Living Labs as Engagement Models for Innovation

This position paper describes the evolution of economic and other support for companies in Europe, before defining and describing innovation. The section on innovation describes how innovation has evolved and describes how network- centric, cyclical models of innovation are becoming more ubiquitous. The use of models such as triple-helix explicitly recognises the value of partnerships and the different stakeholders and their roles in facilitating and supporting innovation. But such models do not explicitly recognise the value of users and user-driven innovation. The paper explains the role of living labs as innovation facilitators involving users, describes the difficulties in the business community understanding the value of the living lab concept, and outlines how innovation models can utilise living labs and their users for economic benefit.