Accepted Research Papers
Following the evaluation procedure, the OLLD evaluation committee has accepted the research papers. All papers reflect on the theme of the conference “Living Labs for an Era of Transitions: how human-centric approach is changing our lives” and have been classified according to its sub-topics. These are Green Transition, Digital Transition, Social Transition, Just Transition and Living Labs Transition – Methodologies & Impact.
Selected papers by the Evaluation Committee
- Inclusive primary healthcare in the community: stakeholder consultation to guide service implementation
- Bologna Living Lab. Pilot project for implementation of serious game in citizen science initiatives
- Urban Living Labs for the development of hybrid research methods in contextualized societal challenges; the example of Cultural Probes in poverty research in the Netherlands.
- Towards defining “Responsible Living Labs” in the era of digital transformation and AI
- The transformative agency of university researchers involved in living lab on digital inequalities in education
These papers will be presented on DAY2 (Friday, 22 September) at the Just Transition Research Session (14.00-15.30).
Inclusive primary healthcare in the community: stakeholder consultation to guide service implementation
Kim Helsen, Sascha Vermeylen, Hilde Vandenhoudt, Vicky Van der Auwera, Nele A.J. De Witte
Kim Helsen
Researcher, PhD at Thomas More University of Applied Sciences – LiCalab
Kim Helsen
Researcher, PhD at Thomas More University of Applied Sciences – LiCalabKim Helsen studied Clinical Psychology at KU Leuven, Belgium. After graduating (2008), she started working as a PhD student in the Research Group on Health Psychology (KU Leuven) and in the Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology (Ghent University). Her main research interest was in observational learning as a possible pathway to pain-related fear. After a few years working as a counseling psychologist in the health insurance sector, she renewed her passion for research joining LiCalab Living & Care lab in January, 2022. Kim now concentrates on practice-oriented research in the context of living labs, putting the focus on health technology and new collaborative models.
Track: Just Transition
Abstract: Societal changes in terms of healthcare needs and availability of healthcare professionals call for adaptations in the organisation of primary healthcare. Citizens can help to design integrated health, care and community services, hereby improving municipalities’ accountability and aligning policies and services to communities’ needs. However, stakeholder consultation is often limited and does not sufficiently take health literacy into account. By joining forces between local communities and living labs, several methodologies can be set up to gain insight into the healthcare needs and expectations of citizens and care professionals to guide future–oriented and innovative public care. The current paper describes a study that took place in the municipality of Vorselaar in Belgium. In the first phase, a survey study included a sample of 1078 participants from the local community to provide insight into user needs for primary healthcare practice and preventative initiatives as well as the health literacy of the population. Recruitment focused on engaging a sample that reflected the local diversity and, therefore, also actively lowered participation thresholds by e.g., sending personal invitations and providing support in completing the online or pen-and-paper survey. In a second phase, co-creation sessions with citizens, (care) professionals, and individuals with lower health literacy were initiated to get more in-depth information about these topics. Results indicated the need for interdisciplinary care practices with GPs, dentists, nurses, psychologists, dieticians, and social workers, and showed that citizens believed the local government has a role to play in health promotion related to e.g., healthy food, exercising, and mental health. Health literacy in this local community was varied covering the full range of the spectrum and proved to be associated with age, education, general and mental health, and loneliness. The co-creation activities led to concrete ideas for regional strategic actions to promote high-quality primary care. The current study showed that targeted recruitment for a comprehensive survey and co-creation sessions allowed for the inclusion of a large and rich sample to inform on local healthcare needs and define priorities for the local government. Residents and care professionals can be motivated and interesting partners in designing futureproof and inclusive primary healthcare.
Keywords: Living Lab, co-creation, health literacy, primary healthcare, health prevention, citizen participation.
Bologna Living Lab. Pilot project for implementation of serious game in citizen science initiatives
Teresa Carlone, Selene Tondini
Selene Tondini
PhD in Sociology and Social Research at the Univerity of Bologna
Selene Tondini
PhD in Sociology and Social Research at the Univerity of BolognaSelene Tondini is a PhD Student in Sociology and Social Research at the Univerity of Bologna. Her research activity focuses on the application of the Living Lab concept for the involvement of citizens in the democratisation processes of science (citizen science) and how this methodology can contribute to the behavioural change of specific social groups with a view to climate change mitigation and adaptation. She is also interested in the relationship between social disciplines and the hard sciences, both from a multi-level perspective and systemic innovation.
Track: Just Transition
Abstract: Nowadays, climate change shows irreversible consequences for the well-being of humanity, territories, and resources. The city of Bologna (Italy) is facing environmental, societal, and digital challenges that are currently featured in urban spaces worldwide: air pollution and intense urban mobility, due to anthropic activities and ever-increasing urbanization. A just socio-ecological transition towards sustainable urban spaces relies on the collaboration among all actors involved in the Quintuple Helix of Innovation (Carayannis et al. 2012). In an attempt to address these challenges, researchers from the University of Bologna established the Bologna Living Lab, actively engaging a comprehensive network of stakeholders including policy and decision-makers, academic and research institutions, civil society, and industry aiming to democratize knowledge and research in the environmental field. The H2020 I-CHANGE project “Individual Change of HAbits Needed for Green European transition” intends to demonstrate how collective behavioral change is possible through the involvement of civil society in citizen science initiatives (Goudeseune et.al 2020, Vohland 2021). The research approach is structured around Living Labs (LLs) to raise awareness about climate change impacts in urban space and to promote behavioral changes toward more socially and environmentally sustainable lifestyles.
Keywords: Citizen science, urban mobility, air pollution, serious game, just transition, behavioral change, STS, co-creation.
Urban Living Labs for the development of hybrid research methods in contextualized societal challenges; the example of Cultural Probes in poverty research in the Netherlands
Stefano Blezer, Marco Putzu, Steffi Kohl and Nurhan Abujidi
Stefano Blezer
Lecturer Zuyd University of Applied Sciences
Stefano Blezer
Lecturer Zuyd University of Applied SciencesStefano Blezer is a lecturer and researcher in Spatial Planning at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences in the Built Environment Academy and Smart Urban Redesign research centre. He holds a BSc. in Spatial Planning at the eponymous institute (2017) and a MSc. in Socio-Spatial Planning from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands (2020). His BSc. is about Urban Living Labs and its applicability in the context of Limburg, and his MSc. thesis is about Urban Living Labs and their potential to shape systemic changes in doing urban development. His expertise and interest mainly revolve around the relationship between the physical built environment and human behavior, as well as related themes such as spatial justice, spatial inequalities, or co-creation governance and collaboration modes. Blezer also advocates an established role for spatial planning in achieving the UN SDGs.
Track: Just Transition
Abstract: Poverty is a persistent and insufficiently understood societal challenge that requires the inclusion of lived experiences of poverty (Hagenaars, 1986; Reeves et al., 2020). Traditional approaches to poverty are dominated by the non-poor’s understanding of poverty, which hinders effective policy and intervention strategies. To address this gap, we demonstrate that Urban Living Labs (ULLs) provide the potential for the development of hybrid research methods, i.e. the Cultural Probe methodology. We argue that this method is able to explore the lived experiences of poverty, and shed light on how people perceive poverty, themselves and others in their local context. We apply the method via the social-cultural perspective, going beyond the traditional economic perspective on poverty (Lok-Dessallien, 1999). We aim to explore the usefulness and feasibility of the methodology in local context, particularly in terms of participants’ ability and willingness to share their poverty experiences and complete the probe booklet.
Keywords: Urban Living Labs, Poverty, Cultural Probe, Language Café, Cross-border Migrants.
Towards defining “Responsible Living Labs” in the era of digital transformation and AI
Abdolrasoul Habibipour and Anna Ståhlbröst
Abdolrasoul Habibipour
PhD In Information Systems
Abdolrasoul Habibipour
PhD In Information SystemsAbdolrasoul Habibipour (Ph.D.) is a postdoctoral researcher in Information Systems at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden and managing director of Botnia Living Lab, Sweden. His research focuses on participatory design and user engagement in living lab context, with a particular emphasis on users’ motivations and needs. Abdolrasoul has experience teaching and supervising students at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels and has published several journal and conference articles in his research topic. He has been involved in different international innovation and research projects such as Privacy Flag, USEMP and U4IoT projects and is currently working on UNaLab, LiLaCC and ACCLab projects, all of which are financed by the European Commission.
Track: Just Transition
Abstract: This research-in-progress article explores how living labs (LLs) as a facilitator of digital transformation (DT) activities should be in line with responsible research and innovation (RRI) principles. This alignment gains special prominence when DT processes leverage AI-driven innovations and have a young citizen demographic as the focus. In so doing, we propose the new concept called “Responsible Living Labs” (RLL) as an overarching framework for LL researchers and practitioners to ensure transparency, stakeholder engagement, ethical considerations, and sustainability in all stages of LL activities and actions. The research methodology involves conducting a systematic literature review and organizing a workshop at Open Living Lab Days 2023 conference within the context of Interreg Baltic Sea Region project UrbanTestbeds.JR (#S004). This will be done to explore the potential of AI in fostering RRI in LL activities, as well as ethical challenges and other RRI related concerns that LLs are facing when young citizen are engaged. The study will contribute to the body of knowledge by bridging the gap in research on how LL activities can be more responsible and ethical while benefiting from advanced technologies such as AI.
Keywords: Living Lab, Responsible Research and Innovation, Artificial Intelligence, Digital Transformation, Ethics.
The transformative agency of university researchers involved in living lab on digital inequalities in education
Séverine Parent, Michelle Deschênes, Patrick Giroux, Eve Pouliot, Annie Côté, Rachel Berthiaume
Séverine Parent
Professor of educational technology and digital literacy at the Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR)
Séverine Parent
Professor of educational technology and digital literacy at the Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR)Séverine Parent is a professor of educational technology and digital literacy at the Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR). She offers courses in the integration of information and communication technologies to future teachers, both face-to-face and at a distance. In her teaching practice, she uses and documents active pedagogy and activity in creative spaces. Her research focuses on variations of engagement in the context of innovation and on the development and mastery of digital competence. She is currently principal investigator of a living laboratory project to reduce digital inequalities in education and of an action research project on the development of digital competence from an inter level perspective.
Track: Just Transition
Abstract: The LaVIE project aims to reduce social and digital inequalities in education through a living lab initiative. In the living lab, the participation of research team members was closely monitoring through co-creation meetings and barometer questionnaires. Their participation was analysed using the concept of transformative agency. The team’s active involvement in the living lab beyond observation or intervention demonstrates their multi-faceted role as participants and leaders. The team hopes to further reflect on transformative agency to strengthen their expertise and contribute to the living lab community.
Keywords: Living lab, research, academia, transformative agency, participation.