Scientific collaborations on Living Labs: some lessons learnt from South Africa and Tanzania

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the specific lessons that were learnt when Tanzanian and South African Living Labs (LL) collaborated to support one another. It was a scientific collaboration which focussed on Living Labs and co-creation with stakeholders, between Tanzania and South Africa and this provided new insights on innovative mechanisms and success elements that can be applied to make LL more self-sustainable in an African context. The research methodology which was applied was qualitative research and multiple case study as the strategy to exploratory how the SA LLs viewed success elements compared to the Tanzania LLs. Two workshops were used to collect data on success elements and innovative mechanisms and this resulted in data which was triangulated and analysed to provide results. The main challenges facing these LLs were funding and to become a legal entity especially in Tanzania in order to be able to apply for funding using European mechanisms or calls. The main success elements were that LLs should be relevant in their own contexts and should make use of external experts to support their vision, business plan developments and revenue streams. The most popular innovative mechanisms that were applied by LLs from both countries are reflection sessions, co-creation workshops and the creation of innovation spaces to support creativity and new innovative ideas.