Please, not another co-creation lab
Why do we always (or very often) include the concept of “labs” in our societal engagement processes and projects? Beyond the buzz world, do we even know what a lab is and what we expect from it? Is it really an asset to attract citizens, policymakers, or innovators? Do people want to be lab rats? And what actually comes out of a living lab, social lab, co-creation lab (you name it)?
Through existing projects and practices, we will explore the main features of “labs” and how they can be beneficial. We will reflect on what we can honestly expect from them and what kind of results they produce (or don’t produce). We will share interesting (and available) tools, but also reflections on how to adapt them to specific topics or innovation sectors, from a “one-size fits all” practice to a tailor-made lab.
The session will start with pitches from our speakers and move on to a constructive discussion to decide whether co-creation matters in the end.
Outcomes: what will participants get from this session? Skills, knowledge, experience etc.
Participants will take part in a dynamic fishbowl session where they will share and reflect with peers on the features, benefits, and limitations of the “lab” approach. After a general introduction and initial inputs from the speakers, the participants will be invited to join the fishbowl and share their insights and experiences. Participants will walk away with tools to implement a successful lab approach. They will also collect a series of tried-and-tested fails not to reproduce.
Session speakers
Center for the Promotion of Science
Tanja is a biologist, researcher and head of the department of programme activity at Center for the Promotion of Science (CPN) in Serbia. She will be discussing how CPN addresses pollution and sustainability in the face of a cultural disconnect from climate change in Serbia. With the TeRRIFICA project, CPN adopted a co-creation lab approach to involve citizens in the climate change decision-making agenda. Did they manage to go beyond usual practices to explore critically important societal issues? Beyond the lab, what are the real impacts on the ground?
ERRIN - European Regions Research & Innovation
Ryan is the Director of Projects for ERRIN, the European Regions Research and Innovation Network. ERRIN believes that engaging local and regional actors and their ecosystems is essential to delivering long-lasting and sustainable impact through EU Missions.
Ryan coordinates ERRIN’s work on the NetZeroCities, MOSAIC, and RESIST projects, each featuring multiple co-creation opportunities for citizens and stakeholders. Ryan will be sharing his experiences and thoughts on the topic of co-creation labs.
Do co-creation labs truly enable cities and regions to reach their goals?
PhD candidate Systemic Turn in Open Science & Public Engagement
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Anna has a background in anthropology and currently doing her PhD research in open science and public engagement. Within the SocKETs project, she explores co-creation as a way to align innovation development with the needs and values of the society. She will be sharing what the SocKETs project learned from its social labs set up in 6 European countries to explore the potential of key enabling technologies in eHealth, construction, and industry. What came out of the social labs? Did they achieve the expected goals or did they deviate from the original plans? And what can be done next?
Michael will explore co-creation as a way of bringing different stakeholders together with the aim of coming up with new products, services or organisational structures. More specifically he will be discussing the co-creation pilot that took place in the City of Gothenburg in the context of European Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission. Has the co-creation lab that the MOSAIC project set up managed to reach its objectives and who actually benefited from the process?
