15. Living Labs

I just had a very interesting phone meeting about the design and implementation of a new Cooperative Research Centre (or CRC) on Low Carbon Living in Australia. A substantial amount of funds has been invested into this initiative with the aim "to provide government and industry with social, technological and policy tools to overcome identified market barriers preventing adoption of cost effective low carbon products and services, while maintaining industry competitiveness and improving quality of life". Sounds impressive, and the list of key partners is also a good mix of industry, government and academia. I was discussing the concept of living labs and experiences from Sweden and Europe. In short, living labs can be described as a concept or model for better collaboration, which integrates research and innovation processes in a private-public-people partnership. There is growing interest in living labs, how they work, how they start and develop, and what kinds of impacts can flow from them. The European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) provides a good overview of activities in Europe, which is now spreading out around the world, including Australia. I get the feeling there is great opportunities here for collaboration between Sweden/Europe and Australia!