Call for Contributions
Transfer and transformative change in and through Living Labs: from practice to theory, and back again
Over the past two decades, Living Labs have become firmly established as paradigmatic research and innovation infrastructures for value-driven transformative change. As innovation and technology development increasingly shift towards transdisciplinary and participatory modes of knowledge production, Living Labs provide structured environments in which co-innovation, real-world experimentation, and user-centred evaluation can be systematically intertwined. They enable research to move beyond disciplinary and institutional boundaries, embedding scientific inquiry within societal contexts and everyday practices.
Living Labs are now widely recognised as critical infrastructures for addressing complex societal challenges, including sustainability transitions, health and well-being, climate adaptation, and digital inclusion. Rather than serving merely as sites of application, they function as spaces of mutual learning, where academic knowledge, policy expertise, professional practice, and experiential knowledge from citizens and communities are mobilised and recombined. In this sense, Living Labs are vehicles of innovation, technology transfer as well as catalysts for transformative change.
We specifically invite contributions addressing the following themes, while remaining open to other perspectives:
- Transforming innovation and (innovation) theory: How Living Labs generate academic and policy insights into goal-oriented transformative change;
- Mission-oriented and high-level engagement: Contributions exploring the role of Living Labs in EU Missions and national agendas, like the German High-tech Agenda;
- Transdisciplinary co-creation: Collaborative processes involving researchers, policymakers, business/industry, and civil society actors;
- Local laboratories for societal change: Urban and rural spaces as hubs of experimentation, resilience, and social renewal;
- Knowledge transfer and impact: Mechanisms and platforms for multilateral exchange that connect practice, research, and societal transformation.
Everyone working with or interested in Living Labs at all levels of expertise and experience is invited to engage in exchange at our international conference at RWTH Aachen University from 8 – 10 June 2026. Next to regular presentations, we greatly appreciate workshop proposals and alternative formats.
Submission requirements
Please submit your max. 300-word proposals (including title, authors, and references) for 20-minute individual presentations or 1.5-hour thematic sessions in alternative formats (e.g., workshops, walkshops, roundtables, serious games) by 20 March 2026 via e-mail (lli@humtec.rwth-aachen.de). Upon acceptance, we will ask for a short abstract (100 words) for inclusion in the programme.
You can find more detailed information here.