ABOUT

We are confronted today to complex challenges related to energy and environment. This is not the first time in history that such questions arise linked to transition toward a more sustainable society. Today, scenarios of what will happen to the next generation if a collective effort is
not made during the next decade are frightening.

Generating a global movement toward a more sustainable society needs different elements:
– Analysis of the actual situation (already made by groups of researchers such as IPCC)
– Identification of best practices, proven successful in a specific contexts
– Identification of what does not work and what to stop investing in
– Development of new products, services, programs, methods
– Coordination, scalability and replicability of such practices
– Measurement of impact of the practices put in place and feedback loops

In such a complex system and with ambitious objectives, Research & Innovation must be interdisciplinary, international and involve multiple stakeholders. Most of the research communities are formed around one discipline of research, with some exceptions. Research is
often separated from Innovation, different paths of the innovation funnel, composed of different entities. Innovation is often rooted in a regional contexts such as clusters and international coordination of activities is complex to put in place, without standardisation.

ENoLL has an incredible chance:
– An international network composed of Living Labs around the world
– An office in Brussel supporting the coordination of the activities
– A strong interdisciplinary community motivated by societal innovation
– The ability and will to conduct applied/transformational research, to act for the society
– By essence, an interaction between multiple stakeholders (quadruple helix)
– Open and users-centred innovation methods tested in real-life contexts

At the moment, the community exists, actors are organising workshops at annual event, gathering activities but coordination activities and supporting tools are missing:
– A platform to dialogue between the annual events and continue to exchange about the
best practices in the regions/cities
– A roadmap for Research and Innovation on Living Labs toward sustainability
– A group of researchers wanting to collaborate on international research proposals
with a coordination to achieve milestones of the research roadmap
– A knowledge transfer mechanism to disseminate the best practices, to accelerate the
transition, to support the new comers in the network
– A dedicated communication channel
– A budget to coordinate the below mentioned activities and to put the tools in place
This taskforce will be composed of the following participants:
– Already existing (Living) Labs working in the field of energy and/or environment
– New (Living) Labs not already labelled by ENoLL wanting to develop Living Lab
activities in the field of energy and environment
– Supporting bodies such as European commission institutions and groups, international
networks, national networks, funding agencies…
– Other actors and likeminded groups.