The social lab as a method for experimental engagement in participatory research

Marschalek, Ilse; Blok, Vincent; Bernstein, Michael J.; Braun, Róbert; Cohen, Joshua; Hofer, Margit; Seebacher, Lisa M.; Unterfrauner, Elisabeth; Daimler, Stephanie; Nieminen, Mika; Christensen, Malene Vinther; Thapa, Raj Kumar

doi:10.1080/23299460.2022.2119003

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Following the innovation process, the ndings showed that inclusion in the innovation process is vital in producing optimal desirable solutions Inclusion facilitated technically and ethically sound solutions. The empirical evidence thus aligned with the theorizing on the importance of the inclusion concept (Goodman & Sanders Thompson, 2017;Stilgoe et al, 2013;von Hippel & von Krogh, 2015;von Schomberg, 2013) and with some recent empirical evidence (Marschalek et al, 2022;Timmermans et al, 2020). Thus, inclusion provided a platform for need-solution interaction via experiential learning to create user-friendly solutions that bear the potential to address societal challenges.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

“…Engaging stakeholders and users early provides rms with opportunities for experiential learning, familiarising their needs, concerns and expectations, collaboration and co-creation ( (Wickson et al, 2015) have emerged as practical approaches for stakeholder and public engagement in research and innovation activities. Nevertheless, the social labs (Hassan, 2014) approach is emerging as an experiential learning platform for need-solution interactions to nd optimal desirable solutions for grand societal challenges (Marschalek et al, 2022;Timmermans et al, 2020).…”

Section: When To Includementioning

confidence: 99%

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Governing digital innovations for responsible outcomes – the case of digital healthcare and welfare services

Thapa

Iakovleva

2023

Preprint

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Digital innovations integrated with Responsible innovation (RI) offer great potential to address complex societal challenges in the healthcare and welfare sector but depend on how well firms can manage the innovation process to ensure socially desirable solutions. However, there is a lack of empirical studies examining whether RI principles can be integrated into a firm’s innovation development process. This paper aims to fill this gap through longitudinal case studies of six digital start-ups in the healthcare and welfare sector from 2016 to 2019. We followed innovation development in these firms, observing the stakeholder inclusion, pivotal moments and the emergence of new solutions based on the need-solution interactions. We found that stakeholder inclusion is critical. Therefore, we suggest that managers and entrepreneurs consider including a diversity of stakeholders and users from the design phase throughout the innovation process.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Section: When To Includementioning

confidence: 99%

Governing digital innovations for responsible outcomes – the case of digital healthcare and welfare services

Thapa

Iakovleva

2023

Preprint

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“…In terms of their concrete design, Social Labs followed a standardized process which could be adapted according to specific needs of participants and contexts (Marschalek et al, 2022). They started with a diagnosis phase (Griessler et al, 2021) to get an in-depth insight on the status quo of RRI in the specific domain under scrutiny, a sub-set of the H2020 funding program (Akca Prill et al, 2018;Bernstein et al, 2018;Griessler et al, 2018;Novitzky et al, 2018).…”

Section: Operationalization Of the Social Lab Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As observed in Section 2, Social Labs are settings that enable participants to co-develop and test practical solutions in a real-life context and apply them on an experimental basis to the social realities that make up that context (Hassan, 2014; Marschalek et al , 2022). Such settings offer space for collective and contextual deliberation, and for the iteration and mutual learning that is required, we argued, for the uptake of RRI in research and innovation governance.…”

Section: Social Labs As Temporary Learning Organizationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social labs as temporary intermediary learning organizations to help implement complex normative policies. The case of Responsible Research and Innovation in European science governance

Braun

Loeber

Christensen

et al. 2022

TLO

Self Cite

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Purpose This study aims to discuss science governance in Europe and the network of associated nonprofit institutions. The authors posit that this network, which comprises both (partial) learning organizations and non-learning organizations, has been observed to postpone taking up “responsibility” as an issue in science governance and funding decisions. Design/methodology/approach This paper discusses the challenge of learning and policy implementation within the European science governance system. By exploring how learning on responsible innovation (RI) in this governance system can be provoked, it addresses the question how Senge’s insights in organizational learning can clarify discourses on and practices of RI and responsibility in research. This study explores the potential of a new organizational form, that of Social Labs, to support learning on Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) in standing governance organizations. Findings This study concludes that Social Labs are a suitable format for enacting the five disciplines as identified by Senge, and a Social Lab may turn into a learning organization, be it a temporary one. Responsibility in research and innovation is conducive for learning in the setting of a Social Lab, and Social Labs act as intermediary organizations, which not merely pass on information among actors but also actively give substantive shape to what they convey from a practice-informed, normative orientation. Research limitations/implications This empirical work on RRI-oriented Social Labs therefore suggests that Social Lab–oriented temporary, intermediary learning organizations present a promising form for implementing complex normative policies in a networked, nonhierarchical governance setting. Practical implications Based on this research funding and governance organizations in research, policy-makers in other domains may take up and create such intermediary organizations to aid learning in (science) governance. Social implications This research suggests that RRI-oriented Social Labs present a promising form for implementing complex normative policies, thus integrate learning on and by responsible practices in various governance settings. Originality/value European science governance is characterized by a network of partial Learning Organization (LOs) and Non-Learning Organization (nLOs) who postpone decision-making on topics around “responsibility” and “solving societal challenges” or delegate authority to reviewers and individual actors, filtering possibilities for collaborative transformation toward RRI. social lab (SLs) are spaces that can address social problems or social challenges in an open, action-oriented and creative manner. As such, they may function as temporary, intermediary LOs bringing together diverse actors from a specific context to work on and learn about issues of science and society where standing organizations avoid doing so. Taken together, SLs may offer temporary organizational structures and spaces to move beyond top-down exercise of power or lack of real change to more open, deliberative and creative forms of sociopolitical coordination between multiple actors cutting across realms of state, practitioners of research and innovation and civil society. By taking the role of temporary LOs, they may support existing research and innovation organizations and research governance to become more flexible and adaptive.

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“…Fourth, it is also important to consider how to maintain the motivation of participants to participate in this initiative (Marschalek et al, 2022). In the short term, it is effective to provide opportunities to learn something interesting.…”

Section: Development Process Of the Social Labmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Lab: Toward Value-Driven R&D&I in Collaboration with Citizens

Watanabe,

Akasaka,

Mitake

et al. 2023

Linköping Electronic Conference Proceedings

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Digitalization is an important driver of valuable service offerings in most industrial sectors. With the increasing use of digital technologies, the negative consequences of digitalization have also attracted attention. To address this issue, R&D organizations need to ensure that their R&D&I process and its results are in alignment with desirable services that create value and mitigate citizens’ social concerns. This requires a close partnership with citizens. However, attempts to take the values of citizens as a driver of technology R&D&I remain limited and tend to be temporary. Therefore, we introduce the concept of the “social lab” as an R&D&I scheme emphasizing service and value as core elements to foster the R&D&I of digital technology in a socially acceptable manner. We introduce our development of a social lab and discuss the required processes and challenges, especially for developing citizen partnership.

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The social lab as a method for experimental engagement in participatory research

Cited by 9 publications

References 31 publications

Governing digital innovations for responsible outcomes – the case of digital healthcare and welfare services

Governing digital innovations for responsible outcomes – the case of digital healthcare and welfare services

Social labs as temporary intermediary learning organizations to help implement complex normative policies. The case of Responsible Research and Innovation in European science governance

Social Lab: Toward Value-Driven R&D&I in Collaboration with Citizens

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