy urban transitions and holistic impact monitoring in Living Labs. She is interested in plural valuation and integrating local knowledge and socio-ecological traits to better understand land use change.