A harmonization of the living lab concepts and the necessary steps for setting up and running living labs via a validated framework as mentioned by Kalinauskaite & all (2021)1 is an evident need to providing organizations with clear guidelines to become a (harmonized) living lab. Doing so, increases the sustainability of these organizations.  

Often organizations are so-called living labs, while they are not. And the other way around, sometimes they are living labs while they don't call themselves that way. Towards this end, VITALISE aims to create a guideline framework, supporting living labs in harmonizing the living lab concepts and help living labs in their growing pathways towards sustainability and harmonization. This document presents the work performed in the creation of a guideline framework for living labs.  

First it reports on the scoping of the guideline framework (2.1) and provides information about the executed desktop research around living lab guidelines and harmonization (2.2). After presenting the applied methodology of the desktop research (2.2.1) it describes the main outcomes of this desktop research (2.2.2), focusing on the crucial elements and definitions to be included into the guideline framework.  

Next to this, the document sheds light on the work done around the establishment of an evaluation framework (2.3) to support this guideline framework by clarifying the purpose of the evaluation framework (2.3.2), the methodology applied (2.3.3) and the outcomes up to this moment (2.3.4).  

This last section provides insights into the performed literature review on the evaluation of living labs (2.3.4.1), together with the applied desktop research on evaluation frameworks within ENoLL projects (2.3.4.2) and external assessment frameworks (2.3.4.3). Furthermore, it describes the results of this literature review and desktop research, including an overview of the updated evaluation framework and its criteria descriptions (2.3.4.5), together with a defined KPI table for evaluating living labs in general (2.3.4.6).

Based on these inputs the overall guideline framework existing out of three chronological phases: onboarding, running and harmonization, is presented within section 2.4. Following this, the document provides more elaborative insights in each of the ten steps of the first version of the guideline framework within section 3 (Step by step).  

This first version of the guideline framework is offering the structure for the further development of it in the upcoming 12 months. The next steps which are planned for are sketched in section 4 of this document. Finally, the authors present their conclusions in section 5. 

The design of this guideline framework is done in a utilization focused approach, involving key internal (Vitalise pilot group and harmonization board) and external (ENoLL labelling task force and group of academic living lab experts) stakeholders in the whole process. Following this approach is safeguarding that the outcomes of this first version and the final version of the guideline framework (D4.6 "Living Lab guidelines (final version)) are relevant to and adopted by the living lab community.