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Impact of living labs on innovation ecosystems : water management in Flanders

(2026) SUSTAINABILITY. 18(2).
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Abstract
Since the early 2000s, Living Labs have evolved as a predominantly European innovation approach focusing on information and communication technology (ICT) innovation to a worldwide phenomenon spanning multiple topics and sectors, with various innovation goals. However, there remain questions regarding their impact and effectiveness at tackling so-called ‘wicked problems’. As recent research has suggested, Living Labs have the potential of fostering and orchestrating stakeholders and activities in local innovation ecosystems; this paper investigates how this works in practice and what the outcomes and impact of a Living Lab approach are in the case of a newly emerging innovation ecosystem. This is performed via an in-depth case study of the Internet of Water project in Flanders and the subsequent outcomes and impacts on the water ecosystem in the region. The study shows that adopting a Living Lab approach functioned as the starting point and catalyst for an innovation ecosystem as opposed to the mostly scattered and siloed stakeholder landscape before the project. Although far from all ambitions were met during the project, the real-life experimentation and intense co-creation of the Living Lab approach fostered the discovery of shared goals and ambitions. This led to an intensified collaboration, not only among the consortium partners, but throughout the whole ecosystem, resulting in multiple follow-up collaborations and initiatives in an emerging innovation ecosystem on water management.
Keywords
Living Labs, innovation management, Internet of Things, open innovation, collaborative innovation

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MLA
Schuurman, Dimitri, et al. “Impact of Living Labs on Innovation Ecosystems : Water Management in Flanders.” SUSTAINABILITY, vol. 18, no. 2, 2026, doi:10.3390/su18021094.
APA
Schuurman, D., Willems, O., & Robaeyst, B. (2026). Impact of living labs on innovation ecosystems : water management in Flanders. SUSTAINABILITY, 18(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/su18021094
Chicago author-date
Schuurman, Dimitri, Olivia Willems, and Ben Robaeyst. 2026. “Impact of Living Labs on Innovation Ecosystems : Water Management in Flanders.” SUSTAINABILITY 18 (2). https://doi.org/10.3390/su18021094.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Schuurman, Dimitri, Olivia Willems, and Ben Robaeyst. 2026. “Impact of Living Labs on Innovation Ecosystems : Water Management in Flanders.” SUSTAINABILITY 18 (2). doi:10.3390/su18021094.
Vancouver
1.
Schuurman D, Willems O, Robaeyst B. Impact of living labs on innovation ecosystems : water management in Flanders. SUSTAINABILITY. 2026;18(2).
IEEE
[1]
D. Schuurman, O. Willems, and B. Robaeyst, “Impact of living labs on innovation ecosystems : water management in Flanders,” SUSTAINABILITY, vol. 18, no. 2, 2026.
@article{01KFJDPVY42613CTSZFJRWVAFT,
  abstract     = {{Since the early 2000s, Living Labs have evolved as a predominantly European innovation approach focusing on information and communication technology (ICT) innovation to a worldwide phenomenon spanning multiple topics and sectors, with various innovation goals. However, there remain questions regarding their impact and effectiveness at tackling so-called ‘wicked problems’. As recent research has suggested, Living Labs have the potential of fostering and orchestrating stakeholders and activities in local innovation ecosystems; this paper investigates how this works in practice and what the outcomes and impact of a Living Lab approach are in the case of a newly emerging innovation ecosystem. This is performed via an in-depth case study of the Internet of Water project in Flanders and the subsequent outcomes and impacts on the water ecosystem in the region. The study shows that adopting a Living Lab approach functioned as the starting point and catalyst for an innovation ecosystem as opposed to the mostly scattered and siloed stakeholder landscape before the project. Although far from all ambitions were met during the project, the real-life experimentation and intense co-creation of the Living Lab approach fostered the discovery of shared goals and ambitions. This led to an intensified collaboration, not only among the consortium partners, but throughout the whole ecosystem, resulting in multiple follow-up collaborations and initiatives in an emerging innovation ecosystem on water management.}},
  articleno    = {{1094}},
  author       = {{Schuurman, Dimitri and Willems, Olivia and Robaeyst, Ben}},
  issn         = {{2071-1050}},
  journal      = {{SUSTAINABILITY}},
  keywords     = {{Living Labs,innovation management,Internet of Things,open innovation,collaborative innovation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{17}},
  title        = {{Impact of living labs on innovation ecosystems : water management in Flanders}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.3390/su18021094}},
  volume       = {{18}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}

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