3. WHAT IS A LIVING LAB?
A living lab is a given place where problem-
based teaching, research and applied work
combine over time to develop actionable
solutions that make that place more
sustainable.
4. LIVING LAB INGREDIENTS
• Place-based
• Sustainability focused
• Real-world learning and applicability
• Assessment and continuous learning
• Collaborative action and learning
5. OVERARCHING GOAL
Provide students and faculty with an
abundance of opportunities and connections
for building high impact educational and
research projects that advance major
sustainability goals in the community.
6. WHY AREN’T WE THERE YET?
• Need to:
– Move from ad hoc to systematic
– Move wide spread impacts, to
targeted, coordinative and cumulative impact
– More efficient systems for brokering and
maintaining partnerships
– More avenues for community problem posing and
wide-spread engagement
7. THE LIVING LAB “PORTAL”
• Piloting an online space for:
– Community problem
posing/idea generation
– Crowd source fundraising
– Archiving projects, best
practices and resources
– Brokering connections
between community needs
and academic resources
8. WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE?
• Not exactly sure…
• Internal and external goal setting process
andextensive review of existing sites/software
needed
Plenty of examples out there, not fit the bill perfectly…
11. Smarter Cities
A PROJECT OF THE
NATURAL RESOURCES
DEFENSE COUNCIL
Learn about best
practices, initiatives,
share ideas and
solutions, and post
news, events and
opportunities
13. UC Santa Cruz
Sustainability Project
Clearinghouse
Web-based resource platform with online
searchable database to connect
students, faculty, and staff to campus
projects