A proposed living lab methodological framework for Namibia

Abstract

The spread of Living Labs across the world has been well documented in [10]. One possible reason for the popularity of Living Labs is the way in which they leverage ICT as a horizontal enabler. Both ICTs and Living Labs are at the centre of innovation in many societies. The continuous technological changes have promoted Living Labs development and countries have supported co-design and take up of Innovation by utilising the Living Lab concept. IST-Africahas organised workshops in different African countries to raise awareness of Living Lab concepts. Namibia is now exploring the best ways to leverage Living Lab concepts. With the developments that the Namibian government has made in ICT developments, this concept could assist in supporting more innovative solutions in Namibia. This paper is based on outputs from the IST-Africa Living Lab workshop held in Namibia in November 2013. The paper proposes a framework that could be used in Namibia to implement Living Labs.