Beyond a living lab: Scaling social innovation

Abstract

This paper reflects on experiences with practicing and scaling a social innovation concept that was co-produced between public and private partners and citizens in a living design laboratory in Denmark from 2009-2012. The concept is a public service supporting ad-hoc exercise communities for senior citizens in public parks, based on playful activities. This paper builds upon follow-up studies which have been made since the project ended. We discuss how practicing the service unfolded over time, and how two municipalities have attempted scaling the concept. We deepen the understanding of theoretical concepts of scaling with experiences from practice by e.g., discussing ownership, exchanges between formal institutions and informal civic engagement, and a need for clarifying new roles and responsibilities.