The New Living Lab Model

A Cross-Disciplinary, Multi-Stakeholder Research, Education, & Innovation Platform

At leading institutions, new research methodologies and innovation/commercialization pathways are being explored that directly involve the user and other stakeholder organizations into the research and innovation process.  These so called “Living Labs” are settings that traditionally focused on research and the creation new fundamental knowledge.  Our extended vision of Living Labs takes this concept to the next level focusing on creating collaborative, multi-disciplinary empirical real-world environments,  in addition to incorporating translational research activities where innovative products and services can be conceptualized and validated then ultimately  “spun out” into new venture initiatives.

This extended concept of the Living Lab leverages the University’s role in the ecosystem and its unique power to convene to serve two objectives:

  1. By bringing researchers, students, solution and service providers, users/consumers/citizens into the system of research and innovation, it deepens our understanding of these complex systems and thereby substantially increasing the potential for both ground breaking innovation and successful adoption.
  2. Students and experiential learning opportunities are central to the concept of Living Labs. Through course work, field study and practicum, students are an integral part of the research, translational research and venture development process.

Boston University is recognized for its open and collaborative culture and is one of only a handful of research universities in the world that can implement a program of this scale and scope. The pursuit and successful implementation of such a program would contribute toward positioning BU as the premier institution for scholarly research in related fields and while also providing an educational experience for students that would be unmatched in the world.

Living Labs at BU serve several purposes:

  • A platform for multidisciplinary research, innovation and commercialization
  • A unique environment of experiential learning for BU students at large
  • A unique value proposition for working with industry and institutional partners
  • A means for re-engaging with the community

Living labs at BU will focus on a number of areas or themes, examples include: