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
- Infrastructuring social labs: Establishing a sustainable research, development, and innovation platform driven by citizen collaboration
- Co-creating a Citizen Science Toolkit for Climate Assemblies in Living Labs
- Living Lab in making: Exploring the emergent phase of University Living Lab development
- AI to Fight Disinformation: a Living Lab Approach
- Living Lab and International Cooperation in Tertiary Education
These papers will be presented on DAY1 (Thursday, 21 September) at the Social Transition Research Session (15.45-17.15).
Research track sponsored by SHIFT-HUB.
Infrastructuring social labs: Establishing a sustainable research, development, and innovation platform driven by citizen collaboration
Fumiya Akasaka, Yuya Mitake, Fuko Oura, Kentaro Watanabe, Kazuhiro Kojima
Fumiya Akasaka
Researcher National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)
Fumiya Akasaka
Researcher National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)Fumiya Akasaka Ph.D., is a Researcher in service design and co-design at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan.
Track: Social Transtion
Abstract: In this study, we propose the concept of ‘social lab’ as a sustainable research, development, and innovation (R&D&I) platform. A social lab is a derivative of Living Labs (LLs) that emphasises R&D&I in collaboration with citizens. This paper especially describes our case study aims at ‘infrastructuring’ (i.e. establishing and sustaining) a social lab in an actual city setting. By analysing the case study process and results, we identified three key implications for effectively infrastructuring social labs: supporting the process of core member formation, leveraging existing urban resources, and establishing a coevolutionary loop between infrastructural resource development and R&D&I practices. We also revealed the challenges in infrastructuring social labs, such as human resource issues, low visibility of outcomes, and a lack of SD methods and tools.
Keywords: Social lab, infrastructuring, R&D&I, citizen involvement, case study
Co-creating a Citizen Science Toolkit for Climate Assemblies in Living Labs
Julian Vicens, Nil Alvarez, Ferran Bertomeu, David Laniado
Julian Vicens
Researcher Fundació Eurecat
Julian Vicens
Researcher Fundació EurecatJulian Vicens is a research scientist specializing in the study of collective behaviour within complex systems. He applies a combination of computational and participatory methodologies, where science, technology and society converge. At Fundació Eurecat, he is leading the Computational Social Science research line of the Data Science and Big Data unit, contributing his insights and expertise to cutting-edge research applied to gaining a comprehensive understanding of social and technical systems like culture, cities, media or climate. Julià has been involved in numerous national and international projects spanning diverse fields such as complex systems, artificial intelligence, human behaviour, and citizen science, among others. Julià is a true advocate for cross-disciplinary collaboration. He devotes his efforts to bridging the gaps between science, technology, education, and the arts, actively contributing to innovative and creative initiatives.
Ferran Bertomeu
Ferran Bertomeu
Ferran Bertomeu has studied for a bachelor’s degree in biology and a Master's Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability. He has always been interested in the relations between nature and people, within the socioeconomic system in which we live in the global north. Thus, he is learning how to foster and promote real sustainability while helping to establish strategies, instruments, policies and transformative actions for the resilience of the Ebro Delta. In the Climate Change Department from Eurecat and the Center for Climate Resilience, he is in charge of different projects related to the Living Lab Ebre Bioterritori. In this dynamic space are carried out process of co-design and co-creation of projects, plans and policies together with key stakeholders. He always deploys projects from a view based on ecological economics, political ecology and social and environmental justice views.
Track: Social Transition
Abstract: Citizen science, living labs and climate assemblies are spaces that open participation to the public. This manuscript describes a novel methodological approach which involves building scientific knowledge through citizen science projects, developing innovative tools in living labs, and generating recommendations for policymakers raised in climate assemblies. In this case, the Ebre Bioterritori Living Lab serves as the hub for co-creating a citizen science toolkit for climate assemblies. Citizen science projects are carefully selected from diverse databases and platforms and are relevant to climate change action. Furthermore, the citizen science toolkit is co-created in the living lab, with activities designed around each citizen science project. The toolkit is tested by a group of people in the living lab before being deployed in climate assemblies for different stakeholders, including policymakers, facilitators, technicians and citizens. The primary goal of the toolkit is to enable participants to acquire knowledge from citizen science projects and to ensure the inclusivity and accessibility of the participatory process to all living labs and climate assemblies. In summary, this research aims to create an inclusive, accessible, and effective citizen science toolkit that ultimately empowers citizens to take collective action on climate adaptation through participatory processes.
Keywords: Citizen science, climate assemblies, deliberative democracy, climate adaptation, climate policymaking, bottom-up governance.
Living Lab in making: Exploring the emergent phase of University Living Lab development
Beata Jałocha, Marta Najda-Janoszka, Anna Góral, Jarosław Działek
Beata Jałocha
Associate Professor Jagiellonian University Kraków
Beata Jałocha
Associate Professor Jagiellonian University KrakówBeata Jałocha is an Associate Professor of Management at the Institute of Public Affairs at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland. Her research interests include project management, projectification processes and action research. She is particularly interested in the impact of projectification on organisations and the people working in them. Moreover, she explores participatory research methods and experiential knowledge for tackling organizational and societal problems.
Track: Social Transition
Abstract: The aim of this study is to explore the emergent phase of a university living lab to identify and explain the contingencies that surface from the process of developing and implementing an idea of a living lab in an already complicated institutional environment. The empirical research followed a single case study design. The analysis of the data gathered from multiple primary and secondary sources was guided by the qualitative content analysis approach. The study provides insights into behavioral, social, and cultural factors that underlie the emergence of a university living lab. It contributes to theory and practice by explaining the pre-lab dynamics and its context.
Keywords: Living lab, university living lab, pre-lab, emergent phase.
AI to Fight Disinformation: a Living Lab Approach
Aline Duelen, Wendy Van den Broeck, Iris Jennes, Sissel Fibecker Ladegaard, Marie Hoff, Nicklas Bang Bådum
Aline Duelen
Researcher TITAN Project
Aline Duelen
Researcher TITAN ProjectIn 2022, I obtained the degree of Master in Communication Sciences: Media, Strategic communication and Marketing cum laude at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. In my master’s thesis I focused on the topic of “Social media and polarization: the worldview and the role of digital inequalities”, researching online polarization from a different point of view. Now, I am a user researcher at imec-SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel. I mostly work on the Horizon Europe TITAN project in which we are developing an AI-tool to fight disinformation by encouraging citizens’ critical thinking processes. In the project, we are partly responsible for the development and execution of the applied three-phase implementation methodology. This methodology is strongly focused on the application of a co-creation and Living Lab approach, as we want to iteratively involve citizens in the development of our AI-tool to ensure its social acceptance and trustworthiness. Besides the TITAN project, my methodological interest generally lies is in the field of participatory methods and the living lab methodology.
Marie Hoff
Researcher TITAN Project
Marie Hoff
Researcher TITAN ProjectWith a MSc. in global development and BSc in geography from the University of Copenhagen, I am trained in an interdisciplinary field within social- and natural science. I have previously managed a community working with tech-training and employment of minorities in Denmark. As a project manager at Danish Board of Technology (DBT) I deploy different qualitative methods for public engagement to ensure ethical and responsible development of technology. I am currently involved in the EU-funded project TITAN, which will develop a human-centered AI-system that will enhance citizens’ critical thinking competences to fight disinformation. The entire project is built upon an iterative approach of public engagement, where both co-creation and living labs have a central role in the three phases of engagement.
Track: Social Transition
Abstract: Disinformation is a main problem in today’s digital society, as it affects public opinion and causes public harm. This paper introduces research carried out within the Horizon Europe project anonymised, where an AI-based engine will be developed to counter disinformation by encouraging citizens’ critical thinking processes. The overall implementation methodology of this project consists of a Living Lab approach in three phases. With this, the realization of a socially accepted and trustworthy citizen-centered AI-system will be ensured. This paper will present the findings and results of the first phase within the co-creation process and will cover the expected outcomes of the other two phases.
Keywords: Disinformation, Trustworthy AI, Citizen Engagement, User Involvement, Living Labs
Living Lab and International Cooperation in Tertiary Education
Sangsup Ha, Sujung Nam, Jeong-In Lee, and Sangbum Shin
Jeong-In Lee
Research Professor Yonsei University
Jeong-In Lee
Research Professor Yonsei UniversityJeong-In Lee is a research professor at the Institute for Poverty Alleviation and International Development at Yonsei University. With a Ph.D. in Education, he has studied theoretical and practical educational issues at various research institutions, including the Korea Educational Development Institute (KEDI), the Private Tutoring Innovation Education and Research Center at Sungkyunkwan University, and IPAID at Yonsei University. Additionally, he serves as the General Affairs Director of the Korean Philosophy Education Society. His academic interests encompass the fields of philosophy of education, educational theory, civic education, and moral education.
Sangsup Ha
Research Professor Yonsei University
Sangsup Ha
Research Professor Yonsei UniversitySangsup Ha is a research professor in the Institute for Poverty Alleviation and International Development at Yonsei University. He has a Ph.D. in North Korean Studies and has built his career mostly in the field of Inter-Korean relations. He is an executive director at Yonsei University Reunification Cluster Center and a research director of Modern North Korean Studies. He also served as a Member of Inter-Korean Exchange Committee in Mapo-gu, Seoul. His academic interests are civic education, inter-Korean relations, and security issues including North Korea’s nuclear weapons.
Track: Social Transition
Abstract: Living labs are a series of problem-solving and innovation activities carried out by citizens, scientists, specialists, governments, and firms. If used in college education, living labs become a typical example of a community-based problem-solving learning method. In this study, a project on international educational cooperation based on living laboratory activities will be introduced. Three universities from three different countries have been invited by our host university, and these four universities are implementing living lab projects simultaneously. The results will be shared once the project is completed, and the similarities and differences in the project outcomes will be analysed. To date, two cooperative models have been identified. First, students in different countries can focus on similar problems but come up with different solutions based on their political, economic, social, and cultural conditions. Second, students in different countries can focus on different problems but can cooperate to address the problem more effectively.
Keywords: Living lab, problem-solving, tertiary education, international educational cooperation.