Strengthening participatory environmental health through a Living Lab approach / 15.04.2020

Building on years of participatory research and real-world environmental monitoring, the Department of Environmental Sciences at the Jožef Stefan Institute is further structuring its activities through a Living Lab approach.

Over the past decade, researchers at the Jožef Stefan Institute (JSI), Department of Environmental Sciences (O2), have been actively developing and applying participatory approaches to environmental health research. Through projects such as Citi-Sense and ICARUS, the team has worked closely with citizens, stakeholders, and public institutions to better understand how environmental exposures affect people in their daily lives.

These projects combined environmental monitoring, personal exposure assessment, and stakeholder engagement in real-life contexts, generating valuable insights into the links between air pollution, behaviour, and health. At the same time, they highlighted the importance of involving users not only as data providers, but as active contributors to research design, interpretation, and solution development.

Experiences gained through these activities have increasingly pointed toward the need for a more structured and integrated approach. The Living Lab concept offers a framework for combining scientific research with co-creation, real-world experimentation, and stakeholder collaboration in a systematic way. It enables the connection of environmental data, behavioural insights, and policy-relevant knowledge within the contexts where people live, move, and make decisions.

Within JSI, and particularly within the O2 department, this direction builds on strong existing capacities, including environmental monitoring, analytical infrastructure, spatial analysis, and interdisciplinary research. By further developing these activities under a Living Lab framework, the department aims to strengthen its ability to translate research into practical solutions and contribute more effectively to healthier and more sustainable environments.