Tuesday Research Papers

Chairs for topic of Culture & Creativity in Times of Disruptive Change

Mr. Fran Iglesias Garcia – General manager of the Epica Foundation La Fura dels Bauls

Mr. Jokin Garatea- Director of international projects at cluster GAIA

 
 
  • Culture & Creativity to improve European youth policies for the creation of new skills and jobs
  • The impact of Culture & Creativity in everyday societies
  • New methods and tools for enacting open innovation in Media (including Social Media)
  • Transnational approaches for replicating open innovation through Living Labs
  • New investment and funding models for increasing the sustainability of Cultural & Creative Industries
  • Sustainable development methods for Culture & Creativity at regional, city and international level
  • New models of entrepreneurship for realizing open innovation and social inclusion in CCIs
  • Open access vs. intellectual property rights to make open innovation efficient for the society
  • Innovative clustering for inter-sectorial dynamization of CCIs sectors

Chair for topic of Urban & Rural Resilience

Mrs. Milica Trajcovic- PMP, Head of Center of Innovation & Business Development, BioSense Institute, University of Novi Sad

Mrs. Carina Veeckman- Senior Researcher imec- SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel

  • Strategies to engage all citizens/stakeholders (via Living Labs) in the design of Smart Cities & Regions
  • Urban Living Labs, smart cities and smart villages to address urban challenges
  • Role and use of ICT for empowering cities and rural areas
  • The role and use of Citizen Science
  • Living labs for and with social vulnerable groups
  • New approaches to set-up and validate Urban and Rural Living Labs
  • Sustainable urban planning and development
    – Shared public transport & urban mobility living labs
    – Energy efficiency
    – Air Quality
    – Water resilience
  • Sustainable urban mobility and city logistics
  • Addressing climate change & enhance urban city resilience

Agroecology living labs: defining characteristics and key components of their successful orchestration

by Maria Kiseleva

Track:  Full Research Paper

Topic: Urban & Rural Resillence

Keywords: 

  • Agroecology
  • Agroecology Transition
  • Living Lab
  • Orchestrators
  • Skills
  • Roles

Abstract.The increasing concerns about the health, environmental and socio-economic challenges aggravated by the COVID-19 syndemic have necessitated the radical transformation of the current agriculture and food systems in Europe. In this regard, agroecology, and more specifically, agroecology living labs (LL) approach and principles, have been gaining momentum in Europe over the last decades. Being already reflected in recent European policy frameworks and initiatives, the concept of agroecology LL, however, is still blurry and has not been commonly accepted by policy-makers, practitioners and researchers. The present study aims to contribute to filling in this knowledge gap by understanding what may make agroecology LLs different from other types of LLs with respect to their aims, goals, activities, methods, stakeholders, as well as the context and field-specific factors. Based on two agroecology LL «revelatory» case studies (Belgium, Hungary) supported by the evidence from other agriculture-related LLs (Serbia, Belgium) the paper sheds light on the roles and the associated skills that may be necessary for successful orchestration and sustainability of an agroecology LL in the long-term perspective. Through establishing a dialogue with the existing academic and grey literature this work intends not only to share the research results but also to trigger further discussion and research on agroecology living labs, orchestrators and their skills. 

Speaker

Urban Living Labs and Transformative Changes

by Stefano Blezer and Nurhan Abujidi

Track:  Full Research Paper

Topic: Urban & Rural Resillence

Keywords: Outcomes,

  • Funding Model
  • Urban Living Labs
  • Trust Building
  • Impact Creation
  • Stakeholder Roles
  • Outcomes

Abstract. Urban Living Labs have become a popular instrument to find solutions to the pressing challenge that cities face: How can they combine economic prosperity, social cohesion, and environmental sustainability? While the normalisation of Urban Living Labs in cities is well evident to date, a lack of understanding in the nature and purpose of the empirical phenomenon leaves open many challenges yet to be overcome. One particular challenge is about their potential impact to contribute to transformative changes. By combining a retrospective historical literature review with a comparative case study to three Urban Living Labs in the city of Groningen, the Netherlands, this study explores how the triadic relationship between stakeholder roles, funding options and outcomes generated influences the impact creation of Urban Living Labs. The study confirms and adds to current theoretical positions taken about how to overcome issues regarding impact creation in terms of a shared ideology and reviewing the concept of power. Also, it shows that opportunity lies within trust building among stakeholders in Urban Living Labs in order to enhance its potential via five ways: redesigning funding programs, look out for new ways to access effectiveness, political empowerment of initiators, the level of abstract as facilitator in collaboration, and a clarification of the concept itself. Consequently, further research must focus on the social adoption and ownership of ULLs for sustainability and long-term impact, especially in local contexts, and how to make them self-sustaining and less dependent on external funding streams, like municipal subsidies.

 

Speaker

Rural Living Lab: What is that and how is it shaped?

by Abdolrasoul Habibipour, Johanna Lindberg, Mari Runardotter, Yomn Elmistikawy, Anna Stahlbrost and Diana Chroneer

Track:  Full Research Paper

Topic: Urban & Rural Resillence and Digital Social Innovation

Keywords: 

  • Digital transformation
  • Living Lab
  • Rural living lab
  • Components
  • Rural residents
  • User engagement

Abstract. Digital transformation (DT) has received increasing attention in recent years. Despite this, most of the current studies have been focused on digital transformation in more advanced societies, more particularly urban areas, and this concept within rural context has not been investigated enough. This study aims at exploring how a rural living lab (Rural LL) is shaped and how this approach is designed to support digital transformation processes in rural context. In so doing, following a design science research methodology (DSRM), we have designed an artefact (i.e., Rural LL framework) which is an “instantiation” that supports user centric digitalization of rural areas. The designed framework is developed based on the key components of “traditional” and “urban” living labs, as well as empirical data which was collected within the context of DigiBy project. The main constructs (key components) of this framework are: 1) rural context, 2) digitalization, 3) governance, control, and business mode, and 4) quintuple helix actors. We also offer an empirically derived definition of the rural living lab concept, following by avenues for future research.

 

Speaker

Abdolrasoul Habibipour

PhD In Information Systems

Maker City

by Dot Baker

Track:  Practitioners Presentations

Topic: Culture & Creativity

Keywords: 

  • Making
  • Makerspaces
  • Collaboration
  • Equity

Abstract. Makerspaces can be spaces for exploration, collaboration and equity, but are often seen are white, middle class spaces for men. We look at how through a social action and creative technology programme, co-created with young people we can create a more equitable environment to make long term change in communities and beyond.

Speaker

ReThink ReMake Recycle – participatory science communication

by Lorraine Hudson, Fiona Dowling, Penny Evans, Zoe Banks Gross, Luke Sweeney and Josephine Gyasi

Track:  Practitioners Presentation 

Topic: Culture & Creativity and Digital Social Innovation

Keywords: 

  • Citizen science
  • Data
  • Engagement, inclusive
  • Participatory
  • Waste

Abstract:

Participatory approaches such as citizen science offer the potential to open up research to society, yet the majority of people participating are affluent and well educated. We present a case study from the EU funded ParCos project where Bristol Living Lab collaborated with people typically underrepresented in science – those who face social economic disadvantage and Black, Asian and other minority ethnic communities. Working with families we explored issues of citizen empowerment in conducting and communicating science by collecting and using data to address issues of importance to them, using arts-based approaches. We designed an activity called ‘ReThink ReMake ReCycle’, which investigated the scale and impact of common household waste materials by unpicking the data behind what we waste. We followed a process of online social learning (workshops) and hands on making to explore sustainable solutions and alternatives and tell stories using the data collected. The lessons learnt include practical ways to increase the diversity of people involved in citizen science and to ensure participation is meaningful and adjusted to different ways of thinking, learning and living. We describe creative ways of working with communities to generate new forms of knowledge production. We also reflect on issues such as equity, power, exploitation and commitment to engagement that provide useful insights for ways in which Living Labs can develop more inclusive practices. 

Speaker

Socially-oriented urban living labs in post-industrial cities: challenges and lessons learned

by Elsa Gallez, Stéphanie Van Dooselaere and Constance Uyttebrouck

Track:  Practitioners Presentation 

Topic: Urban & Rural Resillence and Challenges for Living Labs

  • Keywords: 
  • Socially-oriented ULLs
  • European project
  • Post-industrial cities regeneration
  • Citizen participation
  • Model of governance

Abstract In the context of the European project A Place To Be-Come, the University of Liège has the mission to support the implementation of citizen spaces in a disadvantaged neighbourhood of Seraing. The purpose of these spaces is to be led by the inhabitants and local associations in order to contribute to the urban and social regeneration of the neighbourhood. This work presents the pertinence of ULLs in post-industrial cities going through a physical and social metamorphosis, then the expected objectives of the project and finally the first observations, results and lessons learned.

Speakers