SOILL has launched a new Working Group dedicated to strengthening Living Lab Foundation & Governance across Europe. Designed primarily for Mission Soil Living Labs, it also welcomes participation from European Soil Living Labs, Emerging Living Lab initiatives, and other key stakeholder groups committed to soil health.
Operating through the SOILL Hub, the Working Group aims to create a trust-based, collaborative environment where knowledge flows freely and practical insights can be shared and applied.
About the Working Group
The Living Lab Foundation & Governance Working Group aims to strengthen Living Lab foundations through shared governance experience and collaborative learning, fostering a common understanding of Soil Health Living Lab core principles and helping Living Labs increase their capacity to scale and engage the wider soil health community.
Its goal is to establish a shared understanding of what constitutes a well-functioning Living Lab, developing robust governance structures and identifying effective methodologies, tools, and models that enable Living Labs to operate effectively, whether just starting out or looking to grow their impact.
Key Objectives & Priority Areas
The Working Group pursues several interconnected objectives.
It seeks to develop a shared foundation of concepts, principles, and expectations for what a Mission Soil Living Lab is and how it should operate, while identifying and promoting best practices for Living Lab setup, governance, stakeholder roles, and operational models. It also addresses common challenges faced by Mission Soil Living Labs through peer support and actionable insights, and strengthens governance literacy across multi-level structures involving local, regional, and national actors. Facilitating knowledge transfer between different waves of Mission Soil Living Labs, based on real experiences of setting up and managing them, is equally central to its work, as is exploring tools, methods, and technologies that support Living Lab functioning.
The Working Group focuses on two main priority areas:
- The first addresses core governance needs and early-stage challenges: supporting Living Labs in developing robust governance structures with clearly assigned roles and responsibilities, transparent decision-making, a common strategic vision, and continuous stakeholder involvement;
- The second focuses on sustainability, business model, and impact, providing participants with inspiration for business model thinking, long-term sustainability planning, multiple revenue streams, theory of change, and impact monitoring, helping Living Labs remain viable and effective well beyond initial funding.
Get Involved
The Working Group offers a unique space to access practical, experience-based insights that can substantially enhance the effectiveness of Living Labs. By engaging with peers, members will receive support in navigating governance, organisational, and operational challenges, helping them build stronger, more resilient structures.
Participation enables members to benefit from collective intelligence, learning from real-world experiences, sharing solutions, and adopting approaches that have demonstrated impact. Ultimately, involvement in this Working Group strengthens each Living Lab's capacity to contribute meaningfully to soil health improvements and to advance the overarching goals of Mission Soil.