ULT Lab is member of ENOLL

The Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab 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.

From the Creative Business Research Center of Inholland, the Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab was the first to apply for accreditation by ENoLL with the aim of gaining experience with membership of the network: what can we contribute to the network and how does it benefit us? With this experience, we can see if it could also make sense for the other labs within our faculty to apply for membership.

Peggy van Schijndel, managing director of the Creative Business Research Center: “I am proud of the colleagues and partners who, for years, have allowed these living labs to become beautiful places for learning and development, of the students who, year after year, demonstrate their valuable contributions, and of the unique blend of expertise that we as Creative Business Research Center bring to the research in these living labs: in the field of systemic co-design as well as regenerative placemaking and sustainable tourism. The issues are big and complex, and we feel the urgency to contribute to them though practice-based research every day. I am confident that membership of ENoLL is going to help us grow to the next stage!”