The expert group has produced a White Book.
It is a joint initiative by the newPIC chair and the ANRT (FutuRIS platform).
Creativity and innovation rely on evolutionary practices. The emergence of new technologies (notably the transformation into the digital world), the implication of public research agencies, and the increasing role of active end-users in new collaborative processes deaply impact innovation-related practices. Recent investigations have stressed that private companies do not process innovation as they used to do yesterday (Baromètre Global Innovation 2011). Innovation roots now in local dynamics, where self-organized communities play pivotal roles. This new paradigm prevails from the identification of opportunities towards the exploration of new solutions.
Today, new co-creation and interaction spaces emerge, with the subsequent original organizational modalities: "open labs". They adopt different modalities: « Idea lab », « Living lab » or « Fab lab ». These spaces momstly elaborate on bottom-up rationales. They aim at mobilizing a wide range of experiences and of competencies: techno specialists, engineers, sociologists, designers, active users and lead-users, etc.
These initiatives situate in a deliberate and original path towards "openness" and co-conception, that is privileged all along the innovation process or at specific steps. Such an interaction may emerge in diverse configurations: open labs may be installed/supported by universities, private companies, public bodies, and auto-organized communities.
In France, these initiatives are no longer an exception. Numerous « open labs » do exist today. They originate in very dissimilar initiatives, and adopt different organizational models.
What about these initiatives and the associated models? The expert group will inquire the following questions:
This project features an original design in articulating together the activities of an expert group and a research project, both facilitated together by the FutuRIS platform at the French association ANRT, and by the newPIC chair at Paris School of Business. The project will develop in 2015. The newPIC chair will mobilize several faculty members from PSB and two Master students (positioned as interns at ANRT) developing their Master dissertation about the same topic. The expert group will also interview executives from the industry, innovators actually using "open labs", managers in charge of "open labs", finance specialists, stakeholders active in local clusters, etc.
"Living labs" emerged from initiatives launched in 2006 with the European Research Agenda. They deal with the development of a wide range of potential
products and services. They mainly valorize and take advantage of the end-user's experience. "Living labs" are sometimes characterized as free and "open labs"
committed to using new creative methods. They aim at letting ideas emerge, or at identifying eventual market opportunities with potential "blue ocean" strategies.
More recently, "living labs" have started to cope with the issues incured by 'smart cities' projects. The mobilization of skills and competences for "living labs" covers
a wide range of options. They staff professionals, users, and also students. In France, numerous initiatives emerge, as shows the recently established France Living Labs
association. Projects usually contribute to the activities about the digitalization of services and territories, and most often develop in close
interaction with the French "competitity clusters" [Pôles de compétitivité].
"Fab Labs" emerged in the USA at the initiative of several MIT experts. They follow "do it yourself" and "lean" principles, and elaborate directly on newly emerged fast prototyping
technologies such as simulation and 3D printers. They are most often linked to the opportunities emerged with the digital world,
and installed the related "makers spaces" around such investments. Existing "Fab labs" result now from individual initiatives, from governmental (or local public) programs, or
from initiatives supported by universities or by the industry. Several objectives are already identified in the literature: learning by doiong, the materialization of
"lean" strategies, the necessity of direct and soon interaction with lead users, the testing of insights introduced by active users, etc. In France, several initiatives
coexist today. Some of them are funded by the French government (ministry in charge of Indutry) or by local administrations.
Whatever their actual form, labels do exist for most modalities of the the currently existing "open labs". This is the case in the USA with "Fab labs", where the MIT installed a "Fab Lab" certification process in order to singularize the "open labs" compliant with a list of precise specifications and rules. 85 structures have been labelled as "Fab labs" in France, including 2 in Paris area. About 300 "open labs" have been identified and labelled as "Living labs" by the European network ENoLL, among which 48 structures in France. Lots of other structures have developed under these general principles without requesting any type of certification whatsoever. Several French universities currently prepare for the installation of "fab labs". French research agencies (such as CEA) have already installed an "Idea lab". The industry, in discrepant sectors, also developed (or currently installs) similar initiaves as internal facilities expanding and supporting their innovation process (for instance SEB, AIRBUS, ALCATEL LUCENT, SAFRAN (SNECMA), or RENAULT).
The group will gather about 20 experts from different horizons with an experience in the industry and
in public research agencies, and also entrepreneurs, desigers, economists, sociologists.
All will have a direct experience with "open labs". The group will follow a bimestrial meeting schedule,
between January and July 2015. Working sessions will be fed with interviews,
case studies and field research investigations elaborated by ANRT staff, PSB faculties and students,
and with the analysis of monographs on the topic.
At the end of the group's activities, ANRT / FutuRIS and the newPIC chair will jointly produce a 'White book',
and widely disseminate it with conference and throughout the internet.
Meetings are held at ANRT premises
Address: 41 boulevard des Capucines, F-75002 Paris
Subway: Opera, Madelaine; RER: Auber
The first meeting of the expert group was held on Jan. 14th, 2015. With most group members present, we had the possibility to discuss the specificities of "open labs" and the main issues at stake for the industry and for public research agencies. The meeting made it possible to investigate a series of key dimensions and of interview guidelines for field research (observation and interviews). Return on experience will be delivered during the next meetings.
Among the main important key dimensions to be investigated in field research:
In each dimension, strategies, expectations, difficulties met in the execution, and the appropriation by the industry and by public research agencies, have to be investigated.
The second meeting of the group held on March 10th at ANRT premises in Paris. The discussion focused on the role of "open labs" in the industry, in reference to field research and to presetations delivered by
Slideshow presentations delivered by Sylvain Allano and Etienne Gaudin are available for download from the document repository, with links in the section below.
During the last part of the session, Valerie Merindol and David W. Versailles presented preliminary results emerged from field research and interviews carried out in the industry. This part of the session aimed at discussing initial comparisons between the various situations met during our field research in the industry.
The third meeting of the group held on April 14th at ANRT premises in Paris. The discussion focused on the role of "open labs" in public research. The session stressed the diversity of projects launched by universities and research agencies. The session organised with three presentations:
Slideshow presentations delivered during that meeting are available for group members from the section below.
The fourth meeting of the group held on May 19th at ANRT premises.
On the agenda, a presentation about Usine.IO and two presentations about thematic "labs" experiences in the domains of medical research, and of arts and culture.
Slideshow presentations delivered during that meeting are available for group members from the section below.
The meeting has been devoted to the discussion of perspectives and contents under preparation for the White Book, and for the subsequent communication.
We discussed first the general structure of the White Book, and the general terminology to be used. The group decided to introduce a special reference to the term "Open Labs"
in order to zoom out from the particulars of each case study, and to introduce the potential for best practices.
We also described the organization of the file sharing system set up for the interaction between members and facilitators of the expert group for the redaction of the White Book.
Intense discussions prepared for the redaction of the White book, that will be proposed to the expert group by SEPT 17th, 2015;
they elaborated about a series of presentations:
Slideshow presentations delivered during the meeting are available for group members from the section below.
The initial draft of the White Book has been released to the group members between SEPT. 17th and OCT 10th, 2015,
for a synthesis of all experts' reviews and contributions by the end of October.
During the last session of the expert group on OCT. 14th, 2015, the group members have discussed the elements of a synthesis
prepared by newPIC faculties and ANRT / FutuRIS. The session also wrapped up about the group activities. The valorization plan
associated with the White Book was also discussed, and the first important manifestation was held during the IEA 2015 conference (see below).
Some files might be reserved for the group members. In that case, there is a second series of icons on the right hand side, after the lock picture...
Members of the expert group can access the files in clicking either on the lock icon, or on the file types icons.
Experts willing to contribute to the elaboration and the reviewing of our White Book have access to all preliminary documents.
These documents are located on a private shared drive accessible after clicking on the lock picture on this line.
Members of the expert group can contact the webmaster via email if they lost their login-password.
