NATURANCE Innovation Lab Guidebook

Innovation labs (IL) are safe spaces that that offer a collaborative environment where different agents are joined together for the purpose of innovating and generating new solutions (Arrighi et al. 2016). The NATURANCE ILs bring together many different types of actors and knowledge, fostering experimentation and experiential social learning (Koelle et al. 2019). The format gives participants the freedom to challenge dominant or business-as-usual approaches, and to innovate new pathways for societal transformation.

Key to their success is how the labs are facilitated and how different voices can be heard (Koelle et al. 2019, Reed & Abernethy 2018). In line with commonly agreed practices for ILs the management structure of the NATURANCE hubs follow the principles of good governance, reflecting the diversity in the composition of the partners and ensuring an open and high-quality decision- making process. This document provides guidance on how to plan and run a NATURANCE IL and how to report its outcomes.

The structure of this document follows the three stages of an IL:

• pre-lab phase – preparation (Sections 2 & 3)
• innovation lab phase (Sections 4 & 5)
• post-lab phase – reporting and dissemination (Section 6)

The IL approach is based on the design thinking process, which has its roots in product development, but is increasingly used in the public sector e.g. to innovate policymaking (Mintrom & Luetjens 2016). Design thinking starts with the observation of the status quo followed by the exploration of the challenge. 

During the actual IL, the problem is defined, potential solutions are canvased and discussed with the group. The definition and exploration of the problem in combination with potential solutions or innovations are used to develop a prototype business case, which is then critically stress tested and questioned to identify potential knowledge gaps and barriers for implementation. The outcomes of this process are reported in a scorecard-type summary and disseminated to the intended audience (NATURANCE consortium members, external reviewers).