Living Labs are environments, a methodology or an approach which caters for user-driven open innovation within real-life rural and urban settings/communities, where users can collaborate with multiple committed stakeholders (whether NGOs, SMMEs, industrial, academic/research, government institutions or donors) in one or more locations, to become co-creators or codesigners of innovative ideas, processes or products within multidisciplinary environments.

1. Meraka Institute
Living Lab network in Southern Africa (LLiSA)
SAFIPA conference
20 October 2011
Marlien Herselman
Chairperson: LLiSA

2. Presentation Outline
• The concept
• Defining LL in African context
• The Purpose of LLiSA and LL in LLiSA
• Value proposition of LLiSA
• What makes LLiSA a success
• SAFIPA supporting LLiSA
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4. Defining LL in Africa context
• Living Labs are environments, a methodology or an
approach which caters for user-driven open innovation
within real-life rural and urban settings/communities, where
users can collaborate with multiple committed
stakeholders (whether NGOs, SMMEs, industrial,
academic/research, government institutions or donors) in
one or more locations, to become co-creators or co-
designers of innovative ideas, processes or products
within multidisciplinary environments.
• Successful deployments can result in improved processes
or service delivery, new business models, products or
services, and can be replicated (with necessary socio-
cultural adaption) to improve overall quality of life and
wider socio-economic impact (including entrepreneurship)
in participating and other communities”.
• Leveraging Living Labs methodologies and Living Labs
Networks in Africa provide an important opportunity to
collaborate, co-create, prototype and test new products
and services, technologies, processes, business models or
ideas customised for developing markets
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5. Purpose of LLiSA
• Create capacity for understanding,
establishing and developing LL activities in
Southern Africa
• Support Living Labs in Southern Africa
• Facilitate local and international collaboration
and linkages
• Links developers, research organizations,
industry and government together for
advancing regional LL activities
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6. 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
1 Meraka visit to Meraka researchers 1st living lab LLiSA official Provincial road 2nd Annual
Europe invited by Telematica practitioners launch shows Conference focus
Instituut workshop held in along with on
RSA SAFIPA sustainability
(Ingrid Mulder, Daan and funding
Velthausz)
2. Telematica Instituut Establishment of Living Lab research Establishment of Living Labs MoA between
visit to South Africa Living Labs Research agenda (draft) the evaluation ENOLL and
Group at CSIR, Board of LLiSA (conducted by LLiSA
Meraka Institute Deon)
3. Living Lab research 1st annual Living Labs Web 2.0 for
plan (short, medium conference Business Plan LLiSA
& long term goals) llisa.net
4. C@R meeting, 1st international COFISA closing Living Labs @
Prague online journal conference IST Africa
Article published Conference 10
May
5. Living Labs tour in LLiSA branding Incubation of new
Finland (funded by completed LL & toolkit,
COFISA) comm
strategy
6. Sekhukhune LL Siyakhula LL LLiA task force &
accepted as ENOLL Accepted as white paper;
member ENOLL member Paper on LL &
design
research to
journal
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7. Living Labs in LLiSA
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8. Data of LL in LLiSA
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9. Value proposition of LLiSA
• Context we can provide – specific rural communities – poverty reduction – skills development
– from a SA rural perspective
• Network with NGOs, local municipalities, government, HEI, industries, SMMEs, community
representatives
• Lessons on scalability, impact & evaluation
• Guidelines on setting up and maintaining LL – lessons, experience gained (toolkit)
• Allow communities access to new innovation creation (co-creation) as they are drivers of the
process
• Trust relationships, diversity of network, community owned
• Quality feedback on community engagement with new ideas, inventions and innovations
• Access to depth of network and wide range of customer base
• Support to SMMEs on valuable lessons learnt and best practices
• Can provide links between different projects within LL
• Credible network with lot of members and access to communities to test products and do
research collaboratively
• Technological products & success: JAMiiX, baseline studies, feasibility needs assessment
framework
• Grew together: sponsored workshops, outsource case studies to NWLL, Communication
strategy and webpage (RLabs), workshop hosting (Rlabs & Siyakhula)
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10. What makes LLiSA a success?
• Hosting entity – independent (Meraka)
• LLiSA board – insight & transparency with portfolios, broad representation
• Using specific community focus with DI and CI as key area for comparing and
collaboration in Africa & international
• Use our small entity as a strength to get work done & leverage LL expertise
• Have regular face-to-face interactions and workshops with specific focus/
theme
• Focus on successes of existing LL – best practices/replication and why LL fail
– also product testing between LL
• Research LL from all angles
• Share networks, knowledge & skills transfer & ideas, replication of models
• Databases of users, industry involvement, stakeholder maps and unique
focus of LL
• Write collaborative & scientific papers
• Market LL to each other and to potential funders/partners
• Uniqueness of each LL focus = contributions not only on ICT
• Established and new LL – part of network
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11. SAFIPA support to LLiSA
• Strengthen and market concept as solution to innovation in
SA
• Collaborating with experts in ENoLL and Finnland
• Workshops on specific themes and to bring all stakeholders
together
• LL to co-create and collaborate across SA
• White Paper on growing LL into Africa
• Visit ENoLL on logistical issues (share best practices) -
MoU
• Develop toolkit to set-up and grow LLs
• Develop social media type webpapge
• Provide leadership on LL activities
• Support new and established LL
• Evaluation of LLs
• Scientific papers
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13. Thank You
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