Improved functioning of Living Labs. With TELL ME, a basic infrastructure (integrated with a proven methodology) is provided to “link together” the different stakeholders in order to let them work more efficiently. Equally important is that TELL ME establishes an intimate communication channel between participants in a Living Lab. This communication service is the first step towards the provision of user centred, customised services. Another benefit of the TELL ME service is to develop trust between the people and stakeholders in a region, this is the first step to enable a co-creative user driven e-Government service development.
Improved quality of public services. The main area of public interest for the project will be related to the online service provision to citizens by European public administrations. TELL ME will enable on one hand, improved staff efficiency and on the other hand, more citizens/customers oriented and “socially accepted” e-Services. Another benefit for the community will be the availability of easier-to-use eGovernment applications that have been validated in advance through online interaction with the potential users. This will potentially enlarge the scope for public sector innovation in Europe.
Improved efficiency/effectiveness of the validation process. Outside and beyond the public sector, a number of additional benefits can be experienced by the repeated use of the TELL ME methodology in the private sector context. We experienced a strong interest from the IT industry at European level in this “paradigm shift” from traditional user centred design and the new perspective of Living Labs. However, there is a need for a more structured and cost-effective approach in the validation of newly developed ICT products and services. This will also be one of the side-benefits of this project.
Contribution to EU-Polices
Besides its obvious relations to eTEN objectives, the project also complies with the goals of the ICT strategy of the EU “i2010 – a European Information Society for growth and employment”. The objective of “Innovation and Investment in Research”, which is one of its three priorities, is to achieve world class performance in research and innovation in ICTs by closing the gap with Europe’s leading competitors. A European Network of Living Labs is part of that action plan. To sum up, the European added value of the TELL ME project stems from:
| 1. |
Increasing connection between national Living Labs within and outside the thematic areas of e-Government, e-Democracy and e-Services; |
| 2. |
Improved standardisation and interoperability of existing Living Labs; |
| 3. |
A clear pathway for the creation of new Living Labs with a clear focus on quality and effectiveness of the community building and validation process; |
| 4. |
Development of trans-European product and service ideas, concepts, prototypes and goods ready for the market; |
| 5. |
Further weakening of the present barriers to cross-border activities in the field. |