David Gago, PhD is a tenure-track Professor of Economics in the Department of Economic Analysis at the National University of Distance Education (UNED), Spain. His research focuses on the economics of innovation and innovation policies, service innovation, co-creation, value creation, and living labs—particularly within the public sector. He brings extensive experience across multiple sectors, including the public Sector (as strategic advisor to the Office of the Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Information Society, Government of Spain (2008–2011), multilateral institutions (as consultant at The World Bank, 2015–2016), or the private sector (as strategic and innovation consultant in different firms). David Gago has a strong research record in several EU funded projects, including Co-VAL (2018–2021) and LibrarIN (2022–2025). In these projects, he analyzed the role of living labs as drivers of co-creation and co-innovation in the public sector and European libraries. Additionally, he serves as a reviewer for specialized academic journals such as The Service Industries Journal or Public Money & Management.