Date & Time
1 October 2026, 09:00 – 10:30
Room
Galapagos
Chaired by
Dr. Abdolrasoul (Rasoul) Habibipour
Associate Professor in Information Systems, Luleå University of Technology, Sweden, and Managing Director of Botnia Living Lab
Dr. Abdolrasoul (Rasoul) Habibipour
Associate Professor in Information Systems, Luleå University of Technology, Sweden, and Managing Director of Botnia Living LabDr. Abdolrasoul (Rasoul) Habibipour is Associate Professor in Information Systems at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden, and Managing Director of Botnia Living Lab and educational program leader at LTU. His research focuses on participatory design, user engagement, co-creation, and Living Labs, with a particular interest in ethics, responsibility, and inclusive innovation. Rasoul has led and contributed to several international research and innovation projects and has extensive experience in developing and studying innovations in real-life settings.
Type of Session
Research Session
Description
Following a rigorous evaluation process, the OLLD26 evaluation committee has accepted the research papers for this year’s conference. All accepted papers engage with the conference theme, “Living Labs Impacts and Values for a Changing World,” and have been classified into five sub-tracks:
- Track 1: Living Labs for Grand Societal Challenges
- Track 2: Living Labs for Policies, Governance, Collaboration, and Innovation Ecosystems
- Track 3: Living Labs for Inclusive Soci(et)al Engagement
- Track 4: Living Labs for Business and Emerging Technology
- Track 5: Living Labs Operations, Methods, Tools, and Impact
Papers selected by the Evaluation Committee
- From bending to elevating: Assessing the physical and emotional impacts of magnet-motor beds on hotel housekeepers
- From egocentric data to candidate cognitive markers: AI modelling with Meta Aria glasses in daily-living scenarios
- From designed structure to collaborative practice: Examining the implementation of a triadic governance architecture in an agricultural Living Lab
- Living Labs as multi-level governance mechanisms in the forest context: A comparative literature review
- A participatory framework for assessing climate neutrality transition readiness
- Making knowledge usable for policymaking: Policy translation mechanisms from the EnerPeace Living Lab
From bending to elevating: Assessing the physical and emotional impacts of magnet-motor beds on hotel housekeepers
Abstract:
This study draws on ergonomics to examine the physical and emotional impacts of implementing magnet-motor lifting beds on hotel housekeepers’ bed-making tasks. Three magnet-motor beds, which elevate upon magnetic activation, were installed in a four-star hotel in Spain. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with housekeeping employees who used both standard and motor-magnet beds during their daily routines. Nine housekeeping employees used both standard and lifting beds during their daily routines. All employees except two reported low-frequency use, as these beds are located on a specific floor of the hotel and housekeepers are allocated on a rotating basis depending on room assignments.
The study evaluates this technological innovation by comparing employees’ experiences, assessing its perceived benefits and limitations. Findings indicate that magnet-motor beds may reduce bending and back strain among housekeepers, but other strains emerged due to bed characteristics. The results highlight the potential and limitations of this workplace innovation, providing insights for managerial decision-making to foster employee well-being in hospitality.
Brina Antunez Pineda
Researcher, Alimara Living Lab (CETT-UB, University of Barcelona)
Brina Antunez Pineda
Researcher, Alimara Living Lab (CETT-UB, University of Barcelona)Brina Antunez Pineda is a Lecturer at CETT Barcelona School of Tourism, Hospitality and Gastronomy and a Researcher at the Alimara Living Lab. She holds an MSc in Management, Organization, and Business Economics (2024) from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and is currently pursuing a PhD in Business at the University of Barcelona. Her research mainly explores how shaping customer behavior can enhance productivity, efficiency, and sustainability in the hospitality sector.
From egocentric data to candidate cognitive markers: AI modelling with Meta Aria glasses in daily-living scenarios
Abstract:
Cognitive screening is typically episodic and confined to clinical settings; however, early functional changes may first emerge during everyday activities and remain undetected in formal assessment. To examine such changes under realistic conditions, this study adopts a Living Lab approach, collecting Meta Aria first-person (egocentric) recordings during controlled daily living tasks. Participant feedback and recording review informed successive protocol refinements and data-quality safeguards.
The approach was evaluated in 30 clinician-labelled older adults (20 controls; 10 with mild or subjective cognitive impairment [MCI/SCI]) through two exploratory modelling paths governed by a shared evaluation contract. Path A uses learned multimodal representations to predict a 7-test cognitive composite (R² = 0.417) and distinguishes the MCI/SCI group from controls at balanced accuracy 0.80 [0.63–0.95], above an age + education + sex baseline (0.68) and below a neuropsychological-test comparator (0.85). Path B derives interpretable behavioural markers from head-motion, trajectory and gaze features, producing an auditable inventory of candidate cognitive markers.
Together, the paths suggest that egocentric daily-living data contain cognition-relevant signal, that Living Labs can de-risk emerging egocentric AI for cognitive health, and that interpretable markers may support downstream Ambient Assisted Living applications.
Matthew Doulgerakis
Computer Vision Scientist
Matthew Doulgerakis
Computer Vision ScientistMatthew Doulgerakis is a Computer Vision Scientist with a PhD in Neuroimaging from the University of Birmingham, UK. He combines strong technical expertise in AI, 2D/3D imaging, and GPU-accelerated modeling with a genuine interest in healthcare innovation and real-world applications. He has worked on EU-funded projects, developed deep learning models and cloud-based AI systems, and published in peer-reviewed journals. Passionate about interdisciplinary collaboration, he enjoys bridging technology with clinical and practical needs.
From designed structure to collaborative practice: Examining the implementation of a triadic governance architecture in an agricultural Living Lab
Abstract:
Agricultural Living Labs (LLs) rely on effective governance to enable collaboration among diverse stakeholders, yet little is known about how governance arrangements become operational in practice.
This research-in-progress examines the operationalisation of a triadic governance configuration within the Green Point Living Lab (GPLL), comprising agricultural advisory support, digital innovation enablement, and socio-organisational coordination. Using a qualitative, process-oriented single-case study, the research draws on semi-structured interviews with governance actors and participating farmers. Data will be analysed through reflexive thematic analysis followed by process-oriented interpretation.
As data collection is ongoing, the paper presents the conceptual framework, research design, and analytical approach. The study aims to provide an empirically grounded understanding of how governance arrangements are enacted and institutionalised through everyday collaboration in agricultural LLs.
Saša Štraus
Senior Food Systems Expert, ITC – Innovation Technology Cluster Murska Sobota
Saša Štraus
Senior Food Systems Expert, ITC – Innovation Technology Cluster Murska SobotaDr. Saša Štraus is a Senior Food Systems Expert at ITC – Innovation Technology Cluster Murska Sobota, Slovenia, and Manager of the Green Point Living Lab. Her work focuses on agrifood living labs, real-life validation methodologies, multi-actor collaboration, and governance in European research and innovation projects. She is actively involved in developing and applying living lab methodologies that support the co-creation, real-life validation, and implementation of innovations across agrifood systems. Together with her research team, she is currently exploring governance models in agricultural living labs, with a particular focus on collaborative structures that enable effective collaboration and innovation.
Living Labs as multi-level governance mechanisms in the forest context: A comparative literature review
Abstract:
Forest governance (FG) is increasingly challenged by the combined effects of climate change, ecological uncertainty, and expanding societal expectations. While Living Labs (LLs) have gained traction as collaborative innovation approaches across sectors, their role as governance mechanisms remains insufficiently theorised, particularly in forestry.
This paper examines the structural conditions under which LLs may contribute to more adaptive and collaborative FG, exploring their potential as multi-level governance mechanisms. It draws on a structured literature review integrating LLs across sectors, emerging literature on LLs as governance instruments, and forest governance literature. Structural patterns are interpreted through a macro-meso-micro approach, applied as an analytical lens to identify converging organisational patterns across both fields.
The analysis shows that micro and meso-level processes are relatively well developed in both literatures through co-creation methods, project methodologies, and participatory tools. However, both fields converge on the same macro-level limitation: the absence of durable architectures capable of ensuring long-term coordination, continuity, and integration across governance levels. This paper proposes a conceptual basis for bridging LLs and FG literature towards the development of a future multi-level organisational framework for forest LLs, providing grounding for LL researchers and practitioners seeking adaptive, participatory mechanisms.
Aline Vaes Massagli
PhD Student, ERPI (Université de Lorraine)
Aline Vaes Massagli
PhD Student, ERPI (Université de Lorraine)Aline Vaes Massagli is a first-year PhD student at ERPI (Université de Lorraine) and UMR Silva (AgroParisTech/INRAE) in France, with a background in Forest Engineering and forest ecosystems. Her doctoral research explores how the Living Lab approach can be conceptualised as a multi-level governance mechanism in the forest sector. She is developing a conceptual framework to better understand the interdependencies between governance levels and the processes through which knowledge is transferred and embedded across the Living Lab ecosystem.
A participatory framework for assessing climate neutrality transition readiness
Abstract:
Climate neutrality transitions require not only technical planning but also collaborative governance ecosystems capable of ‘injecting’ strategic objectives into real implementation. Despite the increasing availability of European policy frameworks and funding mechanisms, many regional and local authorities continue to face institutional, organizational and participatory barriers limiting their transition capacity. In this context, Living Lab-oriented approaches can support stakeholder engagement, collaborative learning and evidence-informed governance.
This paper proposes a participatory framework for assessing climate neutrality transition readiness across eight European areas participating in the Interreg Europe 2021–2027 SMARTFORM project. The methodology was developed through a Living Lab and Design Thinking co-creation process involving municipalities, regional authorities, academia and civil society and business stakeholders (in total 103 actors). Through iterative stakeholder engagement, the framework identified three core dimensions related to governance and planning, future readiness and gaps and barriers affecting climate neutrality transitions.
The findings suggest that governance coordination, participatory capacity and institutional collaboration are perceived as critical enabling conditions for climate neutrality transitions, while implementation barriers remain strongly linked to lack of technical skills, funding limitations, governance fragmentation and administrative capacity gaps.
Kyriakos Ketikidis
Research Associate, Hellenic Institute of Transport
Kyriakos Ketikidis
Research Associate, Hellenic Institute of TransportKyriakos Ketikidis is a transportation and sustainable mobility engineer with expertise in spatial planning and design. He holds an MSc in Spatial Planning for Sustainable and Resilient Development, with a focus on transport and sustainable mobility systems. His research interests center on creating livable cities through sustainable urban mobility interventions, urban design strategies and decarbonization pathways in the transportation sector. He works as a Research Associate at the Hellenic Institute of Transport, where he contributes to research and policy initiatives on climate-neutral territorial development. His work combines transport planning expertise and collaborative stakeholder engagement to advance sustainable urban futures across Europe.
Making knowledge usable for policymaking: Policy translation mechanisms from the EnerPeace Living Lab
Abstract:
Living Labs are increasingly understood not only as spaces for co-creation, but also as knowledge infrastructures that shape how actors define problems, negotiate authority and produce knowledge together (John, 2024). Yet their contribution to policymaking remains underexplored. How do Living Labs translate knowledge into formats that public administrations can recognise and incorporate?
This presentation examines the EnerPeace Living Lab, a university-led initiative developed within EUPeace, a European university alliance, and coordinated by the Chair of Energy and Poverty at Comillas Pontifical University. Focused on contributing to the National Strategy against Energy Poverty in Spain, EnerPeace convened public administrations, civil society organisations, energy-sector actors, and affected citizens in a sustained process of dialogue. Using a qualitative case study approach, we trace how the Living Lab designed, facilitated, and transferred knowledge for policy purposes.
Findings suggest that alignment with an open policy window provided the enabling condition for policy relevance, while three mechanisms explain how the Living Lab made use of that opportunity: trusted mediation, relational care and facilitation, and the translation of deliberative outputs into validated proposals. The case of EnerPeace thus helps identify the combination of ingredients that allow a Living Lab to become an active interlocutor in policy conversations.
Bernardo Rios
Living Lab Coordinator, Comillas Pontifical University
Bernardo Rios
Living Lab Coordinator, Comillas Pontifical UniversityBernardo Rios is the Living Lab Coordinator at Comillas Pontifical University and co-lead of a work package within EUPeace, the European University Alliance for Peace, Justice, and Inclusive Societies. He coordinates and develops the ecosystem surrounding a portfolio of Living Lab projects, connecting project teams, stakeholders, and institutional actors. He supports projects in their management, development, long-term sustainability, and impact assessment. His doctoral research examines the civic and democratic dimensions of university–society engagement, providing a research foundation for his work in building the relationships and institutional conditions that enable socially transformative initiatives to grow and endure.