OpenLivingLab Days Conference - OLLD26, Brussels (Belgium). 29 September - 02 October 2026
Summary:
Living Labs are increasingly understood not only as spaces for co-creation, but also as knowledge infrastructures that shape how actors define problems, negotiate authority and produce knowledge together (John, 2024). Yet their contribution to policymaking remains underexplored. How do Living Labs translate diverse forms of knowledge into formats that public administrations can recognise and incorporate?
This presentation examines the EnerPeace Living Lab, a university-led initiative developed within EUPeace, a European university alliance, and coordinated by the Chair of Energy and Poverty at Comillas Pontifical University. Focused on contributing to the public consultation on the National Strategy against Energy Poverty in Spain, EnerPeace convened public administrations, civil society organisations, energy-sector actors, researchers and affected citizens in a sustained process of dialogue. Using a qualitative case study approach, we draw on session outputs and systematised good practices to trace how the Living Lab designed, facilitated and transferred knowledge for policy purposes. Findings identify four mechanisms: trusted mediation, relational care and facilitation, alignment with live policy, and the systematic translation of deliberative outputs into validated proposals. The case of EnerPeace thus helps identify the combination of ingredients that allow a Living Lab to become an active interlocutor in ongoing policy conversations.
Spanish layman's summary:
EnerPeace, un Living Lab liderado por Comillas, contribuyó a la Estrategia Nacional contra la Pobreza Energética. El caso revela cuatro mecanismos—mediación de confianza, facilitación relacional, alineación con políticas vivas y traducción del diálogo en propuestas validadas—para influir en la política.
English layman's summary:
EnerPeace, a university-led Living Lab at Comillas, fed Spain's National Strategy against Energy Poverty. The case reveals four mechanisms—trusted mediation, relational facilitation, alignment with live policy, and translating dialogue into validated proposals—that make a Living Lab an active policy actor.
Keywords: Living Labs; Knowledge Infrastructures; Policy Translation; Energy Poverty;
Publication date: 29-Sep-2026.
Citation:
B.A. Ríos Sanjinés, J.C. Romero, A. Alguacil, N. Lores Sánchez, "Making Knowledge Usable for Policymaking: Policy Translation Mechanisms from the EnerPeace Living Lab", presented at OpenLivingLab Days Conference - OLLD26, Brussels, Belgium, 29 September - 02 October 2026
IIT-26-306C_abstract
