Introduction:

On 9th October 2023, an online workshop was held in the context of the Living-in.EU Education & Capacity Building sub-group, on how to apply the Living Lab methodology to Digital Twins co-creation and co-design.

The meeting was designed to offer a comprehensive insight into co-creation and experimentation within Living Lab environments, especially those focusing on digital solutions. Living Labs offer a unique ecosystem for innovation, where stakeholders collaborate to design, test, and refine digital solutions.   

Why a workshop on digital innovation in Living Lab environments  

Local Digital Twins (LDT) and other digital solutions are becoming increasingly important for urban planning and development. LDT offer a virtual representation of a city's physical assets, processes, and systems, enabling cities to make data-driven decisions and create more efficient, sustainable, and livable environments.   

However, the successful implementation of digital solutions requires collaboration and co-creation between various stakeholders, including citizens, businesses, and government entities.   

Living Labs are innovative environments that foster user-driven research, experimentation, and co-creation. They provide a framework for involving citizens and other stakeholders in the development and testing of new technologies and services.    

The workshop aimed to explore how Living Lab methodologies can be applied to Digital Twins, Data Spaces, and AI innovation, ensuring that they meet the needs and expectations of the communities they serve.  

Highlighting the Agenda:

1. Welcome and Introduction by Kaisa Spilling (Forum Virium Helsinki), the new chair of the E&CB subgroup, and Giacomo Lozzi (ENoLL), who emphasised the key role of Living Labs in the technological realm. See presentation here.
2. Madrid Living Lab Digital Twin by Sergio Fernández Balaguer (EMT - Transport Company Madrid): A look into the LEAD project's work in Madrid. The plan was the transformation of a parking lot into a central hub for city deliveries. The project adopted a Living Lab approach and used Digital Twins for planning better 'last step' delivery systems. See presentation here.
3. Co-creation, Experimentation Methods, and Tools by Dimitri Schuurman (imec): A comprehensive overview of co-creation methodologies in tech-based Living Labs was provided. The emphasis was on the significance of user participation in innovation, supplemented with a demonstration of various co-creation tools. See presentation here.
4. An Interactive Exercise followed, with a hands-on approach to understanding the Digital Twin and Living Lab collaboration. Participants delved into identifying issues and creating problem statements for Digital Twins, leveraging the open local Digital Twin principles checklist, including cross-domain & strategic, multi-stakeholder, evidence-based decision making as goal, societal impact, and feasibility. See supporting material here.

The session catered to a diverse range of professionals, including city officials, community engagement advocates, researchers, urban planners, and policymakers.

This workshop looked at combining methodologies from Living Labs and Digital Twins to achieve a holistic approach to urban development and innovation. The emphasis is clear: collaboration is key, and digital innovations should be aligned with community aspirations.

For those who missed the session or seek further inquiries, Giacomo Lozzi at Giacomo.lozzi@enoll.org is the point of contact.