What is a living lab?

Living labs are "spaces" where open research and innovation are stimulated. 

By placing the end-user in a central position and cross-disciplinary knowledge around them, living labs increase the success of developing better solutions with regard to the specific needs and ambitions of the user. This makes the solutions easier accepted and implemented.

Living labs can either be physical or real-life contexts such as a farm, a retail, a community or a test facilitation. They are 'ecosystems' where researchers, end-users, stakeholders, citizens and even cities or regions can meet up to co-create. The goal is often to create a common solution, a prototype and test it in preparation for a larger-scale rollout.

At Green Solutions Centre, we have the three following living labs.