D6.1 Design Living Labs and implementation guide LISER - phase 1

At the same time, it provides conceptual clarity and analytical grounding, ensuring that activities undertaken in the Living Labs are rigorous, replicable, and aligned with the project’s scientific ambitions. The guide is structured to offer both a strategic vision and a practical roadmap. It introduces the principles underpinning the D2ET Living Labs: experimentation, inclusivity, justice, and territorial sensitivity before detailing a four-phase process for implementation: (i) context framing and stakeholder mobilisation; (ii) exploration and co-design of solutions; (iii) experimentation and prototyping; and (iv) evaluation, consolidation, and feedback into policy and practice.

Each phase outlines objectives, methods, facilitation tips, and expected outputs. Beyond methodology, the guide recognises that successful Living Labs depend on sustained stakeholder engagement. It therefore dedicates a section to strategies for inclusive participation, managing resistance, and fostering co-ownership.

Attention is also given to ethics, legitimacy, and the institutional embedding required to ensure long-term impact. Developed in close collaboration with WP10, this guide aligns with Deliverable 10.1, which provides early insights from stakeholder engagement to inform the design of a multistakeholder, data-driven decision-support system through the D2ET Decision Supportplatform. Whereas Deliverable 10.1 synthesises the initial knowledge gathered from preworkshops, interviews, and surveys, Deliverable 6.1 focuses on translating these findings into an operational Living Lab framework that supports participatory experimentation and co-creation.

Together, they ensure that the development of the D2ET platform is grounded in empirical evidence, stakeholder experience, and a coherent participatory methodology. This guide has been designed as a living document. This implies that it is subject to changes and evolution depending on the evolution of the living labs’ sessions and affinities developed within the D2ET project’s timeframe.