A Living Labs Approach to Manage Co-created Design Knowledge through Ideation Artefacts

Abstract

With a Senian understanding of intellectual capital as being a function of agent capability and contextual resource constraints, the requirement for knowledge in the digital economy to be co-created by a network of agents is obvious. From network agents co-creating knowledge for the digital economy as a foundational point of departure, we problematize the management of this co-created knowledge. As network power shifts, so does the foundational capabilities and contexts. As demonstrated by the increased use of multiple stakeholder groups to co-create innovative solutions. These stakeholder groups are commonly classified as Triple helix, Quadruple helix, n Tuple helix. The problems caused by shifts in network power and agent capabilities become apparent in co-creative systems design processes such as Living Labs and popular Design Science frameworks. As the disruptive power of digital change creates shifts in the foundational design network’s agency, knowledge is lost. We postulate that it is typically highly technical design knowledge - created at a high cost during co-creation - that is lost first. We present examples of technical design knowledge flowing out of the network from a local Smart Community design case. Towards the prevention of co-created design knowledge loss as a result of changes in the foundational network, we suggest the use of physical ideation artefacts for the storage, management, and continued dissemination of the knowledge within the network. We present a case study where local, co-created, technical, Smart Community design knowledge was stored explicitly as ideation artefacts called “tech cards” and retained over time within the network after highly disruptive shifts in the capability set of the foundational agent network responsible for the original knowledge creation. The co-creation of physical, knowledge-rich ideation artefacts as part of system design processes such as Living Labs shows promise as a Knowledge Management tool (KMT) amidst fast paced digital change in the knowledge economy.