Living Labs for Rural Development Results from the Living Labs for Rural Development Results from the Foreword Innovation is a costly process. Indeed only one out of 3000 product ideas makes it on the market, meaning that there are hundreds of unsuccessful ICT products beyond every success. Even successful products may be far from being user friendly. Surveys show that 75% of all users find their ICT tools more stressing than relaxing. In such a context, user-centric validation can play an important role in speeding up effectively the innovation process through addressing the actual user needs. Living Labs are open innovation environments in real-life settings, in which user-driven innovation is fully integrated within the co-creation process of new services, products and societal infrastructures. In recent years, Living Labs have become a powerful instrument for effectively involving the user at all stages of the research, development and innovation process, thereby contributing to European competitiveness and growth. Several integrated projects from the Sixth Framework Programme have been developing and demonstrating interoperable collaboration environments supporting the user-driven open innovation process. Starting from Coordination and Support Actions under this Programme, the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) was launched in Helsinki at the end of 2006 under the Finnish Presidency. After these foundations of the Network were established, enthusiasm and motivation among the stakeholders has been growing. With the continuous support of the respective European Presidencies, the network has surpassed the mark of 100 European Living Labs. Several of them are specifically active in the Integrated Project Acknowledgments This book presents the results of the Contents Chapter 1 .....................................................................................................1 Innovation Strategy for Rural Development Based on Living Labs for Human Empowerment Mariano Navarro, Manuel López, Carlos Ralli, Cristina Peña, Hans Schaffers and Christian Merz Chapter 2 ...................................................................................................11 Rural Development and Open Innovation: Challenges and Perspectives Manuel López, Mariano Navarro, Adam Turowiec, Patrizia Hongisto and Francisco Perez-Trejo Chapter 3 ...................................................................................................25 Living Labs for Enhancing Innovation and Rural Development: Methodology and Implementation Hans Schaffers, Javier García Guzmán and Christian Merz Chapter 4 ...................................................................................................53 Reference Architecture for Collaborative Working Environments in Rural Areas Christian Merz, Vilmos Bilicki, Jörg Dörflinger, Mónica Valenzuela Fernández, Javier Garcia Guzman, Petr Horak, Eduardo Jacob, Jasone Astorga, Eduardo Azañón and Vilmos Szűcs Chapter 5 ...................................................................................................83 A Living Lab for Stimulating Innovation in the Fishery Sector in Spain Mónica Valenzuela Fernández., Azucena Sierra de Miguel and Mª del Mar Navarro Fernández. Chapter 6 ................................................................................................. 105 Homokháti Small Area Living Lab Benefiting the Agricultural Sector in Hungary Vilmos Bilicki, Miklós Kasza, Vilmos Szücs and Gabór Mólnar Chapter 7 ................................................................................................. 125 A Living Lab For Spatial Data Management Innovation in the Czech Republic Petr Horak, Karel Charvat, Sarka Horakova and Martin Vlk Chapter 8 ................................................................................................. 143 Sekhukhune: A Living Lab Stimulating Economic Growth of Rural Micro- Enterprises in South Africa Christian Merz, Carsten Friedland, Rudi de Louw, Jörg Dörflinger, Johan Maritz, Johan van Rensburg and Andries Naudé Chapter 9 ................................................................................................. 161 ArchipeLabo – Building a Rural Living Lab for Governance and Rural Development Patrizia Hongisto and Tiina Ferm Chapter 10............................................................................................... 183 Frascati Living lab: An Innovation Environment to Support Business Incubation and Agriculture Fabio Bertoldi, Luigi Fusco, Remo Moro, Alessandro Rossi and Elisabeth Schöpfer Chapter 11............................................................................................... 203 Assessment of Results and Impacts of the Mariano Navarro et al. / Innovation Strategy for Rural Development… Chapter 1 Innovation Strategy for Rural Development Based on Living Labs for Human Empowerment 1 1 2 2 Mariano Navarro , Manuel López , Carlos Ralli , Cristina Peña , 3 4 Hans Schaffers , Christian Merz 1TRAGSA Group R&D & Innovation Unit, C/ Julián Camarillo 6b, ES28037 Madrid, Spain { Mariano Navarro et al. / Innovation Strategy for Rural Development… current situation in rural areas is characterized by missing opportunities for employment and professional development, and by migration to cities due to a lack of investments, qualified jobs and absence of services. While the level of communication infrastructure and services operated in rural areas is often inadequate, many rural areas are slowly adopting ICT-based solutions. Sustainable rural development, including the support of entrepreneurial activities and provision of local services, requires an adequate level of infrastructure and solutions that are tailored to the specific characteristics of living and working in rural areas. 2 The Concept of Rural Living Labs The first step of Mariano Navarro et al. / Innovation Strategy for Rural Development… 2 movement has emerged . In general, the living labs methodology includes a problem driven approach, based on short cycles of experimentation, and involving communities of stakeholders and end-users as early as possible. Relevant to Mariano Navarro et al. / Innovation Strategy for Rural Development… Most approaches do not consider the sustainability of the rural innovation ecosystem, the nature of innovation as socio-technical change, and the intertwinement of the innovation ecosystem and rural socio-economic development. A key contribution of the