Living Labs: Knowledge Infrastructures to Forge a New Social Contract of Science?

Abstract

Living Labs (LLs) are heralded as new and inclusive platforms for collective and transformative knowledge production and innovation management with actors from science, practice and society. This begs the question what kinds of social relations emerge between these actors especially as the leading institutions vary, in other words, whether LLs give rise to distinct knowledge infrastructures and new forms of social contracting (of science). A comparative analysis focusing on structural and power-related aspects of four LL case studies with different leading institutions (university, industry, city and civil society) show specific features of social ordering while performing social contracts with regard to the leading institution. The cases result, on the one hand, in rather closed off spaces in which science and innovation for and in society is enacted by technology-oriented industry and university LLs. These are embedded in and solve set problems for society. On the other hand, in less confined spaces science and innovation with and by society is conducted in city and civil society run LLs. Here, a more communal contracting towards defining and solving societal problems is established. A reflexive approach to structuring and governing LLs in practice and a more robust theoretical foundation would therefore be beneficial.