Practical guidance for Water-Oriented Living Labs

Third publication in the Living Labs series released

As part of the strategic support offered by the PNO team through its Innovation and Intelligence reports, we’re proud to share the release of the third publication in Water Europe’s Water-Oriented Living Labs (WOLLs) series.

The three publications aim at providing insights on these innovation ecosystems, namely:

• ATLAS of the EU Water-Oriented Living Labs
• Water-Oriented Living Labs: definitions, practices and assessment methods
• How to assess and evolve Water-Oriented Living Labs

A manual for evolving water-smart innovations

The latest document, “How to Assess and Evolve Water-Oriented Living Labs,” presents provisional guidelines for identifying and improving WOLLs. Its goal is to support stakeholders who want to embed water-smart innovations into society through Living Lab approaches.

This publication follows the earlier Notebook #1, “Definitions, Practices and Assessment Methods,” which outlined the concept and history of Living Labs and introduced a tailored version of the Harmonization Cube as a practical tool for assessment.

Toward a more advanced assessment framework

The new publication builds on that foundation and proposes next steps for adapting and evolving the Harmonization Method specifically for the water sector. Although a fully detailed tool is not yet available, the paper lays the groundwork for co-developing it in collaboration with sector stakeholders and practitioners.

This effort paves the way for creating more advanced guidance and tools to assess and grow a future network of Water Europe Living Labs (WELLs)—a key component in realizing the Water-Smart Society.

What comes next: The BlueBook

The next step in this process will be the upcoming Notebook #3, titled “How to Develop a WELL. Advanced Guideline for a Water-Smart Living Lab Approach”—also known as The BlueBook. It will focus on promoting and shaping the development of dedicated Water Europe Living Labs aligned with the organization’s long-term vision.

Interested in learning more about this series or our work on innovation ecosystems?

Stay tuned for updates or get in touch to explore our work in Innovation & Intelligence.