MobLab Study – Accompanying study for the preparation of urban mobility laboratories

Starting point / motivation

Technological and social innovations need to be intertwined to be successful. This is where the position of the MobLab Study is set to accompany the emergence of new Living Labs as user centred innovation settings and to evaluate the gained insights and experiences.

There are numerous societal challenges regarding mobility, which are addressed by research and innovation policies for mobility solutions, a large interdisciplinary research community and arising opportunities through key technologies. Nevertheless the dissemination of applications for innovative mobility solutions which are subject to RTI (Research, Technology and Innovation) activities into practice is too slow at present.

Contents and goals

Within the scope of the study an analysis and systematisation of the ongoing investigative projects takes places. Simultaneously national and international experiences will enhance the projects. The goal of the study, according to the requirements stated by the contracting authorities (bmvit, FFG, Austria Tech), is the evaluation and investigation of critical success factors to enable an implementation of the laboratories by means of grants, grant-portfolios and accompanying measures.

Methods

The study generates knowledge on three levels:

• process,
• transformation and
• system knowledge.

By doing so it accompanies the innovation processes of the investigative projects, supports the learning process, analyses and evaluates the project results by means of a systematic evaluation-framework applying a variety of methods deriving from quantitative and qualitative types of survey.

The study accompanies the activities of the investigative projects and processes in their specific context during their runtime and therefore enables learning processes with these actors on site at an early stage.

This opens up the possibility to capture and cluster the actors' experiences and valuations (stakeholder, Co-Creators, researchers etc.) systematically and report these insights back to the overall process of the program Due to the novelty of such results the MobLab-Study offers a broad dissemination possibility, by publishing these results in scientific journals or presenting it at specialised conferences in order to contribute to the scientific community as well as to the general public in Austria, but also at the European level, e.g. the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL).

Results and Conclusions

The MobLab Study delivers statements and answers to the following aspects as key results of the projects: Generalised good-practices (target- and process knowledge) for the establishment of mobility laboratories through continuous accompaniment by means of activities for the investigative projects with regards to

• vision, goals and motivation
• actors, networks and competences
• management, financing and business models
• processes and interaction
• methods and tools

Further results are

• documentable implementation and transformation knowledge
• exogenous facilitating and debilitating factors regarding the mobility laboratories' implementation
• overall effect of the programme by means of estimating the added value of the initiative
• a unique guideline to impart relevant process- and action oriented know how to the expert community

DI Dr. Christian Kittl - evolaris next level GmbH

evolaris next level GmbH
DI Dr. Christian Kittl
Tel.: +43 (316) 351111
E-mail: ecall@evolaris.net