Urban Leisure & Tourism Labs accepted as member of the European Network of Living Labs
The Leisure & Tourism Lab (ULTL), with locations in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, has been accepted as a member of the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL). This makes them the first lab focused on tourism and leisure to be admitted to this network, a remarkable achievement! ENoLL is the international, non-profit, independent association of benchmarked Living Labs. Their objective is to foster the global development of Living Labs as open innovation ecosystems based on co-creation and cross border & cross-sectoral collaboration. In their assessment of the ULTL, ENoLL says: “ULTL shows a strong and inclusive governance model, engaging a wide range of stakeholders effectively. Also, a solid track record in running living lab projects, with a focus on urban leisure and tourism is presented and it demonstrates as well a clear interest in regional and international innovation. Their considerable experience in living lab operations is supported by compelling proof.
I am proud that we are the first lab in the field of leisure and tourism to be admitted to ENoLL. It is a recognition of our work in recent years and of our living lab methodologies. We hope that our membership will lead to new (inter)national projects and partners, enabling us to build knowledge, also together with our students.
Peggy van Schijndel, managing director of the Creative Business Research Center: “This accreditation by ENoLL is a wonderful recognition and appreciation by external partners and experts for the way of working we have built up over the years: not just doing quick research, but making long-term contributions to an area and an issue. Not thinking in quick fixes for complex problems, but developing interventions that increase the involvement of all stakeholders and their understanding of the complexity. This is also how we learn about methods of co-creation and participation. Last week, two more groups of young professionals started in these labs, bringing in knowledge from their discipline, from experience in the field, from their personal experience as visitors or tourists - and very valuable: often also local knowledge as residents.”