Research Process

Last modified by Sarantis Dimitriadis on 2023/05/30 16:58

The table below presents the Living Lab research process phases and details about the services that Living Labs can offer in each phase. These phases are inspired by research in the Health and Wellbeing domain but can be extended to other domains as well.


Living Lab Research phases:

PhasesResearch process stepsRelated living lab services
Planning phase1. Identifying the research problem
  • Use living lab capacity building services to gain knowledge and skills to conduct your own living lab study.
  • Conduct small pre-study with a living lab. Use e.g., co-creation sessions or expert opinion services to gain better understanding of the research topic or to formulate robust research design.
  • Stakeholder (and partner) analysis and mapping with living lab to determine suitable sample.
  • Use open data repository and omit data collection entirely or partially.
2. Conduct literature review and collect other relevant background information
3. Formulate research questions and/or hypothesis
4. Define the research design and determine sample
Preparation phaseAcquire funding
  • Apply temporary living lab research funding if it is available e.g., via open call.
  • Utilize living lab grant writing and funding application support services or join to consortium who is applying funding.
  • Use living lab networking services to gain access with funders.
Research infrastructure selection
  • Get in contact with a living lab and familiarize yourself with their research infrastructure key assets and service offerings. Living lab research infrastructure covers single-sited, distributed, virtual access and mobility facilities, which each have different strengths.
  • Clarify your research needs in intake and matching process with potential living lab infrastructure providers. Wait for their offer.
  • Send equipment and/or facility rental request to a living lab.
Ethic approvalLiving lab will prepare and manage ethical application process for your study.
Participant recruitmentLiving lab will use their stakeholder population repository to recruit study participants for the study.
Implementation phase5. Data collectionLiving lab will conduct data collection according to research protocol and will manage the project for you. You will benefit from wide range available methods, tools, devices, technologies, validated questionnaires and instruments, which can be tailored to your research needs.
6. Analyze dataLiving lab will conduct data analysis if agreed in project contract. Translations or summary reports from local language to English are made if there isn’t common language between customer and collected data.
7. Interpret resultsDiscuss and interpret result in a co-creative manner with diverse group of experts from living lab innovation ecosystem.
8. Write research reportCo-author scientific and professional publications with living lab researchers.
Dissemination and valorisation9. Disseminate findingsUtilize living lab sales, marketing and networking services to disseminate and valorise your research results to various stakeholder groups. Gain visibility by sharing your publication in living lab publication repository.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101007990

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