This lab on the island of Vlieland (NL) presents itself as “The Workplace for Renewal & Imagination; a place where do-ers and thinkers develop skills and knowledge and put this into practice.” Lab Vlieland originated under the auspices of Into The Great Wide Open, one of Vlieland’s yearly pop festivals with limited access (max ca. 5,000 visitors). By restricting the quantity of visitors, the festival is able to function as a testbed for the smart use of sustainable energy and resources and provide festival participants plenty of space, protecting the island’s unique nature.
Lab Vlieland invites students and enterprising producers to provide and experiment with sustainable solutions, that can make a festival a self-sufficient community, with minor impact for the inhabitants and nature.In close connection, Lab Vlieland’s goal and purpose is to share the knowledge and experience developed on and near the island with its surroundings; with the rest of the island, stakeholders on the mainland, and with related festivals. Particularly, the lab is specialized in smart power management systems for festivals, the re-use of (waste)water, design for the circular economy and new production technologies, such as 3D printing.
Source: labvlieland.nl
Example of strategy 3C:
Facilitate the Establishment of Living Labs and Competence Centers
Islands are excellent places to establish living labs. Living labs can mean an environment for experimentation and testing; a methodology/approach, and a system for innovation for generating and testing innovative products, concepts, and services in a real-life environment. Living labs enable people, users/ consumers of services and product, to take active roles as contributors and co-creators in the research, development, and innovation process. The starting point for any living lab is to, in close cooperation with involved stakeholders, develop product and services from the basis of what users really want and need. The main role of the living lab is to engage and empower users to participate in the creation of valuable and viable assets.
Living labs on islands can be central meeting places, often with only simple technical facilities, serving as idea generators and project builders for innovation. The island setting -certain isolation- can serve as an additional factor for experimenting in a contained, real-life environment. Local and regional governments can help initiatives in this area, for instance, in connection with the many arts, crafts, (pop-)music, cultural-, tech-, etc. festivals and events that are commonly organized on islands. Since these festivals attract a lot of young talented people from both on-island and the mainland, an outstanding opportunity emerges to turn festival projects into longer-term programs for living labs on islands.
