Increasing Citizen Participation and Legitimacy: A Scoping Review on Effectiveness Indicators Used in the Evaluation of Living Labs

Evaluation is a fractioned area of the Living Labs (LLs) literature, with criticisms warning against a lack of evidence on its effectiveness. This scoping review aimed to map the effectiveness indicators employed for the evaluation of LLs. Accordingly, we searched ten electronic databases for peer-reviewed and grey literature that outlined indicators to assess the effectiveness of LLs, and screened them following Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. Of the screened studies, only 29 included an evaluation of LLs’ effectiveness (2.33%) as an assessment of type and scope of impact yielded, or the appraisal of contextual influencing factors. Indicators of impact types were the most widely regarded, with particular attention paid to tangible impacts, rather than intangible impacts. The scope of impact was mainly assessed in terms of social and value significance. This scoping review described the fundamental role of evaluation in nourishing the internal functioning of LLs, while legitimizing its social and political value. Future research needs to pursue ways of integrating evaluation as a key part of LLs and to reflect on LL’s ontological and epistemological roots to strengthen and legitimize their use.