Applied Design Research in Living Labs and other Experimental Learning and Innovation Environments

During the Dutch Design Week, the Symposium Applied Design Research in Living Labs and other Experimental Learning and Innovation Environments was held in the Skybar of Microlab. Playfully, seven topics or dilemmas of Applied Design Research in experimental environments were discussed:

1. Open or Closed? How do we balance the need for focus, planning, and certainty with the necessity for flexibility, freedom, and dynamic partner engagement? How can we navigate these opposing needs?

2. Safe-zone or Real-life? Are experimental environments more effective as temporary, bounded safe zones for shaping ideas, or do they need to directly effect real-world change? How can we transition between these modes?

3. Physical or Virtual Places? Should experimental environments have a physical location and persist over time, or can they be virtual or hybrid spaces—mental or digital—where experiments take place?

4. Small or Big? Is a larger scale always better for an experimental environment, or are smaller, more intimate settings preferable? How do we determine the ideal size, duration, and group composition?

5. Transformation or Generically Applicable? Should responses to societal challenges be adopted in the form they are created, aiming for transformational adoption, or should they remain generically applicable?

6. Fixed or Fluid Roles? How do participants manage different roles, interests, knowledge, and power within experimental environments? What dilemmas arise between design and research? How do we balance responsible roles, individuals, and collectives in designing, researching, and experimenting?

7. Discipline or Indiscipline? How do designers and other intellectual traditions interact within living labs? Is design the leading force or a catalyst? What other skills are necessary? Is a living lab a method, a methodology, or just a starting point?

Publication

The discussions provided new insights for the authors to fine-tune their chapters for the Publication about this topic. The final texts are currently with Taylor and Francis for publication. The Open Access publication is expected to be available worldwide in October 2024.