From Living Labs to the Policy Lighthouse in the Bioeconomy Systems

The Living Lab is an important conceptual and material tool in the dynamics of knowledge ecosystems. These laboratories are so important that they have transformed, from a strategic point of view, into a set of methodologies and practices for complex approaches in knowledge management and innovation. If a few decades ago the idea of a living lab was reduced to the experimental dimension and innovative actions in real time, in direct relation with stakeholders. Now living lab systems have acquired an extremely high degree of complexity. Thus, a systemic understanding of the living lab involves practical and methodological dimensions related to concepts such as: participatory knowledge, co-creation, policy lab, demonstrator, lighthouse, collaborative governance, and open knowledge systems. To establish the fundamental frameworks of these processes, a research action is being carried out in the Cesar Center of Excellence through the synergy of 5 living lab laboratories. Thus, living labs' characteristics and dimensions can be operationalized as strategic tools and integrated into the intelligence capital intended to support complex decision-making processes. In this presentation, we aim to analyze how a living lab can be operationalized as a scaling and multiplication entity in consolidating its policy lab dimension, in circular bioeconomy systems.