Context tailoring workshop on Research Strategy and Methodology of Public Engagement
How does Living Labs as research strategy and methodology help in engaging stakeholders when solving major societal challenges of our time
We have a pleasure to invite you to the workshop on Research Strategy and Methodology of Public Engagement, April 9, 2015 at Aalto University School of Business premises in Chydenia House, Runeberg Street 22-24, in Helsinki. The workshop is organized by the Center for Knowledge and Innovation Research (CKIR) at Aalto University and the researchers from HEGOM Research Group and the Consumer Society Research Centre at the University of Helsinki. The researchers of the University of Helsinki are currently working on the EU-funded project Public Engagement Innovations for Horizon 2020 (www.pe2020.eu/). The project initiated this collaborative context tailoring workshop. The aim of the context tailoring workshop is to contextualize and define Living Lab as a public engagement tool.
We joined our forces in order to discuss the research challenges that benefit of wide public engagement in RDI (research, development and innovation) and of Living Labs as a research strategy and methodology. The challenges that may need wide experimentation for the future solutions relate among others to (i) aging societies and (ii) the need to renew welfare services for the wellbeing of people, (iii) climate action and (iv) the need to develop environmentally, culturally and socially sustainable industrial, urban, infrastructural and other activities, (v) structural renewal of our economic and social activities, including (vi) the structural renewal of public services. Even the RDI around (vii) energy systems, including renewable energy, and (viii) urban and rural infrastructures such as intelligent traffic may benefit of wide-scale experimentation that involves citizens and public agencies. The challenges that may benefit of wide RDI participation may also relate to (ix) security, poverty and immigration. The EU research and innovation program Horizon 2020 emphasizes – besides creating new jobs and growth – the need to conduct RDI in a way that promotes smart and inclusive development in Europe that strengthens open, human-centric and participative democracy in Europe.
Our workshop discusses issues around public engagement in RDI. Public engagement refers to activities where there is a distinct role for the citizens or stakeholder groups in research and innovation processes. We discuss among others Living Labs as research strategy and methodology that helps to engage citizens, developer communities, public agencies, academia and firms in RDI collaboration for better societies and economies. The goal of the workshop is to create a shared understanding about the foundational organizational, methodological, and infrastructure challenges of public engagement through Living Labs.
We argue that it is the academia that should take a stronger role in the development of research strategies and methodologies that are collaborative, engaging, participative, dialogical, communicative, large-scale, and transformative. We may benefit even of participative design methodologies and methodologies of rapid prototyping and scaling up. We may learn of development of large-scale (even big data-based) transformative research methodologies of experimentation. The workshop discusses these assumptions from the viewpoints of: (i) What does public engagement mean – through Living Labs approach – as a research (RDI) strategy? (ii) How do we design, manage and organize for this type of research? The challenge is to organize for collaborative ecosystem or network-based RDI leadership. (iii) How should we design the RDI pilots for experimentation, are there ‘generic pilot templates’ to start with? (iv) Should we further develop multidisciplinary research methodologies including a set of large-scale participative experimentation? Are there enough methodological experiences in humanities and social sciences to tackle this challenge? (v) Should we learn more of multidisciplinary research that takes advantage of experimentation and learns to combine humanities and social sciences with natural sciences and the development of technology?
The workshop discusses lessons learned from Living Labs pilots.
The workshop language is English.
Registration before April 3, 2015 at: public-engagement-workshop-biz@aalto.fi
Program of April 9, 2015
8:30 Registration and coffee
9:00 Welcome, Dr. Petra Turkama, Director of Center for Knowledge and Innovation Research (CKIR), Aalto University
Opening Session
Chair Dr. Seija Kulkki, Founding Director of Center for Knowledge and Innovation Research (CKIR), Aalto University School of Business
9:10 - 9:30 Goals of the workshop, Prof. Emeritus Markku Mattila, Prof. Timo Aarrevaara, University of Helsinki and Adjunct Prof. Mikko Rask, Consumer Society Research Center at University of Helsinki
9:30 - 10:30 Regions and Cities Solving Societal Challenges; Markku Markkula, President of the EU Committee of the Regions
10:30 - 11:00 Role of Public Engagement and Living Labs in European Innovation Systems Governance; Bror Salmelin, Adviser to Innovation Systems, Directorate General for Communications, Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT), European Commission
11:00 - 12:30 Pilot Panel 1
Chair, Markku Kulmala, Academy Professor, Global Change Initiative (tbc)
- Global Change Living Labs Initiative, Secretary General for Future Earth Finland, Tanja Suni and Science Secretary for Future Earth Finland, Iina Koskinen
- JPI More Years Better Lives through a Societal Interaction Plan, senior planning officer, Mira Koivusilta and Prof. Richard Pieper, National Institute for Health and Welfare in Finland (THL)
- BONUS Empowering Young Scientists Initiative, Communications Manager at BONUS, Maija Sirola and Executive Director at BONUS, Kaisa Kononen (tbc)
12:30 - 13:30 Lunch
13:30 - 14:30 Reflection panel
13:30 - 13:45 An Industry Perspective on Societal Challenges and the Development of Technology, a Reflection on Lessons from Living Labs, Prof. Erkki Ormala, Aalto University School of Business
13:30 - 14:00 Social Innovation and Reflective Learning through Living Labs, Prof. Tony Ghaye, FRSA, BPS, Director, Reflective Learning - International (RL-INT LTD)
14:00 - 14:15 Science and Governance for Solving Complex Societal Challenges PhD Timo Hämäläinen, Senior Fellow, the Finnish Innovation Fund (Sitra)
14:30 - 15:30 Pilot Panel 2
Chair, Dr. Petra Turkama, Director of the Center for Knowledge and Innovation Research (CKIR) at Aalto University
- How to engage people through Living Labs approach: RDI Designs for the Living Labs pilots: Lessons learned from Helsinki Pilots – CEO Jarmo Eskelinen, Forum Virium, Helsinki
- Crowds Renewing Value Creation, Pia Erkinheimo, Head of Crowds and Communities, Digile Ltd
- Light Energy – Empowering youngsters for sustainable living: Lessons learned from University- and campus-based pilots, Aalto University (tbc)
- Engaging public in RDI for Health Care, Vice Rector, Tuija Hirvikoski, Laurea University for Applied Sciences (tbc)
16:00 - 17:30 Panel for Summary and Conclusions
Chair, Markku Mattila, Prof. Emeritus, University of Helsinki
16:00 - 16:15 Role of Academia in the Development of Research Strategies and Methodologies of Public Engagement, Rector, Prof. Anneli Pauli, Lappeenranta University of Technology (tbc)
16:15 - 16:30 Challenges of Public Engagement in Solving Societal Challenges, Edward Andersson, European Associate for Involve UK (tbc)
16:45 - 17:00 Society-wide Programs for Public Engagement? Markku Kulmala, Academy Professor, University of Helsinki (tbc)
17:00 - 17:15 How to organize for Living labs Pilots? Foundational Methodological, Research Infrastructure and Organizational Challenges of Public Engagement through Living Labs? Prof. Seija Kulkki
17:30 Closing
The program is subject to changes.