Smart Innovations. Living labs as facilitators for citizen participation?
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2018-08-23
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en
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Across the globe cities and municipalities try to become ‘smart’ by integrating new information and communication technologies into their practices with the goal to increase energy efficiency, livability and social, economic and ecological sustainability. However, our technological era also bears new challenges as ICTs infiltrate all domains of social co-existence and pose potential risks with regard to data safety, transparency or unforeseeable long-term effects. A number of scholars warn about a technocratic development where the decision-making power is shifted towards ICT businesses and where the privacy and the needs of citizens are at stake. A new way of collaboration and holistic thinking is hence
necessary which allows for public involvement and participatory decision-making.
The rising phenomena of living laboratories might represent such a new form of wide-ranging cooperation which involve citizens in the innovation and co-creation of technological products and services. Being described as ‘multi-actor’ environments and ‘open innovation infrastructures’, living labs allow for a variety of collaboration techniques. However, the question whether the design of living labs can facilitate participatory processes has not yet been answered by the literature. This thesis therefore set out to explore possible links between living laboratories and citizen participation.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen