Living Labs are not something you fully understand by just reading a definition. Of course, the definition matters. The principles matter. The methodology matters. But at some point, you need to sit down with other people, take a real context, ask the difficult questions, and start making sense of what the Living Lab approach means in practice in your own context. That is exactly what Learning Lab Day 0 is designed to do.
On 29 September, before the main OpenLivingLab Days programme starts, we will host Learning Lab Day 0 at the ENoLL Office in Brussels. It is a full-day training, from 09:00 to 17:00, with two parallel tracks, more than 10 trainers, and a maximum of 40 participants.
The idea is simple: come with your questions, your context, your doubts, your project, or even just your curiosity, and spend the day working through them with trainers and peers from the Living Lab community.
The Basic Track is for people who are new to Living Labs or are just starting to explore how to create one. We will look at what a Living Lab is, what it is not, and what needs to be in place for it to work beyond a nice concept on paper. Participants will work on purpose, mission and vision, stakeholders, roles, participation, real-life experimentation and the first steps needed to build a Living Lab in their own ecosystem.
This year, the Basic Track also brings a stronger focus on people, creativity and value. Participants will explore how communities are already responding to challenges in their neighbourhoods, workplaces and local spaces, and how Living Labs can move from consultation to more meaningful participation and shared ownership. They will also look at how Living Lab values, such as openness, inclusion, trust and co-creation, can be translated into visible change, practical questions and early evidence.
The Intermediate Track is for practitioners who already have some experience and want to go deeper. It will focus on the questions that often come once a Living Lab is already running: how do we evaluate what is happening while it is still evolving? How do we include more diverse voices in the process? How do we recognise ethical risks before they become problems? How do we explain where value and impact are being created across the ecosystem, the projects and the specific activities?
This is not meant to be a day where people sit quietly and collect slides. Participants will work on concrete exercises and leave with something they can take back to their own team: a clearer Living Lab purpose, a stakeholder reflection, a participation approach, an impact question, a value proposition or a practical safeguard for their next activity.
For me, that is the value of Learning Lab Day 0. It gives people a shared language, but also a space to test that language against reality, while connecting with other Living Labbers.
Learning Lab Day 0 is for newcomers, practitioners, students, researchers, project partners, public actors, community organisations, and anyone who wants to better understand how Living Labs work when they move from theory to practice.
Places are limited to 40 participants. Choose the track that fits where you are in your Living Lab journey and join us in Brussels before the main OLLD26 programme begins.
By Marta De Los Ríos White – Head of Capacity Building & Research