Experiences with implementing the Living Lab concept in rural Tanzania

Abstract

The Living Lab (LL) concept is a widely used tool, especially in developed countries. Living Labs are a good way to establishing an open collaborative innovation among different stakeholders in real-life settings. The aim of this paper is to share experiences with a capacity-building project financed by the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and jointly planned and implemented by four higher-education institutions. It involved Diakonia university of Applied Sciences (DIAK) and Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences from Finland and the University of Iringa and Sekomu University in Lushoto. During our joint planning meetings, we decided that the Tanzanian partners could adopt the LL concept in their daily practices. In order for the Living Labs to be established and to function in a sustainable manner, the project actors agreed that local university lecturers and staff should be trained in the Living Lab concept and methodologies from a pedagogical and practical point of view.