IDIA2009 Conference
Establish a Living Lab network for Southern Africa
Marlien Herselman
Mario Marais
Mmamakanye Pitse-Boshomane
Kobus Roux
Meraka Institute, CSIR, South Africa
Abstract
It is only through well established partnerships between citizens, businesses and public authorities, that the Living Labs model allows people, industries, Higher Education institutions, government, government organizations or local governments to collaboratively test tomorrow's best innovations in Information and Communications Technologies (ICT). It was with this view in mind that the Living Labs in Southern Africa (LLiSA) network was established and officially launched in Cape Town in 2009, to act as a platform for establishing a community and network of Living Lab practitioners in the Southern African region, aiming at advancing and supporting open user-driven innovation and Living Labs in Southern Africa. The network support and coordination project was initiated by three parties: the Cooperation Framework on Innovation Systems between Finland and South Africa (COFISA), the South Africa - Finland knowledge partnership on ICT(SAFIPA) and the Meraka Institute of the CSIR. The LLiSA network allows for small groups of Living Labs in different regions to join forces by sharing knowledge, services and even developments based on win-win strategies to pave the way for co-selling developments and services on the Southern African market rather than just on their local regional market. This network can be of particular interest for rural communities, SMEs and micro-entrepreneurs, which do not have the expertise and resources to expand their activities to other regions or across Europe (for instance the European Network of Living Labs or ENoLL) due to different structural characteristics, regulations, or societal and economic structures in the respective regions and countries. The objective of this paper is to provide insight into the concept living labs in Southern Africa by indicating what it is, where it has been functional, its multidisciplinary nature and how it was established in Southern Africa. The role of the LLiSA network is provided in order to understand its purpose, objectives, activities and functions within Southern Africa.
