Measuring impact & Evaluating success: A recap of the final training session for Living Labs

Home
Tag Archives: impact

The sixth and final webinar of the EVOLVE2CARE Training Series for Living Labs took place on 19 September 2025, with a focus on measuring impact and scaling pilots. This session, titled “Measuring Impact & Evaluating Success”, was led by Prof. Dr. Dimitri Schuurman, Senior Research Strategist at the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL).

Key takeaways from the session

Understanding Living Lab characteristics

Prof. Schuurman emphasized the core elements that define a Living Lab, which include:

  • Multi-stakeholder: Living Labs engage a diverse group of stakeholders, including researchers, businesses, governments, and end-users. This broad collaboration ensures that innovation is inclusive and relevant to all parties involved.
  • Active user involvement: Ensuring the continuous feedback of users throughout the innovation process, from idea generation to final implementation.
  • Orchestration: Orchestration refers to the strategic coordination of all actors in the Living Lab. By aligning the interests and expertise of different stakeholders, Living Labs facilitate effective collaboration and drive the innovation process forward.
  • Co-Creation: Involving all relevant stakeholders in the design and development processes.
  • Real-Life Setting: Unlike traditional laboratories, Living Labs test solutions in real environments, which increases the relevance and applicability of the results.
  • Multi-Method Approach: Each Living Lab adapts its methods based on the problem and stakeholders involved, blending exploratory and confirmatory approaches.

Impact Models and Measuring Outcomes

One of the central frameworks discussed during the session was the Impact Model. This model is essential for understanding how to track the effectiveness of Living Labs over time. It incorporates the Theory of Change, which categorizes results into:

  • Input: Resources and efforts that go into the project.
  • Process: The activities and interactions that drive the project forward.
  • Output (Short-Term): Direct deliverables and tangible results produced immediately after implementation.
  • Outcome (Medium-Term): The effects of those outputs on the targeted stakeholders or systems.
  • Impact (Long-Term): The ultimate, lasting change or influence of the project, contributing to broader societal goals.

This model helps Living Labs track not just the immediate outputs, but also the long-term impacts, offering a roadmap for continuous improvement.


Living Lab Assessment Method


To effectively evaluate the impact of Living Lab projects, the Living Lab Assessment Method was introduced. It is designed to measure the effectiveness across six key areas:

  • Skill Capacity Enhancement
  • Instrumental Capacity Enhancement
  • Network Capacity Enhancement
  • Knowledge Capacity Enhancement
  • Agenda Setting
  • Real Solution Generation

These indicators are critical for understanding how well a Living Lab is contributing to innovation and systemic change in its targeted sector.
A heartfelt thank you to all participants who joined us for the six-part EVOLVE2CARE Training Program for Living Labs led by ENoLL from June to September 2025. Your engagement and contributions made this series a great success. In the coming weeks, all the session recordings will be made available at the ENoLL Living Labbers Academy, so you can revisit the valuable insights shared throughout the program. We look forward to continuing the journey of innovation with you!

Measuring impact & scaling pilots — Highlights from the last session for Innovators & Researchers

Home
Tag Archives: impact

The final session of the EVOLVE2CARE Training Series for HealthTech Innovators and Researchers was held on 19 September 2025, bringing the six-part journey to a close with a focus on how to measure meaningful outcomes and scale innovation with purpose. The session, titled “Measuring Impact & Scaling Pilots — Driving Evidence-Based Growth in Living Labs,” was led by Despoina Petsani, Project Manager at ThessAHALL – Thessaloniki Action for HeAlth & Wellbeing Living Lab.

Drawing from practical experience and Living Lab methodology, the session guided participants through the mindset and tools needed to move from small-scale pilot projects to real, system-level change.

From activities to outcomes

Despoina Petsani opened with a key challenge in innovation evaluation: many projects focus on reporting what they did (outputs), rather than what they achieved (outcomes). For example, counting users reached is not the same as understanding whether user behavior or well-being improved. To build real impact, innovators must start with clear goals and plan for measurable change from the beginning.

Planning for impact from day one

Participants were encouraged to define 2–3 priority outcomes before launching a pilot. These should be tied to the needs of users and stakeholders. The use of SMART indicators—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound—was recommended to track progress clearly and objectively.

How to evaluate a pilot

Effective evaluation goes beyond proving that something worked. It explores how, why, and for whom it worked. Despoina presented a step-by-step evaluation framework that includes:

Defining pilot objectives (What are you trying to learn or prove?)
Set evaluation questions (e.g., Does this tool improve patient engagement in rural clinics?
Set evaluation questions (Who are your users? Where and how long will the pilot run?)
Set evaluation questions (Understand the “before” to measure the “after”)
Ethics and Privacy (Data protection, informed consent – especially in health and education sectors)

A mixed-methods approach was strongly recommended, blending quantitative and qualitative tools to provide both scale and depth.

Scaling pilots responsibly

Scaling isn’t simply about growing bigger—it’s about expanding what works, in ways that fit new contexts. Before scaling, a solution should show strong user feedback, positive outcomes, operational readiness, and a clear value proposition.

Three paths to scale were introduced:

  • Replication – Apply the same model in a similar setting – High control, but limited adaptability
  • Adaptation – Tailor to different user needs/settings – Maintain core principles, flex where needed
  • Dissemination – Spread knowledge, frameworks, and tools – Enable others to replicate/adapt independently
  • The instructor also emphasized the importance of partnerships, technology infrastructure, business model and policy and systems alignment.

Final reflections

The session closed with a strong message: evidence is essential for impact. It builds trust, informs decisions, and enables scale. Living Labs and innovators must embed evaluation early and treat it not just as a reporting tool, but as a driver of learning and growth.