Lab Approach in the Research, Development, and Innovation Process Fumiya Akasaka1 and Yui Murakamai1 1: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Japan
• “user-centered, open innovation ecosystems based on a systematic user co-creation approach, integrating research and innovation processes in real-life communities and settings” (ENoLL, 2025) • Quadruple Helix Model (QHM) • LL is based on the QHM, in which four types of stakeholders—citizens, industries, government, and academia—collaborate toward social innovation (Carayannis+, 2010). 1 (Steen & Bueren, 2017)
positioned as an approach for supporting RDI (R&D + Innovation) in companies and research institutions. • The four stakeholders in QHM play key roles in RDI (Akasaka+, 2023) • LL can contribute to RDI in four contexts (Abi Saad+, 2024) • Promoting the new technology development • Exploring business opportunities • Orchestrating innovation networks • Addressing social issues in local communities 2 Promoting innovation Bringing human- centric principle Conducting R&D activities Promoting innovation
can be viewed as services to support the innovation activities • LL service portfolio (Santonen+, 2024) • LL value propositions (Santonen+, 2023) • Research gap • The mechanisms of value creation have rarely been analyzed • For the broader use of LLs, we need to clarify “how” the values are created 3 This study aims to analyze how the LL approach contributes to the RDI process and present a holistic model that depicts value creation mechanisms to the clients LL services to the clients 1. Testing & validation [TD] 2. Community & network building [CN] 3. Project planning & management [PP] 4. Co-creation [CC] 5. Capacity building [CB] 6. Advisory services [AS] 7. Market & sales support [MS] 8. Infrastructure & data management [ID] LL values for the clients 1. Economic benefits [EB] 2. Improved innovation [II] 3. Validity & reliability [VR] 4. Benefits for the users & society [US] 5. Enhanced collaboration & networking possibilities [EC] 6. Safe environment for RDI [SE] 7. Increased skills & capabilities [SC]
value creation mechanism in LLs using the three components of “resources,” “services,” and “values” • Note that “services” in this study correspond to specific activities provided by LL organizers to support the RDI process, while “values” refer to useful outputs for LL clients that promote their RDI process 4
LL cases that strongly related to the RDI context Extracted the relationships between resources, services, and values from the four cases based on data obtained from interviews as well as available information (e.g., reports and websites) Categorized the extracted elements of the LL resources, services, and values Visualized the overall structure of the relationships between resources, services, and values based on the results from Step 3
we analyzed in this study 6 Case Description A An LL operated in a smart city. Its aim is to create solutions for solving social issues through co- creation between local actors, various companies, and research institutions. B An LL operated in a local residential area in Tokyo, organized by university researchers. The LL supports various projects based on a strong relationship with local citizen community. C An LL focusing on the evaluation of assistive technologies. It has a lab environment that mimics living spaces in a home to support the evaluation of assistive technology. D An LL operated as part of a large-scale national R&D project for social innovation. Researchers collaborate with companies and local governments to realize the social implementation of technologies.
data about the process and activities in each living lab. • Based on the data collected, we extracted “resources”, “related services”, and “created values” using the analysis format below 7 Collected data Collected data ・・・ Case A Case B
services and values • Based on the categories presented in previous studies • if elements that did not fit into the existing categories were identified, we added new categories • Categorization of LL resources • No previous studies have presented the categories • We grouped the extracted elements based on their similarity using the affinity diagram method 8 Category A Category B Category C … Category A Category B Category C … Category A Category B Category C … Based the categories proposed in past studies Using the affinity diagram
and values Resources Services Values (r-1) Physical environment (r-2) Professional human resources (r-3) Community & network (r-4) Tools (r-5) Budget (s-1) Testing & validation [TV] (s-2) Community & network building [CN] (s-3) Project planning & management [PP] (s-4) Co-creation [CC] (s-5) Capacity building [CB] (s-6) Advisory services [AS] (s-7) Market & sales support [MS] (s-8) Infrastructure & data management [ID] (s-9) Facility use [FU] (s-10) Support of external relation works [SE] (v-1) Economic benefits [EB] (v-2) Improved innovation [II] (v-3) Validity & reliability [VR] (v-4) Benefits for the users & society [US] (v-5) Enhanced collaboration & networking possibilities [EC] (v-6) Safe environment for RDI [SE] (v-7) Increased skills & capabilities [SC] (v-8) Changed mindset [CM] 9 Physical environment : Co-creation space, Lab environment, Social experiment environment Professional human resources : Facilitator, Manager, Domain expert Community and network : Citizen community, Network with local stakeholders, Network with external organizations Tools : Innovation management tool, Guideline Budget : Research budget • We clarified the overall structure of the categories of LL resources, services, and values • LL resources: 5 categories -> Newly identified in this study • LL services: 10 categories -> 8 are the same as existing categories and 2 are newly identified • LL values: 8 categories -> 7 are the same as existing categories and 1 is newly identified
the LL organizer has a resource “Co-creation space,” they can provide a service “Providing access to co-creation space.” • This creates values for the client companies and research institutes such as “Reduced costs of using spaces for co-design workshops” and “Use of a space that facilitates open and creative discussions, away from the usual work environment.” • The values correspond to the “Economic benefits [EB]” category of LL value. By seeing from the opposite direction, LL organizers can also understand what services and resources should be prepared when they want to provide a specific value.
provide various types of value. “Community and network” is related to many types of value. -> It is important for organizers to prepare these as basic resources of LLs Professional human resources create specific value in line with their expertise.
five categories of LL resources, ten categories of LL services, and eight categories of LL values. LL resource categories were newly identified; Some new categories were added to LL services and values. • Clarified the relationships among the resources, services, and values • Practical contribution • For clients: By referring the relationship model, companies and research institutions can better understand the means-end relationships between LL services and values, which is useful for planning how to use LLs into their RDI strategies • For LL organizers: The relationship model can provide a guidance in setting up and improving their LLs, as it highlights the resources that need to be prepared to create high added value to clients 14
analyzed Japanese cases to extract the three components of the value-creation mechanism in LL: “resources,” “services,” and “values.” • We identified five categories of LL resources, ten categories of LL services, and eight categories of LL values. We also clarified the relationships between the three components. • We found that the identified categories and relationship model can provide useful information for companies and research institutes considering how to use LL to promote their RDI processes. • Future works • We should analyze LL cases in other fields, as well as those in areas outside Japan (e.g., Europe and North America) • We need to harmonize and standardize the lists through collaboration with international research networks and organizations, such as ENoLL and other researchers. 15
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