The EVOLVE2CARE project has successfully reached a major milestone in its mission to standardize and enhance HealthTech experimentation across Europe. By focusing on transitional care, specifically hospital discharge management, home care monitoring, and aging populations, the project has worked to bridge the gap between laboratory research and market-ready healthcare solutions. To achieve this, the consortium has designed and delivered a specialized training program that has already transformed how Living Labs support innovators.
A Journey Through Service Design and Operational Excellence
The Training Program on Service Design for Living Labs was implemented by the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) as a series of six intensive online modules. These sessions took place between June 25 and September 24, 2025, providing a structured learning pathway for managers, researchers, and policymakers.
The curriculum was meticulously crafted to address the real-world complexities of the healthcare sector:
- Foundational Concepts: Module 1 situated Living Labs within the broader innovation landscape, tracing their evolution from the Triple Helix model to the Quadruple Helix, which integrates civil society alongside government, academia, and industry.
- Service Design Mastery: In Module 2, participants explored a five-step process—Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver, and Evolve—to turn abstract activities into repeatable, high-value services.
- Legal and Ethical Guardrails: Module 3 navigated the critical requirements of GDPR, informed consent, and intellectual property management, ensuring that Labs can handle sensitive medical data responsibly.
- Engagement and Impact: The final modules focused on building robust innovation networks and using Key Impact Indicators (KIIs) to measure the performance and societal value of pilot projects.
Tangible Tools and Proven Success
The program has not just provided theory; it has equipped participants with actionable resources. Participants have received the Living Lab Service Blueprint to map customer journeys and a specialized Ethics Checklist to guide projects from design to exploitation.
The impact of these efforts has been immediate and measurable:
- Broad Reach: A total of 116 unique participants attended the live sessions.
- Immediate Application: 42.9% of participants have reported that they are already actively offering services or collaborating with innovators.
- Future Readiness: An additional 28.6% have stated they are prepared to launch services within the next three to six months.
Sustainability: Now Available at the ENoLL Academy
While the live sessions have concluded, the knowledge generated continues to serve the community. On October 25, 2025, the entire training series was uploaded to the ENoLL Living Labs Academy.
This transition to an asynchronous format has already proven successful, with 37 new participants currently following the course online. By hosting these materials publicly, EVOLVE2CARE has ensured that its capacity-building efforts will remain accessible until the end of the project in October 2026 and beyond, fostering long-term strategic growth in the HealthTech ecosystem.
For a deep dive into the methodology and results of the EVOLVE2CARE Trainings, readers can explore the full D2.3 Deliverable available at the project’s Zenodo community.
EVOLVE2CARE has demonstrated that when Living Labs are empowered with the right tools, they can effectively translate experimentation into sustainable impact for patients and providers alike.
How can your organization leverage these newly available Service Design tools to accelerate your own HealthTech innovations?
