INVESTL2 Ontology: Semantic Modeling of Sustainable Living Labs

Abstract

The growing societal demands for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) actions towards sustainable development triggers new forms of educational programs and research activities. In line with this direction, the Living Lab (LL) approach provides a means to engage various actors in the process of development of a solution fostering inclusive ‘quadruple helix’ participation and open end-user-oriented innovation. Nowadays, LLs have become a strategy in many universities for co-creating impact for more sustainable and healthier cities and regions. However, LLs can create shared value for society, only if their long-term viability is ensured. The challenge is making LLs effective and self-supportive, but existing models lack a holistic and multi-perspective umbrella view over all dimensions, functions and stakeholder interrelations of a LL. In this paper, we present the conceptualization of the domain of LLs in Higher Education. We present the INVEST LL ontology (INVESTL2) which models the needed domain knowledge streams for the LLs and consists of 3 main modules: (1) the Living Lab model, (2) the Business model and (3) the Quality Assurance model in education provision environments. Taking into account the multifaceted nature of this challenge, our proposal achieves a holistic conceptualization of the domain of LLs, in order to be further utilized for the implementation of a Semantic Web Rules Repository. This rule base is in control of the required streams of knowledge enclosed in the LL knowledge agendas for developing, recommending and executing tailored workplans to meet the LL goals. Finally, the INVESTL2 ontology is applied for the definition of a semantic infrastructure for the RES-Q LL case study on disaster risk management.