Differentiating motivations, barriers, and enablers of key stakeholder engagement in living lab processes: a Swiss case study

Living labs (LLs) can play a vital role in driving sustainability transitions, providing a space for experimentation and the co-creation of practical solutions to complex societal problems. While existing research emphasizes the importance of collaboration among diverse stakeholders to integrate their needs and perspectives, there is a lack of comparative evidence on the motivations and barriers to such engagement. Understanding these factors is crucial for scaling up and replicating successful LLs and LL processes more generally. This research analyzes the motivations, enablers, and barriers to engagement in transdisciplinary co-creation processes within LL contexts for four stakeholder groups: civil society, administrations/local governments, business, and science. We distinguish between intrinsic/extrinsic motivations and barriers and enablers, using a mixed-methods approach based on interviews, focus groups, and participant observations of LL processes in a Swiss city. Our results show that motivations are similar across stakeholders. A key motivation for residents and local businesses is increasing social cohesion, while all stakeholders cite supporting and driving sustainable change. Engagement barriers and enablers are diverse, influenced by internal and external factors. Accordingly, effective participation requires tailored, context-sensitive strategies. Engagement is further influenced by systemic barriers and power dynamics, underscoring the need for trust, alignment, flexibility, and inclusive structures to support the development, scaling, and replication of LL processes. Finally, local administrations should capitalize on the motivation of grassroots initiatives by providing better support and streamlining their bureaucratic processes to scale up transformation processes, especially if overall visions align.