Last month, Professor Paloma Valdivia Vizarreta, Serra Húnter fellow and lecturer in the Department of Educational Theory and Social Pedagogy at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), was invited to participate in a dynamic session at the Citilab in Cornellà, as part of the Senior Lab learning community. This session, led by facilitators Suren Vázquez and Laia Sánchez, is part of an initial phase of proposals for municipal change, with teams working on projects aimed at transforming their territory.
The activity was divided into two main parts:
Theoretical Session: Serra Húnter professor shared her experience during her Castillejo mobility grant stay in Norway, under the ULALABS project, where she analysed six key Living Lab cases. Each case was briefly presented to highlight its features and inspiring potential:
Pedersgata Living Lab: Focused on urban revitalisation and social inclusion, this project engaged citizens, urban planners, and local agents to preserve the cultural identity of a degraded area.
Vindmøllebakken Living Lab: An example of cohousing that promotes sustainability and reduces social isolation through collaboratively designed housing.
MyBox Smart Energy Living Lab: Concentrated on sustainable energy solutions, combining wind and solar technology in urban settings with strong academic and business participation.
Lyspären Innovasjonshus: A space for creativity and technological innovation, fostering the creation of start-ups through collaboration and digitalisation.
Innoasis by Nordic Edge: An urban innovation hub focused on tackling climate change and improving energy efficiency.
Didaktisk Digitalt Verksted: Dedicated to bridging the digital divide in higher education through emerging technologies like virtual reality and gamification.
These cases highlighted the importance of social capital and interdisciplinary collaboration as drivers of transformation.
Practical Session: The practical session involved Senior Lab participants grouping according to the challenges they had previously defined as a community. Based on this, they conducted an analysis of the social capital of their projects, including individual, group, community, and external levels, identifying the social capital they already possessed and what they needed to add to complete the quadruple helix of social innovation. This mapping allowed them to identify local stakeholders who should be invited to participate but with whom they had not yet established contact.
The framework used included four levels: individual social capital, Citilab’s social capital, project social capital, and external community social capital. Following this analysis, the "nine diamonds" technique was applied to discuss and prioritise the most relevant actions, organising them based on their feasibility and impact. This exercise helped participants concretise immediate planning actions and provided them with new tools to advance their proposals, considering a broader perspective integrated into the Cornellà community—a context they deeply understand due to their life and professional experience.
Key Learnings and Community Impact
The Senior Lab, as a learning community with years of experience, brings together individuals who contribute their skills in technology and other fields, offering a valuable perspective on the territory. Thanks to the activities carried out, participants gained:
An expanded view of Living Labs: Drawing from Norwegian examples, strategies were analysed for integrating agents and resources into local projects.
A deeper understanding of the importance of social capital: This concept was explored as a driver of cohesion and community transformation.
Effective action prioritisation: The nine diamonds technique facilitated the organisation of actions based on their feasibility and potential impact.
Conclusions and Future Directions
This exchange will help the Senior community better understand the importance of social capital and the role Living Labs can play within the quadruple helix of innovation. Additionally, the Norwegian project examples sparked great interest in understanding how other communities with similar challenges have successfully developed effective solutions. This expanded perspective opens up new possibilities for applying these methodologies and adapting them to the specific needs of the local territory. It also underscores the importance of ULALABS' goal to connect more laboratories, enabling mutual enrichment and learning from shared solutions and resources.
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