News:CO-LLABS Thematic Network starts 1st March

14 FEBRUARY 2008. CO-LLABS stands for "Community Based Living Labs to Enhance SMEs Innovation in Europe". It is a Thematic Network inder CIP ICT-PSP and will start on 1st of March 2008 with duration of 28 months. It aims to achieve a European-wide adoption of ICT-based Living lab services and practices to allow SMEs to improve their innovation capabilities and processes and become part of “open innovation” environments.

To that end CO-LLABS Thematic Network brings together a selection of Europe’s most advanced Living Labs on the one hand and regional SME-innovation oriented organisations on the other to exchange practices of LL support services, and identify and develop specific pilots in domains such as e-health, e-business and e-inclusion. The work will be grounded in thorough understanding of current Living labs practices and experiences and strengthened by creating better insight in successful business models of future SME-oriented Living labs. The Thematic Network will support interaction with policy makers at regional, national and European level to establish consensus on the Living labs approach as a cornerstone of European innovation policies, in particular at the regional and cross-regional level.

The underlying motivation is that Living Labs provide services to SMEs that would otherwise not be available to them. Focus is on how SMEs and their business partners can be involved in Living Labs in the best way in order to collaborate in open innovation, and on sharing experience among Living Labs initiatives and beyond as regards SME involvement in co-creation of Living labs practices.

More information on http://www.ami-communities.eu/wiki/CO-LLABS.