Living Lab the Neighbourhood

MEDEA has three so called Living Labs within the framework of Malmö New Media. Living Labs are currently seen as the most important engine to power user-driven innovation. The idea is to set up labs where people from companies, organizations, public institutions and universities team up with citizens in order to experiment and create new products, services and new knowledge in real-life environments.

The work carried out within LIVING LAB THE NEIGHBOURHOOD is on the theme Collaborative Neighbourhood Practices. This lab deals with social innovation and collaborative services. It does so in two specific neighbourhoods of Malmö: Rosengård and Fosie. Social innovation and service innovation are areas of innovation that presently are gathering lots of attention, both within and outside of academia. However, the work here is not devoted generally to these areas. The work consists of co-productions where new media play important roles in relation to social innovation and service innovation. For a brief introduction to the fields we work in, read these Wikipedia articles on social innovation and service innovation.

Name: Living Lab the Neighbourhood (aka The Neighbourhood, aka Kvarterslabbet)
Lab manager: Per-Anders Hillgren.
Started on: July 1, 2009
Runs for: 3 years
Funded by: EC Structural Funds, Malmö University, et al.

The Neighbourhood aims at creating a co-production and innovation environment for collaborative services and social innovation anchored in a geographic environment that today seldom is associated with social and economic growth. The lab is searching for innovation resources and building up a network of stakeholders and potential innovators in Rosengård and Fosie, two of Malmö’s multi-cultural districts, and connecting them to business and university partners. Together it will set up a number of collaborative small-scale experiments to explore how new media practices and collaborative services can enhance everyday life experiences and yield sustainable development in these neighborhoods. Lab manager is Per-Anders Hillgren.

If you’re interested in taking part in our activities, please contact lab manager Per-Anders Hillgren. We strongly encourage students interested in social innovation and service innovation to contact us!

During 2010 several collaborative projects in the local Malmö areas of Rosengård and Fosie, involving a variety of stakeholders have been and will be set up. All projects will include initial problem framing workshops to define relevant areas of research and later preparing and conducting small-scale experiments to explore the future potential in the projects. Complete list of initiatives within Living Lab the Neighbourhood.

For lab specific questions, contact lab manager Per-Anders Hillgren. For general MEDEA related questions, contact MEDEA’s director Karin Johansson-Mex.