Mastering Participatory Living Labs

Effective Interaction with Participants, Illustrated by the Electromobility Project unIT-e²

Abstract

This paper presents the concept and implementation of participatory living labs in the context of the unIT-e² project, which aims to integrate electromobility into the energy system efficiently. The article focuses on two field trials involving private and corporate users of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. The paper describes the theoretical foundations of participatory aspects in living labs and proposes a participation pyramid model to structure the different levels and methods of participation. The paper also reports on the practical experiences and lessons from applying the participation pyramid model in the context unIT-e². The paper offers general recommendations for future participatory living labs in the energy and mobility transition context, such as developing an interaction strategy before participant acquisition, ensuring early onboarding and continuous information provision, balancing online and offline events, and gathering and listening to participant feedback. The paper concludes that professional, proactive, and regular interaction with the participants is crucial for the success of living labs and the knowledge gained for civil society and science.