iNEST Cross-cutting Activity #2 - Deliverable Milestone 18

1 CROSS-CUTTING ACTIVITY #2 — CREATION OF A NETWORK OF JOINT STRATEGIC LABS BETWEEN UNIVERSITIES AND COMPANIES Leader: University of Udine — Topics Abstract Introduction to the CC2 Goals and Activities Critical Analysis of the State of the Art Design of the Pilot Experiences: Progress Report Conclusions Appendix 2 ABSTRACT This deliverable is the natural continuation of the deliverable of Milestone #17, completed in April 2023. That deliverable gave an up-to-date state of the art of the ongoing initiatives somehow related to the concept of Lab Village in all the universities of the North-East of Italy involved in iNEST. As a matter of fact, looking at the emerging picture, not all the described initiatives can actually be viewed as existing Lab Villages or Lab Villages in the process of being set up. This document is a deliverable of Milestone #18, that have been completed at the end of April 2024. It consists of two parts. The first one contains a critical analysis of the existing situation at each spoke as reported in the deliverable of Milestone #17. Not surprisingly, the state of progress of the Lab Villages varies greatly from spoke to spoke. In some spoke, the idea of Lab Village is completely yet to come. In other ones, there are some ongoing laboratories which are, albeit weakly, traceable to the concept of Lab Village. Finally, there are some spokes where some successful experiences of laboratories jointly established by universities/research centres and companies exist. An account of such an analysis for each spoke is reported in the present document. The second part is a progress report on the design of the pilot experiences that will be realized in the next milestone. Once more, there is a great variability in the proposals, that reflects the different levels of maturity of the idea of Lab Village. Moreover, the nature and the structure of the Lab Village strongly depend on the activities carried on in the various spokes: a Lab Village involving companies operating in the context of advanced manufacturing necessarily looks quite different from one devoted to the cultural industry. One of the expected outcomes of CC2 is the identification of a set of possible models of Lab Village to be used in the conception and the design of new labs. They range from standard joint laboratories, in a specific physical location, to distributed laboratories, in more than one location at different physical sites, from virtual laboratories, based on suitable software infrastructures, to software platforms supporting collaborative networks. 3 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE CC2 GOALS AND ACTIVITIES 1.1 CC2 OBJECTIVES OVERVIEW As illustrated in the deliverable of Milestone #17, Lab Villages are infrastructures, usually deployed in physical spaces, where people coming both from academia and research institutions and from companies join their efforts and act to create advanced products, services, or innovation artifacts. The nature and structure of these infrastructures may differ in various respects, e.g., they can be physical joint laboratories or software infrastructures. The outcomes of the different labs may also vary a lot, depending on the specific agreements decided case by case and place by place. They can be reports from discussion groups on topics or tasks of common interest, live demos, or prototypes of tools or systems being developed. The iNEST project aims at boosting such an initiative, contributing to the instalment or the advancement of the Lab Villages spread in the Triveneto territory. Its ultimate goal is to create a network of Lab Villages, based on a suitable software infrastructure, and to suitably connect the different nodes of the network in such a way that different labs can collaborate on topics of common interest and companies may establish fruitful interactions with those nodes that better match their interests/needs. In addition, some reference models of Lab Village will be identified. Last but not least, the interactions with the other transversal activities (spin-off and startup, lifelong learning, and public engagement) will be investigated in order to provide a uniform framework for a continuous and mutual beneficial interaction among universities and research centres, technology transfer centres, and companies. 1.2 CC2 TOPICS AND ON-GOING RESEARCH ACTIVITIES As stated in the activity plan, Milestone #18 focuses on two main topics: (i) a critical analysis of the state of the art produced by Milestone #17 and (ii) the design of some pilot experiences to be developed, implemented, and evaluated in the next milestone. As for (i), a critical assessment of the pros and the cons of existing Lab Villages allowed us to identify and consolidate the most promising ones, and to prepare the establishment of new laboratories. The reconnaissance of existing labs aims at identifying their distinctive features in order to gain a clear understanding of the most important properties of a Lab Village and to possibly partition Lab Villages into different classes. In the case of healthy villages, the outcomes of the analysis can be used to consolidate and further develop them; in the problematic cases, they provide indications for addressing criticalities. In both cases, the received feedback can serve as a reference for the starting laboratories, letting us to identify the main issues to address when creating new labs. Among the key elements of a Lab Village, we would like to mention the existing infrastructures, that constitute the skeleton of the Lab Village, the involved partners and the stipulated contracts, the processes followed by different actors, the business models (if any) pursued, the rules of engagement for the participants, the objectives to be reached, and the KPIs implemented. A characteristic of particular importance is the degree of involvement of the territory in the lab. One of the main tasks of a Lab Village is that of boosting research and innovation in the territory where the lab operates. This boost should in turn give rise to, or acts as an accelerator of, a number of innovative companies in the ecosystem. With the ultimate goal of creating a network of Lab Villages, opportunities 4 of networking among the different labs and even joining together to avoid duplications and reach a critical mass of activities will be annotated. As for (ii), few pilot experiences of particular significance and interest, among the villages that have been activated (existing ones and new ones), have been identified. The identification benefitted from the analysis carried out in (i) and it aimed at promoting as much as possible a portfolio of heterogeneous initiatives, that may differ from each other in the geographical location, type, and content. Among the various forms of pilot experiences, we are evaluating the possibility of providing some of the well performing existing labs with some sort of investments, in order to consolidate and improve their actions. Mechanisms by which these investments can be done and specific objectives to be reached are under consideration. Investments may consist of the involvement of companies or groups of companies, in order to address specific issues that different labs must face. Such an involvement of companies may help in strengthening the connections of the lab to the territory. Another promising suggestion emerged from a hackathon that we organized in December 2023 at the Lab Village of the University of Udine with the collaboration between universities and companies as its topic: the proposal of pilot experiences aimed at promoting a laboratory involving a significant number of companies, operating in different areas, devoted to a topic of common, transversal interest, like, for instance, those of corporate wellbeing or of sustainable mobility. In the case of those spokes that are thinking of new settlements, pilot experiences consist of the definition and the activation of suitable processes, involving various stakeholders (institutions, trade associations, companies), to identify strategic scientific and technological areas as well as partnerships that can benefit from a Lab Village settlement and network for the socio-economical sustainable development of the territories. 1.3 CC2 DISSEMINATION AND OTHER COLLABORATIVE ACTIVITIES A lot of work has been done in establishing and consolidating the task forces operating in each spoke on this transversal activity. We first constituted a committee of experts, including one representative researcher for each spoke, with the task of communicating motivations and goals of the CC2 activity to all the interested members of the institutions involved in the spoke, and of coordinating the execution of the activity plan. Then, each member of the committee identified a supporting working group within the spoke, whose composition has been defined on the basis of the ongoing activities in the context of existing university/industries collaborations. Finally, some research fellows have been hired to help the coordinators in managing all the activities. Research fellows and people from the working groups played a major role in the critical analysis of the state of the art and contributed in an essential way to the design of the pilot experiences. A hackathon on the topic of collaborations between universities and companies in research and development activities has been organized at the Lab Village of the University of Udine on December 1-3, 2023, as a joint effort of two of the entities of spoke 3 (University of Udine and Polo Tecnologico Alto Adriatico) and the European project Reginna 4.0 (a project that aims at providing SMEs and start-ups with access to Deep Tech knowledge and infrastructure through a collaborative platform). More than forty students from various universities participated in the hackathon, contributing a number of original and stimulating proposals. A short video on the event, together with the pitches, can be found at the following link: 5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyiGZ0lUrd0&list=PLJ9xn0eU5enUdUJxG8z6hfqGNzaEqOEfN The outcomes of the first two milestones of activity CC2 were presented to and discussed with the governances of the universities and research and technology transfer centers in a public event that took place in Udine on March 22nd. A special session of the event was devoted to testimonials from companies involved in Lab Village experiences. 1.4 CC2 MAIN RESULTS The first and fundamental result achieved so far is an alignment of all of the spokes on a common idea of what a Lab Village is, with all the possible variables of the case. The various spokes, indeed, started from very different situations, where even the terminology used to describe existing interactions between universities and research/technology transfer centers and companies was not uniform. In many cases, the prevailing form of relationship between them is that of commissioned research: a company has a specific problem and looks for people from the universities or the research centers with the skills necessary to solve it. Lab Villages have been devised and, to some extent, implemented with the goal of establishing some organic forms of collaborative research. Topics of common interest are identified and jointly investigated in a mediumor long-term perspective, with company employees working together with researchers in shared physical or virtual Lab Village spaces. The work described in the present report is centred on two main themes. The first one is a critical analysis of the situation of each spoke on the basis of the state of the art included in the deliverable of Milestone #17. The outcomes are detailed in the following and can be summarized as follows. Some spokes have locations where some forms of collaborative research have been already implemented. This is the case with the NOI Tech Park in Bolzano, which host laboratories of the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano, start-ups, and R&D sectors of high-tech companies. Another case is that of the Lab Village of the University of Udine, which hosts a significant number of laboratories where research groups from various university departments and people from private companies and start-ups work together on a regular basis. FBK hosts two laboratories established through strong collaborations with the local and national healthcare sectors. The first one involves the Autonomous Province of Trento (PAT) and the local APSS in the Trentino Salute 4.0 Competence Center, while the second one is built around the TreC-Ricerca platform, focusing on defining, testing, and integrating digital health services for citizens. Other spokes present a quite fragmentated scenario. This is the case with the University of Padova, where the living labs are independent entities that mainly address academic research purposes and have limited opportunities to collaborate with enterprises to pursue cross-disciplinary and applied research objectives. The University of Verona has three main existing facilities, namely, the Live demo Fabbrica del vino, the Experimental winery ‘Villa Eugenia’, and the ICE Lab for Industry 4.0, plus other ones contributed by the other spoke participants. A major weakness of the current situation is the lack of dedicated personnel to develop and promote the activities of the sites and to suitably coordinate them. SISSA and the University of Trieste are located in a geographic area with a high density of researchers and a robust infrastructure for research and development; however, the full potential of a Lab Village is yet to be tapped into. The University of Trento has launched two initiatives in the field of health technology for research and training and pays particular attention to sustainable innovation. It suffers from limited critical mass both in terms of the number of biomedical companies and the local market opportunities, and it needs to improve the integration capability among companies. The peculiarities of the topics of Spoke 4 (City, Architecture, and 6 Sustainable Design), coordinated by Iuav, and Spoke 6 (Tourism, Culture, and Creative Industries), coordinated by the University of Venezia Ca’ Foscari, make the design and development of a Lab Village very challenging. The report presents the main opportunities and criticalities of the settlement of new Lab Villages in these areas. The second one is the identification of some possible pilot experiences to be carried out in the next milestone, taking into account the level of maturity of the idea of Lab Village at each spoke and the specific nature of the addressed topics. Despite these differences, an idea that unites many spokes is that of using cascade calls to involve companies in the initiative. In various cases, the proposed pilot experience basically consists of the design and the realization of the basic infrastructure a new Lab Village. This is the case with Iuav, the University of Padova, the University of Trento, the University of Trieste, SISSA, and the University of Venezia Ca’ Foscari. In the case of the University of Padova, the Lab Village will be located within the new "Human Centric Living Technopole", while that of Iuav will be located at Ca’ Tron, a historic building overlooking the Grand Canal. The University of Trieste and SISSA are thinking of the spaces of Porto Vecchio in Trieste, in particular those of the Urban Center. The Lab Village of the University of Trento will be built around the key concept of sustainable innovation. In general, the Lab Villages will host existing laboratories as well as new installations. In some cases, the pilot experience will include the promotion and expansion of existing labs; in other cases, it will include the activation of new joint labs. In particular, the University of Venezia Ca’ Foscari is thinking of systemic and multidisciplinary experiences of innovation in the artistic-cultural domain. In the case of the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano, the pilot experience will be devoted to the development and deployment of novel solutions and prototypes of advanced multimedia, virtual reality, and augmented reality systems to facilitate networking of laboratory instrumentation, teaching and lifelong learning activities, and public engagement. The focus of the pilot experience of the University of Verona will be on technology and knowledge transfer activities to introduce the novel technologies developed by the various laboratories to relevant end users. Besides some initiatives aimed at improving labs already belonging to the village and incorporating new ones, the University of Udine is thinking of creating physically distributed joint lab with other universities, e.g., a distributed lab in the area of agricultural engineering with the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano involving companies from both territories. 1.6 ORGANIZATION OF THE DELIVERABLE The rest of the deliverable is organized as follows. In Section 2, we make a critical analysis of the state of the art, as emerging from the deliverable of Milestone #17. Then, in Section 3, we describe the pilot experiences designed by the various spokes. Some conclusions are drawn in Section 4. Finally, in the appendix, we give a short account of a series of meeting/interview organized at each spoke in order to coordinate the ongoing work and to promote fruitful interactions among the spokes. 7 2 CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STATE OF THE ART As outlined in Sect. 1.2, one of the objectives of Milestone #18 is to make a critical analysis of existing Lab Villages in order to consolidate the most promising ones and prepare the birth of new Lab Villages. Starting from the state of the art realized in Milestone #17, a more in-depth evaluation has being carried out, with a twofold purpose. From one side, to enucleate the distinctive features of existing labs, trying to group them in different typologies, thus allowing us to identify which kind of properties are the most important for them. From the other side, to analyse the potential value of each existing lab, supporting consolidation and development of healthy villages and providing indications for addressing criticalities. At the end of such an analysis, existing villages will of course serve as a model for the starting ones, letting us to identify the main issues to address when creating new labs. The following sections briefly describe the results of the critical analysis carried out by each spoke. 2.1 CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STATE OF THE ART – UNIBZ The Lab Village experience at UNIBZ is part of the Spoke 1 – Ecosystem for Mountain Innovations. It will leverage the expertise accumulated by the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano at the premises of the NOI Tech Park in Bolzano, serving as a hub for university laboratories, start-ups, and R&D activities of high-tech companies. UNIBZ involves approximately 100 researchers, technicians, and students across nine laboratories at NOI Techpark, spanning areas such as automation, food technology, digitalization, renewable energy, and energy efficiency. Aligned with the local S3 strategy of the Autonomous Province of Bozen/Bolzano, the Tech Park collaborates on various research areas that are coherent with the goals of the iNEST project. Figure 1: NOI Tech Park map. 8 The facilities dedicated to this task focus on digitalizing industrial production, optimizing energy production and management, green mobility, circular resource management, and innovative energy production and storage solutions. These facilities include the following laboratories: • Laboratory for Human-centred Technologies and Machine Intelligence: Researching and developing embodied artificial intelligence technologies that operate autonomously or interact with humans. • Field Robotics South-Tyrol Lab (FiRST Lab): Conducting interdisciplinary research at the intersection of mechatronics, robotics, automation, and agro-forestry applications. • Sensor System Technologies Lab (SST): Developing technologies, manufacturing devices, and creating integrated solutions for monitoring data acquisition through the Internet of Things (IoT). • Bioenergy and Biofuels Laboratories: Focusing on energy production from biomass and waste materials, employing traditional and innovative combustion processes within a circular economy perspective. • Laboratory for Electric Drives and Fluid Machines: Studying clean power generation systems, optimizing hybrid energy and storage systems, and developing hybrid/electric powertrains for automotive and industrial applications. • Laboratory for Agroforestry Engineering: Conceptualizing, developing, and testing mechatronic components for the agricultural and forestry sector, including specialized measuring tools for materials and safety. • Food Technology Laboratory: Investigating new extraction processes using innovative technologies based on supercritical fluids and conducting pilot studies to optimize ingredient production. • Laboratory of Buildings Physics: Optimizing heat and cooling usage in various building systems, including industrial and commercial buildings, to enhance well-being and productivity in the built environment. • Laboratory for Fluid Mechanics (LTFD): Studying various aspects of fluid mechanics, industrial flows, hydraulic machines, hydraulic construction, and their interaction with the environment. • Smart Data Factory: Developing solutions for complex problems in intelligent data management and co-designing IT applications focusing on intelligent data use. The NOI Tech Park is also connected to networks such as the Automotive Excellence network and research institutions like Eurach Research and Fraunhofer Italia, enhancing collaboration on production sustainability and green mobility. UNIBZ includes competence centres, such as the ones for Economic, Ecological, and Social Sustainability, and Family Business Management, fostering collaboration between research institutions and the local community. Moreover, the NOI Tech Park can leverage skills from the SMACT project, building on positive aspects and addressing limitations. The analysis of the current situation has highlighted the possibility to integrate recent digital methodologies into laboratories, emphasizing virtual collaboration spaces for the iNEST project's Lab Village network. The NOI Tech Park is a promising candidate for activating novel solutions within Lab Village networks, offering distinctive features tailored to the local environment and industrial landscape. An analysis of the state of the art on the structure of the NOI Tech Park has revealed that the crosscontamination of start-uppers, companies and researchers has led to a continuous stimulus to new 9 ideas and patents, birth of start-ups and collection of funds on applied research. Currently, 26 start-ups, 63 companies and 45 scientific and prototype laboratories are located at the NOI Tech Park. The current structure, though very effective, has still a limited impact outside the premises of the NOI Tech Park and of the local territory; there is a lack of tools and solutions to enforce the connection of the different labs to external industrial background and, as a consequence, also to the other geographical areas outside the Province of Bolzano (research centres, spokes of the iNEST project, etc.). This connection would increase the visibility of the NOI Tech Park and favour the collaboration for new research projects and industrial innovation ideas; moreover, it would complement the skills and expertise already available with other competence centres. In the perspective of the cross-cutting activities of the iNEST project, the spoke held by UNIBZ proposes the B5 Laboratory as a pilot experiment lab-village (more details will be given in Sect. 3.1). Building B5 was specifically selected due to the physical proximity of activities and research structures covering most of the topics of the iNEST project spokes, which represents a one-of-its-kind opportunity in the context of the project; in particular, the following labs are present at the premises of the B5 building: • Field Robotics South-Tyrol Lab (FiRST Lab) • Bioenergy and Biofuels Laboratories • Laboratory for Electric Drives and Fluid Machines • Laboratory for Agroforestry Engineering • Laboratory for Fluid Mechanics (LTFD) Figure 2: Labs at the B5 building. 16 nature of the collaboration by possibly considering new types of contracts, different from the contracts for third parties, to clearly define the relationships between the parties and the sources of financing, avoiding falling into state aid. • Intellectual property: it is important to contractually define the rules relating to intellectual property to meet both the needs of the academic staff, who wish to publish the results of the research, and the needs of the company, which expects an economic return from the research. A possibility is a time-limited confidentiality agreement, that gives the company a temporal advantage over competitors. Such agreements should, in any case, be oriented towards the concept of open innovation. Finally, as for the integration of the Lab Village within the rest of the Rizzi Campus, some problems were highlighted by the construction delegate. In fact, the Lab Village appears to be external to the Campus. To overcome this problem there is a project to better integrate the Lab Village within the Campus by creating an access route to the village directly from the campus itself rather than from the current external access. The construction of a further pavilion (a Lab Village B) is planned, which will mainly host laboratories from DPIA and DMIF, including those already located at the Lab Village. 2.4 CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STATE OF THE ART – IUAV At this stage, the research focused on mapping the existing heritage of the laboratory realities pertaining to the university, as well as the related instrumentation and machinery. The mapping carried out was used to outline an architecture of the relationships between the various laboratories involved, separating them between research laboratories and those preparatory to teaching, and noting the following. The research laboratories, equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and highly specialized skills, carry out scientific and professional activities in the following fields: photography, representation, surveying, topography, cartography, geographic information systems, petrography, analysis of materials for architecture and the environment, technology, geotechnics, geophysics, building science, construction technology, technical physics, environmental control technology, verification of industrial products and communicative artifacts, and evaluations on preand post-marketing prototypes. The university's teaching laboratories - better defined as Instrumental Laboratories - are facilities that mainly, but not exclusively, carry out activities to support the teaching of certain courses of study, offering functions, services, and training activities (short instrumental courses on techniques and applications). Taken together they represent a fundamental reality for the design culture expressed by Iuav, certainly identifiable with respect to the national context. The architecture of the relationships among the various laboratories was structured. As a final result, the mapping of the laboratories afferent to Iuav present in the Lagoon produced the diagrams and schemes reported in Fig. 7. 17 The main critical issues of the laboratory system of Iuav are related to the particular conformation of Venice, which sees laboratories scattered throughout the territory (both islands and mainland). On the one hand, such a configuration allows the various locations to have thematic laboratories; on the other hand, it never allows one to see the unity and interdisciplinarity of research. The planned Lab Village should enhance some of the ongoing activities in the laboratories, e.g., by providing them with new tools for research, and, more importantly, should create the place where to see and enjoy the existing and future research in its complexity and variety. In particular, the Lab Village should be a place able to develop new interdisciplinary research trajectories. 2.5 CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STATE OF THE ART – UNIPD The main aim of Spoke 5 on “Smart and sustainable environments (manufacturing, working, living)”, led by UNIPD, is to foster multidisciplinary research not only to contribute to the advancement of the scientific knowledge, but also to generate a concrete impact on the local economy and the society. More specifically, Spoke 5 focuses on several thematic areas, being manufacturing 5.0, the organizational processes in Industry 5.0, and the wellbeing of the individual across living environments (home, school, work). These topics are already investigated at UNIPD, which currently features the laboratories Domotic Smart Home (Castelfranco Residence), Ergonomic workstation lab, and XR Lab. By their very nature, these laboratories provide the opportunity to conduct applied research in a closeto-the-field situation; yet they currently present some limitations that open up the opportunities for expansion and improvements. Firstly, the current living labs can be conceived as independent entities that mainly address academic research purposes, with limited opportunities to collaborate with enterprises to pursue crossdisciplinary and applied research objectives. Furthermore, these living labs were not realized to accommodate the needs of multidisciplinary research groups. Indeed, they are located within different premises across different areas of the city of Padova, or even out of it, thereby hampering the opportunities for academic researchers from different groups to interact with each other, and to meet with professionals employed in companies. Figure 7: Placement and relationship between the university laboratories. 18 This fragmentation also reduces the impact that these facilities may have on the local community. Indeed, it is challenging to deliver thorough showcases to enterprises to illustrate the whole equipment and to fruitfully foster collaboration trajectories. Besides, it is hard to involve citizens to demonstrate researchers’ work and to explain the practical implications for the local and wider communities. Moreover, the independent and relatively rigid nature of the labs makes it challenging also for researchers to conduct cutting-edge research. Indeed, the technological equipment installed in the Domotic Smart Home has a predetermined configuration, meaning that at the moment researchers can make very little changes within the living lab to test new solutions and prototypes. Moreover, such equipment was designed to meet the needs of individuals with motor and cognitive disabilities, thereby failing to address the demands of other groups of individuals with special needs, e.g., older adults, adults suffering from Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Similarly, the Ergonomic workstation lab features a structure that mainly supports experiments addressing psychology-related research questions. It thus needs to be further developed to enable researchers with different specializations to install supplemental add-ons, and reconfigure and reprogram it to address more complex issues of interdisciplinary interest. Moreover, it has a strong focus on the manufacturing sector, thereby failing to address different work-related issues that are compelling research topics nowadays, e.g., organizational processes. As for the XR Lab, today it represents a stand-alone research environment, thereby limiting the potential of XR technologies to be employed for virtual prototyping and rapid testing. Importantly, at the moment the Spoke 5 does not feature a dedicated location where the research questions pertaining to innovative education and instruction can be investigated. While this research area can be addressed with field studies in schools, in these contexts it is hard to systematically investigate the effects of innovative technological solutions on the learning processes of either young and older students, and effectively involve other relevant stakeholders, i.e., teachers and parents. Therefore, during Milestone #18 the Spoke 5 has been diligently working towards establishing a comprehensive, multidisciplinary research facility. This facility not only serves as a home for the Lab Village, designed as research infrastructure, but also as a broader meeting place where universities, companies, public administrations, and citizens come together to exchange ideas, collaborate on new projects, share laboratory resources, and foster greater interconnections. More details on the set-up of the Lab Village will be provided in Sect. 3.5. 2.6 CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STATE OF THE ART – UNIVE As there is no Venetian Lab Village or any cultural-based Lab Village, Spoke 6 based the ‘state of the art’ on empirical research over similar spaces. The initial phase involved mapping collaborative spaces in the Northeast of Italy, within the national Italian context, and across the European international landscape, through a desk analysis of a sample comprising a total of 94 spaces. The mapping of spaces initially relied on desk research, using online sources and keywords directing the search towards the cultural innovation context, creative entrepreneurship, specifically aimed at bridging semantic areas related to business implementation services, cultural and creative aspects, innovation and development, collaborative and ecosystemic dimensions: "coworking", "hub", "fablab", "makerspaces", "innovation", "social innovation", "culture and creativity", "creative enterprise", "network", "cultural ecosystem", "incubation and acceleration", "cultural design", "europroject for culture and creativity". After identifying the initial spaces, a snowball 19 method was applied, identifying subsequent spaces based on citations or progressive references collected during the analysis. This may lead to a potential overrepresentation of spaces related to national or international networks, but this risk was mitigated by the first selection phase, which identified a very broad and diversified sample of spaces. This initial phase produced a first selection of spaces, which were analysed based on grey literature such as online journal articles and websites, etnographic work (conducted in their channels and social profiles), and, when available, through scientific articles mentioning them as case studies. The mapping yielded a list of 94 spaces. Among them, 26 are located in the Northeast of Italy, 43 in other Italian regions, and 25 in Europe. Within the Northeast, 19 are situated in urban areas, particularly in the Venice area, while 4 are located in smaller urban and rural areas. Transitioning from the local to the national level, the results reveal that 15 spaces are in urban areas, 5 in rural areas, and 2 in inland areas. Finally, among the internationally mapped spaces, 17 are in urban areas, 4 in peripheral areas, and 4 in rural areas. The analysis criterion focused on the provision of workspaces has revealed conformity among the samples examined from the Northeast, the national scale, and the international scale. The homogeneous trend is evident both in the types of concessions for spaces intended for short-term, long-term, or mixed-use, and in the incidence of concessions, both free and paid. At the national level, significant differences emerge compared to the international context, particularly regarding the incidence of artistic residency programs and hospitality services that interact with issues related to tourist attractiveness. This type of initiatives and programs is found to a greater extent in the national context, which proportionally aligns with the local one. In general, across all three contexts, conformity is observed regarding the presence of integration and points of contact between the sphere of artistic production, the concession of workspaces, whether collaborative or individual, and entrepreneurial implementation services. The observation of training and education services on the examined sample highlights how, in the Italian context, the creation and provision of training and education services in the cultural and creative sector are less developed compared to the international landscape. The deficiency is more pronounced, especially concerning facilitation and business implementation services, a disparity that affects both the international and national contexts (specifically with a higher incidence in the northern context and a lower one in the southern context, where there are more services and initiatives oriented towards local development than entrepreneurial development). Both at the local and national levels, the majority of these services are offered for a fee. The density of training and support services in sector-specific terms, focused on the cultural and creative sector, tends to be similar across the three levels of analysis. The observation of the sample of projects, collaborative spaces, and organizations through the criterion directed at intermediation services has highlighted a greater prevalence of initiatives aimed at building networks through the production of exhibitions, festivals, lab sessions, and workshops open to the public, both at the national and local levels, to a greater extent than indicated by the data on the international scale, which shows a lower incidence of this type of intermediation. Regarding services aimed at building communities and networks oriented towards implementing and facilitating business projects, there is a noticeable prevalence of this type of intermediation in the sample related to the international context compared to the national and local contexts. The latter, however, exhibit common trends concerning this criterion (but with different distribution at the urban/territorial level). The distribution of sector-specific intermediation forms in the cultural and 20 creative field appears generally uniform among the local, national, and international contexts, whereas it manifests with less relevance in the international context. 2.7 CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STATE OF THE ART – UNIVR The Lab Village cross-cutting action of Spoke 7 is centred on Smart agri-food, in agreement with the research topics (RTs) of Spoke 7, namely: RT1: Business models for sustainable agri-food at different levels; RT2: Process/product innovation for sustainable Agri-food; RT3: Circular economy; RT4: Logistics, supply chain, and vertical coordination. The goal of Spoke 7 is to promote different activities of innovation and knowledge transfer for digital and green transition in the aarea, in particular for the wine sector. In agreement with the general CC2 layout, activities of the Spoke 7 Lab Village will be hosted by the spoke leader University of Verona. A working group has been constituted for coordinating the activities of the Spoke 7 CC2 Lab Village, including UNIVR and Fondazione Edmund Mach (FEM) personnel. Assessment of the type of infrastructures present and capable of supporting activities in the field of Smart agri-food allowed the identification of three existing facilities within UNIVR, which are: 1. Live demo Fabbrica del vino (FdV). FdV is an experimental laboratory for the development and demonstration of new technologies for the wine industry, with particular reference to digital technologies and Industria 4.0. Born with the idea of enhancing the ability of companies to acquire data and use them in decision-making processes, above all it aims at providing scalable application cases for wine companies’ final user. It is a site for testing and demonstrating data collection and processing systems, and remote process control and process automation on small pilot plants. The laboratory will work in "connection" with the vineyard, drying facility, and experimental cellar of Villa Eugenia, a production site equipped with the most advanced process control and management systems. FdV is located in the former Magazzini Generali area (in the spaces adjacent to the Industrial Computer Engineering (ICE) laboratory). 2. Experimental winery ‘Villa Eugenia’. Villa Eugenia is an experimental winery equipped with 180 fermentation tanks of different sizes, varying from 5 L to 200 L, and 4 large size tanks of 800 L, all adapted for standard red and white winemaking. It hosts state-of-the-art sensing systems for rapid collection of compositional data on grape and wine, with the possibility to transfer the data to the FdV computational platform for data interpretation and modelling. An experimental drying loft is also present, allowing one to replicate typical conditions of grape drying, while temperature and light controlled environments make it possible to simulate stress conditions associated with transport and storage of wine and other foods/goods. A distillation plant is available as well. The facility is located in the University pole of San Floriano, about 20 km far from Verona, in the middle of the Valpolicella wine region, which greatly enhances the potential of this site as a hub for Lab Village activities. The site hosts a 75 seats lecture room for seminars and workshops. 21 Figure 8: The facility of Villa Eugenia. 3. ICE Lab for Industry 4.0. The ICE (Industrial Computer Engineering) Lab https://www.icelab.di.univr.it/ is a physical space dedicated to applied research, technology transfer, and collaboration with local stakeholders. Created according to the dictates of Industry 4.0, ICE is focused on teaching, training, and innovation, in close collaboration with local companies. The Lab is divided into several technological areas, each representing a type of production. A logistics system made up of a transport line and an AGV connects the different areas, thanks to an innovative software stack for control and monitoring. The ICE Lab is located in the area of the former Magazzini Generali, nearby Fiera di Verona. In addition to the above-described facilities, present at UNIVR, other ones are available thanks to the connections with the affiliated partners, in particular within UNIUD (Lab Village with Sensory and food processing labs, plus the Microbrewing facility), UNIVE (Strategy Innovation Hub), FEM (SMART Vineyard and Composting plant), and UNIPD (sparkling wine microvinification plant). As such, within the context of Spoke 7 activities, the Lab Village will operate with a specific focus on production of wine and other fermented beverages, which will be essentially used as a model scenario towards which activities of the Lab Village will be targeted. This will allow sufficient territorial relevance being wine production widespread in the entire North-East of Italy. At the same time, as within spoke 7 activities wine production is present across a large number of tasks ranging from business models to crop (vineyard) management, robotics, sensors, production processes, by-products, packaging, marketing, and logistics, it appeared a suitable transversal area for Lab Village activities. Of course, many of the technologies promoted in the context of the Lab Village will be also of relevance to other areas of agri-food, and relevant stakeholders will be engaged accordingly. As for the strengths and weaknesses of the Spoke 7 Lab Village, the main strong point of the existing facilities lies in the high ability to address questions and problems of the beverage sector, with a particular reference to the wine industry. This is particularly true for Villa Eugenia and FdV, whereas ICE Lab offers more general competences in the fields of process automation and artificial intelligence. Such a combination can provide great capabilities for innovation in the agri-food sector, with fermented beverage and wine, in particular, being a primary case study. At the same time, each facility 22 on its own can provide further opportunities of interaction with private companies in a Lab Village format: FdV for knowledge transfer, Villa Eugenia for prototype testing and scale up, ICE Lab for development and testing of novel technologies for the agri-food sector, including novel sensing systems and robots for application in the field, during processing and during storage. The main weakness in the case of FdV and Villa Eugenia facilities, lies in the lack of dedicated personnel to develop and promote the activities of the sites. Consequently, Lab Village activities could be also compromised. In consideration of this, the recruitment of dedicated personnel, e.g., a research scientist, has been implemented. As for ICE Lab, this facility has well established expertise in industrial manufacturing, robotics, and data handling, while previous experiences in the agri-food sector are quite limited. 2.8 CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STATE OF THE ART – UNITS Trieste hosts 13 of the 17 entities of the Sistema Scientifico e dell’Innovazione del Friuli Venezia Giulia (SIS)-FVG1, and it presents a very high density of researchers (estimated in about 35/1000) as compared to the general population. A foundation was born (Fondazione Internazionale Trieste per il progresso e la libertà delle scienze2 - FIT), collecting as founding and charter members public administrations (e.g., Regione FVG and Trieste Municipality), research institutions (including the International Center for Theoretical Physics, University of Trieste), private sector organizations (Associazione Industriali Trieste, Camera di Commercio Industria and Artigianato della Venezia Giulia, among others) and big private players as UniCredit Spa, FINCANTIERI Spa, Assicurazioni Generali Spa, other insurance companies, Telecom Spa, and more. FIT succeed in proposing Trieste as host for the IX European Science Forum in July 2020. This event has the development of Porto Vecchio (an area of 60 hectares facing the sea) towards a large innovation laboratory as one of its legacies: the FVG Region, in addition to being a capital of knowledge, can also become a capital of know-how3. Giving substance to this vision, the FVG Regional administration in October 2023 approved the allocation of 45 million euros in funding for innovation in the Life Sciences with the prospect of establishing companies and research centres in the field of Life Sciences, Ship building innovation, and Health Data Sciences in the Porto Vecchio area4, indicating the Technological Pole Alto Adriatico “Andrea Galvani" (PoloAA) - which coordinates FVG Life Sciences Cluster - as manager of calls for this funding5. PoloAA is a certified incubator for innovative start-ups based in Pordenone, partner of INEST, affiliated with both Spoke 3 and Spoke 8, and it has recently obtained the management of the Urban Center of Trieste6, where the Cluster for Life Sciences is moving7. This series of events and institutional actions represent relevant address, opportunity and support for steps, moving the notable 1 https://www.sisfvg.it/ 2 https://fondazioneinternazionale.org/the-institute/about-us/ 3 https://www.icgeb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Freedom-for-science-science-for-freedom_-ESOF-sceglieTrieste-come-capitale-2020-%E2%80%93-La-Voce-di-New-York.pdf 4https://www.regione.fvg.it/rafvg/comunicati/comunicato.act;jsessionid=33522DBC01F0BD5E2ED892C1B1B1297C? dir=/rafvg/cms/RAFVG/organigramma/&nm=20231108155444001 5 https://mcusercontent.com/7ebb354dab3d8f66727e20913/files/175a0618-324a-dae1-890eba848d61fde2/Allegato_1_alla_Delibera_1556_2023.pdf 6 https://www.polotecnologicoaltoadriatico.it/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Fino-al-2028-sara-il-Polo-a-gestireUrban-Center_Il_Piccolo_11_10_2023.pdf 7 https://www.b2match.com/explore/innovazione-e-connessione 23 fundamental and basic science of the Sistema Trieste toward a fertilization of an innovation ecosystem with a social and economic impact, in which a Lab Village - where researchers from public and private players share space, time and ideas - is well motivated. In fact, the several research institutions and centres of the Trieste Area have renown records in fundamental science, but innovation and technology transfer have still room to be further developed and deployed. The number of innovation management specialists, promoting solid culture of innovation process in the institutions appears still small in comparison to the territorial research output. An effort in putting at system around selected territorial vocational themes, research groups, Industrial Liaison Offices (or Technology-Transfer Offices) of the Universities, incubators, accelerators for startups, dynamic companies (either big or SME) aiming at contributing to the design of a Lab Village can produce in the middle term solid and tangible economic and social impact, in a win-win systemic perspective, gaining critical mass for the innovation system. Territorial vocational themes appear to be those related to its position facing the Sea, the Mediterranean basin, connected with Eastern Europe and Balkanic area, in an Italian, Slavic, Greek, and Austrian melting pot: marine and maritime sciences and technologies (e.g., blue biodiversity, shipand maritime building, coastal management); to “traditional” assets as insurance companies and the rich network of research centres, that require and develop knowledge on data science and AI; to a peculiar demographic pattern – that needs some turning point – showing aging of population among the highest in Italy, as well as need of health promotion and prevention for attracting and keeping young people In the area, calling for life science sperimentation and innovation. AI and Digital Twins have a relevant potential in supporting the manufacturing sector in the area, and SISSA has an eminent role in this, having coordinated a SMACT project on the topic, and how it is evidenced in the CC2 report of Spoke 9 (see Section 2.9). Further issues to be considered are sci-techs for promoting quantitative sustainability, a worldwide crosscutting focus of present times, highly supported by some of the institutions of the Trieste area8, also related to the development of new materials and processes designed by physics, engineering, and chemistry research groups having seat in Trieste' research institutions. From the academic part, a relatively recent map of innovation-oriented research groups can be retrieved from records on the internal survey (2022) on themes for FVG regional S4 Sustainable Smart Specialisation Strategy9. Highly branched networks of potentially interested private companies are represented in regional clusters, and particularly FVG Life Science Cluster, Maritime Technology (MareFVG) Cluster, Metalmechanic/Manufacturing Cluster, that will have a place in the Urban Center of Trieste, an innovation melting pot, being also a house for clusters. In fact, a limit of the existing innovation system/pipeline (from ideas from research groups to focalized innovative idea, to birth of spin-off or startup companies, and to growth and acceleration - also by venture capitals - till services and products on the market) appear to be the fragmentation between research and innovation players as well as relative discontinuity of funding support in critical moment of a startup life, not allowing to design substantial middle/long term development plans, from research ideas to ready-to-market technologies. A structured innovation pipeline can lead to a Lab Village that would also aim at attracting or stabilizing high quality human resources, providing ideas and energy, generating economic-societal impact. 8 https://www.ogs.it/it/press/grazie-ogs-e-fit-nasce-trieste-il-laboratorio-sulla-sostenibilita-quantitativa 9 https://www.regione.fvg.it/rafvg/export/sites/default/RAFVG/fondi-europei-fvginternazionale/S3_FVG/allegati/17012023_allegato_1_Delibera_1841-2022.pdf 24 The design and development of a Lab Village (both on a physical/built and digital connection lighter scheme) for the Trieste area (including contributions from University of Trieste iNEST Spoke 8 and more, SISSA Spoke 9, iNEST partners OGS and PoloAA – and strongly connected to the Lab Village on Advanced Manufacturing of the University of Udine, and to the overall foreseen iNEST Lab Village network) can integrate/coagulate interests of local/regional/and international stakeholders. Stronger connections between innovation players focusing on the development of a deeply rooted (blue / data / life sci-tech) innovation network are required as well as organic core interactions between iNEST partners University of Trieste, SISSA, OGS, PoloAA, AdSPMAO (Port Network Authority), University of Udine; further functional connections with thematic iNEST Lab Villages could follow naturally (e.g., FVG Life Sciences with the Trento Lab Village of Spoke 2 focused on Health, Food, and Life Styles). 2.9 CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STATE OF THE ART – SISSA Trieste's rich innovation ecosystem, characterized by its high density of researchers and robust infrastructure for research and development, is a fertile ground for the evolution of the Lab Village concept. The presence of two universities, a multitude of public research institutions, a technological park, and the headquarters of major Italian companies in Trieste offers a unique opportunity to foster innovation and technology transfer. However, the full potential of this ecosystem is yet to be tapped into. We will first describe some key assets of the area, with topics of Spoke 9 in mind. Trieste Scientific and Technological Park and Area Science Park. The Trieste Scientific and Technological Park, managed by Area Science Park, represents a cornerstone in this landscape. With over 80,000 square meters dedicated to R&D facilities and housing a range of national and international research institutions, innovative startups, and companies, the park is a hub of scientific activity. Despite these assets, the park currently lacks dedicated lab-village facilities that promote cohesive collaboration between companies and academic and research staff on common applied research problems. Digital Innovation Hub (IP4FVG). The IP4FVG, coordinated by Area Science Park, is a critical component of the region's innovation framework, focusing on areas pivotal to the concept of the Digital Twin. Despite its strong emphasis on networking to stimulate digital transformation and innovation, there is a clear need for a more integrated approach to align the activities of the hub with the broader objectives of the Lab Village initiative, and to promote a critical mass able to consolidate and coordinate activities within Triveneto. SISSA mathLab. SISSA mathLab is a beacon of interdisciplinary research and innovation, bridging the gap between academia and industry. With its extensive portfolio of projects and collaborations with major companies, the lab exemplifies the potential of academic institutions to drive innovation. The lab's involvement in the lead of Odyssea Digital Twin Live Demo and its role in the coordination of Spoke 9 of iNEST highlights its pivotal position in the region's innovation landscape. However, to fully leverage this potential, there is a need for a more structured integration of SISSA mathLab's activities within the Lab Village framework, ensuring that its capabilities are fully harnessed and valorised in a collaborative, industry-focused environment. UNITS Artificial Intelligence Lab and Machine Learning Lab. The Artificial Intelligence Lab and the Machine Learning Lab at UNITS, with their focus on cutting-edge AI research and strong industry collaborations, are yet another crucial asset to the Trieste innovation ecosystem. The AI lab’s work on 25 simulation intelligence and digital twins, while the ML lab track record of applications on cybersecurity and telecom, coupled with their partnerships with key industry players, position them as critical players in the region's digital transformation. By integrating the labs’ expertise and projects within the Lab Village initiative could further strengthen the link between academic research and industry, driving innovation in a concerted, strategic manner. SMACT and Odyssea Live Demo for Digital Twin. The SMACT competence center and the Odyssea 4.0 Live Demos represent significant strides in demonstrating the capabilities of digital twins in the manufacturing sector. The SMACT Live Demos, representing a precursor to the concept of a distributed Lab Village, are unique in understanding the existing landscape of innovative ecosystems in Trieste. These demonstrations, conducted in collaboration with key industry, sharing strategic data, and academic partners of the region, led by SISSA mathLab, have showcased the potential of digitalization in sectors such as food production, manufacturing, and digital twins. Odyssea nodes are at SISSA (Miramare campus), Wartsila, Danieli Automation, Electrolux, and LEF. However, critical observations suggest that while SMACT's initiatives, including the Odyssea 4.0 Live Demos, have been pivotal in showcasing the potential of collaboration and co-development between academia and industry, there are notable limitations that need to be addressed to transition from isolated projects, mostly focused to industry, to a sustainable, operational Lab Village model with a wider focus on infrastructures, smart communities, medicine, and so on: Temporal nature of projects: The SMACT Live Demos are temporally limited, project-based initiatives involving selected stakeholders. This episodic approach, while effective in demonstrating capabilities in a controlled environment, may not suffice for the continuous innovation and collaboration required in a Lab Village setting. Operational coordination: There is a noticeable lack of operational coordination among entities (academia, research institutions, innovation-oriented institutions, companies) to optimally design these projects and fully leverage the potential of the territory. Such a lack of orchestrated effort often leads to disjointed initiatives, undermining the collective impact of such demonstrations. Physical space for collaboration: The absence of a dedicated, recognizable physical space for developing these projects is a significant limitation. The Lab Village concept thrives on continuous interaction and collaboration among various stakeholders, including research labs, startups, and academic institutions. Without a designated space to host and nurture these interactions, the potential for sustained innovation and knowledge exchange may be significantly hampered. To transform and extend the SMACT Live Demos into a more robust and sustainable Lab Village framework, and thereby tap into the full potential of Trieste's rich tapestry of research institutions and innovative enterprises, it is essential to establish a cohesive, coordinated Lab Village initiative. This initiative should prioritize establishing structured operational coordination to unify efforts, actively involve all relevant stakeholders, and create a physical hub for continuous innovation and collaboration. By doing so, not only would it avoid duplication and foster systemic interaction, but it would also ensure that the territory's assets are leveraged in a synergistic, goal-oriented manner. In essence, this approach would not only significantly enhance the impact of innovation-oriented initiatives, but also position Trieste to truly harness its potential as a leading innovation hub, as well as extend the digital twin demonstrator to other fields. 32 The second proposal for a pilot experience was put forward by the Agricultural Engineering component of the Department of Agri-food, Environmental and Animal Sciences of the University of Udine. People from this research group contacted other colleagues at the University of Udine working in related fields and jointly defined common lines of research of interest for the territory. In particular, they took into consideration the possibility of expanding the offer of services to companies, including data analyses, technological solutions, and optimization of processes and products. At the same time, the group selected some companies that demonstrated interest in collaborating with the university and asked them to identify lines of research on which to collaborate and to hypothesize which instrumentation should be put in place to carry out the research. Finally, they contacted some colleagues from the laboratory of "Agroforestry Engineering” of the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano that showed their interest in establishing a physically distributed, joint laboratory in the area of agricultural engineering. The outcome of these multiple interactions is the idea of a new laboratory, provisionally called "Engineering Laboratory for Agricultural, Food, and Forestry Systems" (acronym "LISA-ALFA"), with a laboratory location at the UNIUD Lab Village and another one at the UNIBZ Lab Village. The topics of interest of such a laboratory have significant overlap with those of the Advanced Mechatronics Laboratory (LAMA) and the Energy and Environmental Engineering Laboratory (LINEA) of the UNIUD Lab Village. Some informal contacts with colleagues from other universities in the North-East area revealed a widespread interest in the topics of a lab of this nature. Other forms of distributed laboratory have emerged during the analysis, where one laboratory provides support to another one in order to allow the latter to have a more effective interaction with local companies. An example of collaboration of this nature involving different universities was formulated by the iNEST working group at the University of Trieste, which is thinking of a possible collaboration with the MediaLab of the UNIUD Lab Village to exploit Digital Storytelling to improve the communication and promotion of the laboratories of the nascent Lab Village of Trieste with the local companies. Another example is given by the nascent Lab Village of the University of Venezia Ca' Foscari, whose core business are disciplines related to the artistic and literary fields, that may provide other Lab Villages with promotion and communication services. A third pilot experience aims at involving companies that can operate in different sectors on common and cross-cutting issues, such as workplace well-being, personnel management, and sustainable mbility. The idea behind this type of experience, born during a Hackathon held at the Lab Village in Udine in December 2023, is to create a space where companies and researchers develop strategies to solve issues that are not specific to the production scope of individual companies, but rather related to cross-company issues. Most probably, the pilot experience will focus on workplace well-being, where a significant interaction with Spoke 5, led by UNIPD, is expected. Last but not least, besides the identification of the specific interest and competence of each single laboratory, the advanced planning of the pilot experiences requires further reflection on common issues like the intellectual property of the results, that should be as close as possible to the concept of open innovation, and the motivational stimulus that pushes researchers and companies to collaborate in a Lab Village. These topics will be taken into consideration by all the proposed pilot experiences. 3.4 DESIGN OF THE PILOT EXPERIENCES: PROGRESS REPORT – IUAV The goal is to design a space that collects the main researches of the Iuav University of Venice within a historical building, with a high representative value. Such a space is therefore imagined with a double 33 value, on the one hand to enhance the communication of said researches to partners and companies outside the university, and on the other hand to bring together in a single building the most significant researches, thus creating a real pole of exchange among research groups inside and outside the faculty. Thus, the expected result is that of a space that can be easily reconfigured according to the schedule of activities that will be organized by the various areas of the university, as well as realized with reversible exhibition strategies to ensure the preservation of the historical heritage. The selected location for the setting of a Lab Village at Iuav is Ca’Tron, a historic building overlooking the Grand Canal with a small Italian-style garden. The building, whose origins probably date back to the Gothic period, can be dated back to the end of the 16th century. After being used in various and improper ways (school board, institute for judicial auctions, an apartment building, etc.), it was purchased by Iuav in 1972 and restored to a project by architect L. Bellemo. It has already been a venue for international exhibitions in the past, and it can be considered a valuable and appropriate location to showcase the activities of the university to a broader public, functioning both as an internal meeting place (fostering collaboration among scholars and students of different areas) and an external display for public engagement activities. As described in Section 2.4, a mapping of the existing heritage of the laboratory realities pertaining to the university, as well as the related instrumentation and machinery was performed during Milestone #18. The research subsequently utilized this abacus of materials by relating it to the spaces of Ca'Tron in order to make an initial assignment of the space's functions. In addition, with a view to the reversibility of the exhibit intervention, research on strategies for "sustainable exhibit design" was deepened in parallel with the other actions, which was the criterion for the strategies selected for the space's exhibit design. More in detail, a site survey was carried out at Palazzo Ca' Tron, the Iuav building designated for the Lab Village, to survey the spaces and meta-planning their division according to functions. Floor 0 of the building was thus envisioned as a flexible space for Iuav's research narrative, while the first floor was imagined as an area designated for Spin-offs and spaces for meetings with companies. The issue of exhibition technologies was addressed by imagining the use of cutting-edge but flexible and repositionable display technologies for the entire building, such as monitors for showreel, interactive tables for project presentation, and environments dedicated to virtual exhibitions, to ensure a high level of engagement and, at the same time, a high rate of transformability of the space. In addition, it was planned to use exhibition techniques that come from the research developed on the concept of "Sustainable Exhibit Design," such as the use of dismountable and reversible exhibits, the choice of materials with low environmental impact, and a design aimed at reusing and recycling the exhibits themselves. Finally, the issue of conditioning was addressed, a thorny topic due to the presence of constraints related to the preservation of the historical heritage of the building, for the resolution of which reference was made to the case of Palazzo Te in Mantua. The basic normative reference is the UNI 10829/99 standard: Goods of historical and artistic interest - Environmental conditions of conservation - Measurement and analysis. In particular, Table 1 on painted wood works, paintings on wood, icons, etc. prescribes temperature and humidity ranges (19-24°C and 50%-60%), but also maximum daily variations of the parameters (for temperature 1.5°C and for humidity 4%). The technologies in use within 34 the reference case of Palazzo Te in Mantua were then mapped for future application in the designated location as well. To summarize, at this preliminary stage the research obtained the following results: • An analysis of reversible exhibit strategies for the space designated to the lab (Figure 10). • An architectural analysis of the university headquarters at Ca'Tron, which produced master plans and diagrams of space use flows (Figure 11). • A feasibility study on the Palazzo Ca'Tron venue, with research of similar case studies in public administration (Palazzo Te in Mantua). The next step that the research will address is the meta-design of the calendar of activities to animate the space, which will be composed of the different referents of the areas involved in the laboratory, and which may consist of presentations, seminars, workshops, and activities that are able to connect education with research and business. Figure 10: Exhibit technologies strategies mapped for a “Sustainable exhibit”. Figure 11: Master plan of division of functions of Ca'Tron spaces. 35 DESIGN OF THE PILOT EXPERIENCES: PROGRESS REPORT – UNIPD Following a recent lease agreement signed by the University, the iNEST Padova Lab Village will be located within the new "Human Centric Living Technopole." It will span across an 800-square-meter area, encompassing three floors in two adjacent buildings. The technopole's strategic location in the city's industrial zone ensures ample parking and accessibility by both private vehicles and public transportation. This choice represents a significant step towards creating an open and dynamic environment that will be easily accessible to various stakeholders, including researchers, businesses, and the local community. Figure 12: A bird’s-eye view of the location of the Human Centric Living Technopole. The red squares indicate the buildings where the Technopole will be settled. Figure 13: A front view of the buildings where the Human Centric Living Technopole will be settled. 36 Aligned with the iNEST philosophy of "interconnected ecosystems, the Lab Village will undertake to attract and cultivate collaboration, foster intellectual exchange, and, when feasible, accommodate pertinent companies, stakeholders, and projects dedicated to advancing research and dissemination activities related to the Spoke's thematic areas and the Lab Village initiative. In particular, the Lab Village is set to incorporate novel laboratories established by the University of Padova and its collaborators. These forthcoming laboratories encompass: I-SHELL | INCLUSIVE SMART ENVIRONMENTS LAB. This laboratory is dedicated to smart environments with a particular emphasis on assistive and inclusive technologies. It serves as a testbed for the development and evaluation of technologies designed for inclusive living environments. Within ISHELL, developers and researchers can experiment with innovative solutions, gathering real-time data on user behaviour, energy consumption, and device performance. This space enables experimentation with various solutions, including "Ambient Assisted Living," energy management, security, health, and well-being technologies, such as intelligent lighting systems, thermostats, connected appliances, security systems, and health and fitness devices. Moreover, the living lab will engage end-users and stakeholders, such as caregivers, in the technology development process, garnering valuable feedback to enhance products and services. Furthermore, the living lab offers opportunities for field research in collaboration with the city administration, utilizing existing urban infrastructure. I-FIVE | WORKPLACE OF THE FUTURE LAB. This living lab focuses on work in the digital age and Industry 5.0, serving as an open space for research and innovation. Researchers, professionals, and entrepreneurs can collaborate across disciplines to explore new work models, technologies, and strategies tailored to the challenges of the digital world. I-FIVE welcomes a wide array of stakeholders, including workers, companies, public institutions, and civil society. The lab comprises distinct work areas, including a Collaborative Robotics and Advanced Automation Experimental Area, a 5.0 Experimentation Space for testing new technologies, a Co-working space for flexible collaboration, and a Training space dedicated to professional development and upskilling in response to changes in the workplace. I-TRAINING & EDU | PLACES AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING. This facility is devoted to environments and technologies for education, training, and inclusive schooling. It acts as both a physical and virtual space, bringing together educators, students, parents, researchers, and technology experts to innovate and assess technological solutions aimed at enhancing the educational experience and fostering inclusion. This living lab accommodates diverse learning and teaching technologies, such as mobile devices, computers, VR and AR devices, online platforms, programmable interfaces, educational robotics, and IoT devices. These tools facilitate active and meaningful participation in school life, especially for students with special needs or learning difficulties. As an example, assistive technologies like speech synthesizers and voice recognition software aid students with visual or hearing impairments. VR and AR technologies create immersive learning experiences that enhance comprehension and practical skill development. The living lab offers an experimental and training environment for educators and students to effectively use technologies tailored to individual learning needs. Furthermore, the technopole's will host multiple "Regional Innovative Networks," including businesses, private and public research entities aligned with iNEST SP5's smart specialization trajectories, e.g., 37 smart manufacturing and smart living environments, that will significantly enhance cooperation among companies and iNEST universities within the ecosystem. This collaborative approach will enable the sharing of research spaces and resources, teleconferencing-equipped meeting rooms, co-working spaces, printing and fab-lab facilities, a showroom relevant to the Spoke's objectives, and a media centre. Ultimately, these Lab Village facilities will provide tangible opportunities for researchers and stakeholders to cultivate collaborations and exchange ideas to develop joint project proposals. Finally, spaces within the technopole will be designated to host prototypes developed by companies participating in cascade funding opportunities, further fostering productive relationships between iNEST Lab Village and companies and to promote pilot experiences and case studies. 3.5 DESIGN OF THE PILOT EXPERIENCES: PROGRESS REPORT – UNIVE In light of the considerations made in Section 2.6, the 3 pilot actions that will nourish this project over 18 months are envisioned and defined as systemic and multidisciplinary experiences of innovation in the artistic-cultural domain. They are configured as collaborative processes involving artists, creatives, cultural operators, researchers, tourism industry entrepreneurs, civil society, and local institutions. These collaborative efforts will give life to cultural prototypes, tailored to the specificities of the territory, considering reference sectors, and set with innovation objectives aimed at generating positive impacts and transformations in the area. At the end of this phase, we aim at creating the ‘Venetian’ Lab Village node. It will be a network of cultural and creative spaces open to businesses to co-create processes of collaborative innovation (no consulting or training) and will operate at two levels: at the first level, that of local nodes – cultural and creative spaces - businesses will be able to collaborate with artists and creatives to develop their products and processes; at the second level, that of the main and supra-local node - the governance space coordinated by Ca' Foscari - businesses will be able to ask in which space they can find what they are looking for (orientation and facilitating role) and to organise events for the presentation and distribution of results (promotional role). The ideal goal for each pilot action is a series of cultural and artistic prototypes that, engaging with a tourist ecosystem through a social and technical functionality oriented towards economic development, can enter and remain in the market, innovating it while safeguarding specific local wellbeing and territorial development concerns. In pursuit of this specific objective, the Lab Village is conceived as a 'closed' research and development centre for specific actors. This is done to delimit experimental actions and progressively observe their developments and outcomes. Thus, it becomes crucial to select and combine the actors participating in the project. Artists, creatives, and professionals in the artistic and cultural sector, acting within their own artistic styles or experimenting with them, are selected, engaged, and involved to design innovative products that communicate and act at the intersection and in synergy with a tourist ecosystem oriented towards enhancing the territory. They create artistic and cultural bridges with a market different from their own – the tourism market. This is achieved through ideas and productions strongly oriented towards creating positive impacts on local identities and fostering new relationships with audiences and institutions within the territory. The results of the experimentation, the "cultural prototypes," can take various forms: from exhibitions to performances, festivals, film productions, more traditional creative workshops, and any other expression that can promote and co-create a deeper and authentic understanding of the territories within the tourism system and local communities. 38 The design of the Lab Village for tourism, cultural industries, and creative endeavours is moving towards the creation of an experimental environment aimed at testing and exploring the dynamics and potential synergies between the cultural and creative sectors and the tourism sector. This aligns with a specific approach to innovation that extends to forms of multidisciplinary collaboration and sharing among the various entities and actors involved, both in a spatial and material dimension and in an immaterial one. The latter is constituted by shared time and the construction of a social network and creative relationships. The concept of the Lab Village, structured in its early design phases, is thus anchored to the idea of an experimental environment for which a multidisciplinary approach and the sharing of spaces, time, and knowledge are considered central. Together with the construction of forms of creative interconnection among actors and the creation of networks, the latter are increasingly seen as necessary for the development of new products and to foster opportunities in the context of the creative economy, permeated by funding cuts and the need to demonstrate value and impact. Focusing on the dynamics of shared work within hybrid and collaborative spaces as significant contributors to the socio-economic development of territories, the Lab Village will host moments of discussion, design, and feedback of pilot actions within a shared workspace—an innovative territorial hub aimed at the development of co-creation paths for artistic-cultural prototypes. These paths will then extend beyond physical boundaries and have a widespread impact at the territorial level, depending on the type of work and prototype testing processes (living lab) that are activated and chosen. During each pilot action, it will be possible to evaluate which of the prototypes tested in a participatory and active manner can become experiences that remain on the market and contribute to the growth and vitality of the local artistic-cultural context. To facilitate this process, a system of documentation and decoding of processes as they unfold, as well as emerging experiences and best practices during the Lab Village, will contribute. Designing pilot actions: actors and synergies Pilot actions will be developed by engaging various stakeholders from the cultural and creative sector, the tourism industry, particularly in touristic entrepreneurship, and public institutions. This will be facilitated through structured collaborations: Art, creativity, culture. This group may include professionals in visual arts, music, theatre, and performing arts in general, as well as those in design, craftsmanship, communication, and graphics. Artists and creatives are called upon to contribute to the cultural tourism experience of the region and to co-build parts oriented towards solutions of social and cultural innovation through their own poetics and artistic research. Tourism. Tourism is conceived as both a field of action and an actor, encompassing locations and territories with high tourism potential and intensity. Possible groups of actors may include businesses in the tourism sector particularly sensitive to the innovative potential of the artistic, cultural, and associated approaches. They are particularly interested in exploring and undertaking paths of internal organizational enhancement and territorial development through creative and cultural languages. University. The academic world assumes a three-dimensional role of research and mediation, positioning itself as a translator and interpreter among the involved parties due to competencies that allow not only triggering processes but also observing and understanding diverse organizational cultures. It contextualizes different needs, decodes, and promotes dialogue and mutual contamination by breaking down barriers and building linguistic and cultural bridges. In the second instance, 39 university competencies and task forces can facilitate technological transfer and the commercialization of research results. Citizens and Civil Society. Civil society engages in testing innovation within cultural contexts, using reallife laboratories tailored to local needs. By involving citizens, they shape the sense and impact of pilot projects, fostering continuity and sustainable outcomes. This active participation aims to forge enduring connections between solutions and community dynamics, ensuring long-term integration and preservation of generated meanings. Public institution and administration. Public institutions, including local bodies and authorities, are called upon to participate by joining the project and actively collaborating to promote innovation and territorial development. Beyond episodic logic, public participation in the Lab Village includes various implications: on one hand, in the character of policy information regarding the project and the processes developed in the practical experimentation of the Lab Village; on the other hand, by becoming among the entities enabling innovation, each public administration can activate various forms of innovation processes internally. Designing pilot actions through participative ideation-based processes: the inaugural kickoff meeting Through the activation of collaborative ideation sessions and participative workshops, the orientation and specific structure of the pilot actions will be constructed. These preliminary creative processes leading to the definition of pilot actions will involve professionals and individuals with high-level specialized skills, some of whom will be participants in the pilot actions. These professionals, particularly in the context of an initial participative workshop launching the activities, will be selected from those actively engaged within the local context. This selection aims at highlighting existing entities within the same territorial context of reference and action for the Lab Village. Figure 14: Timeline. 40 September 2023 - February 2024 | Preliminary Research phase • Collection of existing data and literature review • Analysis of best practices and trends in the cultural sector • Writing of the research document. • Preliminary analysis document and research paper • Data collection and research report • Design pilot actions framework • Designing inaugural kick off meeting March 2024 | Kick-off participative meeting • Planning of initial activities • Constructions of first pilot action structure and theme • Presentations and distributed materials. • Collection of emerging data and results from participatory processes • Structure of the first pilot action March 2024 - August 2025 | Pilot Actions 1, 2, 3 • Main outputs of pilot actions • Cultural prototypes • Workshops and working lab 3.6 DESIGN OF THE PILOT EXPERIENCES: PROGRESS REPORT – UNIVR Introduction of innovative solutions in the agri-food sector faces several challenges due to different factors, including: • the highly diversified technological characteristics of the various productive scenarios; • the presence of a high number of SMEs often linked to traditional production practices; • the limited presence, within agri-food companies’ staff, of technologists or other skilled operators able to implement innovative solutions within production activities; • the low attitude towards investments in the area of technology. Within this context, there is a high demand for a type of technology and knowledge transfer activities aiming at bringing several key gaps. On one hand, companies producing technologies have limited opportunities to display their products in a real-life scenario, which limits their ability to effectively interact with the end user. On the other hand, food producing companies, representing the end users, are often not fully inclined to invest in a technology for which they do not fully visualize the field of application and the ease of use. The objective of Spoke 7 Lab Village activities will be therefore to create an interactive environment in which to introduce innovative solutions for digital and green transition in the agri-food industry, by means of courses and workshops that can help in every phase of the production process, opening new horizons of efficiency and sustainability. The workshops will have a hybrid format including classroom activities and practical sessions with hands-on opportunities for participants, which will see and possibly use the different technologies in action. In consideration of the characteristics of the 41 infrastructures available at the University of Verona, a strong focus for these activities will be the wine sector, although other areas of agri-food will be included as well. Therefore, the Lab Village will plan, organize and conduct a series of courses and workshops introducing novel technologies to relevant end users, e.g., wineries, opening new horizons of efficiency and sustainability. The specific format of hands-on workshops is expected to strongly boots the process of familiarization with the novel technologies. In consideration of the topics of the various RT of Spoke 7, as well as of the availability of technologies to be presented, the following areas of innovation will be expected to be presented in the initial period of activities (April-October 2024): • Agricultural robotics systems guided by AI to carry out specific activities such as weeding, sowing, and harvesting to reduce human dependence while ensuring more efficient and accurate production. • Sensors and AI are used for crop monitoring by promptly identifying diseases, pest infestations, and lack of nutrients and collecting data on factors such as temperature, humidity, and soil conditions. This approach not only optimizes the management of agricultural resources, but also improves the accuracy of cultivation activities, providing data for informed decisions. • Portable sensors and devices for wine analysis during the wine-making process. Portable technological devices have emerged as crucial tools, allowing real-time monitoring of chemical parameters. These devices offer precise chemical analysis and provide companies with immediate tools for timely intervention in the wine-making processes. • A complete integrative solution for warehouse management. A parametric and configurable system will cover all the phases, from the entry of the goods to the shipment, guaranteeing efficient and flexible management of the logistic operations. In addition, we would like to establish a dedicated repository for digital teaching and training resources. The goal is to encourage everyone to have access to the educational side of our program. The course material will be carefully recorded during the workshops and courses. Thanks to this approach, people who cannot attend in person due to schedule conflicts or distance from the location can still benefit from the teaching resources. Through integrating face-to-face learning with online fruition, we hope to promote inclusive access to the knowledge and know-how we will disseminate via our educational initiatives. In parallel, a survey of the innovation demand and needs of the agri-food sector, in the context of the green and digital transition, will be carried out to understand how innovations and technologies can contribute to the advancement of the industry. The survey will focus on fundamental aspects, including adopting digital solutions, training needs, educational information, and practical challenges encountered during production. We will also evaluate companies' interest in attending training events and workshops that facilitate collaboration between the University and the Industry. This information will be essential to develop initiatives to fill knowledge gaps, promote the adoption of advanced technologies, and facilitate constructive dialogue between companies and technology manufacturers. The data of the survey will be used to guide the next phases of the activities of the Spoke 7 Lab Village. From an operational perspective, the Lab Village will operate in close conjunction with various institutions and organisations in order to enhance the visibility of its activities and engage different stakeholders at the level of both technology producers and end users. Among these, we expect to 48 5 APPENDIX: A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE MEETINGS ORGANIZED AT EACH SPOKE 5.1 INTRODUCTION From January 15, 2024, to February 7, 2024, all local representatives of iNEST CC2 task, other than Angelo Montanari, who is the representative of Spoke 3 and coordinates the whole activity, were approached by the research fellows Adriano Biason and Umair Anees (hired by iNEST and operating in support to the coordinator) at their offices to evaluate the progress of the project for the creation and development of the local Lab Village. In these meetings, it was possible to examine the state of the art of each spoke, to discuss and outline possible pilot experiences, and to evaluate possible collaborations with laboratories of other spokes. MEETING AT SPOKE 1 On January 15th afternoon, following an introductory meeting via the Teams platform, the contact person and the CC2 working group of the Free University of Bolzano were met. The spoke deals with Ecosystems for Innovation in the mountain area. Communication with the Bolzano group was effective and immediate. Some of the laboratories that are part of the Lab Village of Bolzano and housed in building B5 of the NOI Tech Park were visited, including the agricultural mechanics laboratory, the fluid dynamics laboratory, and the biofuels laboratory. The Bolzano working group is already planning various pilot experiences, including the creation of a virtual AR laboratory allowing external parties to visit the physical laboratories in telepresence via self-propelled robots. Another pilot experience under consideration allows for collaboration among laboratories of different spokes, particularly among the agricultural mechanics laboratory of Bolzano, the agricultural mechanics laboratory of Udine (yet to be created), and companies in the sector situated in the North-East. In the visited laboratories and, in general, in the Lab Village of Bolzano, the prevalent research activity is commissioned research, while research collaboration is more occasional. However, the Bolzano working group is oriented towards seeking forms of active collaboration with companies. MEETING AT SPOKE 2 On January 15th morning, following a previous, introductory meeting via Whatsapp, the CC2 contact person for spoke 2, which is part of the Trento spoke working group, was met. The spoke deals with health, food, and lifestyle. Communication and interaction with the contact person, after some initial, organizational difficulties, was effective. Currently, there is no a Lab Village in Trento, and the laboratories that should be part of it have not been precisely identified yet. However, the creation of the Lab Village is planned at the Trentino Center for Life Sciences in Rovereto. The spoke has to work hard to synchronize the time needed to implement the project and the timetable of the iNEST CC2 activity. The possible pilot experiences to be tested have not yet been defined as well. Collaboration possibilities with other Lab Villages are also limited, even though a possible collaboration with some laboratories of the University of Verona has been hypothesized. The laboratories of the University of Trento mainly conduct commissioned research, and, mainly due to the topic covered by the spoke, research collaboration with local bodies and companies is considered difficult to implement. MEETING AT SPOKE 4 49 On February 7th afternoon, following a previous, introductory meeting via Whatsapp, the CC2 contact person for spoke 4 was met. The spoke deals with urban architecture and sustainable design. Communication with the contact person was quite effective. The spoke does not yet have a Lab Village, but the progress of the project is well advanced. The Lab Village will be widespread, with laboratories distributed throughout the city of Venice and a central hub located at the IUAV headquarters in Palazzo Ca' Tron. The laboratories are already defined and operational, but only some of them collaborate with external companies, mainly through commissioned research. The Lab Village activity will consist of events aimed at presenting the projects and products created at the laboratories to companies and local authorities. Pilot experiences will support such an activity, but are yet to be planned. Possible collaborations with some laboratories of other Lab Villages have not been identified yet, but there are interesting, potential convergences in the field of building materials and in the design of structures in extreme environmental conditions. INTERACTION WITH SPOKE 5 With spoke 5, there was only phone interaction with the contact person, who did not deem a site visit necessary. The spoke deals with Intelligent and Sustainable Environments. The University does not yet have a Lab Village, but it has already identified its location, where three not yet active laboratories will be hosted. Pilot experiences have not yet been defined. The representative believes that research collaborations are difficult to achieve due to the nature of the laboratories and the companies/institutions that could be involved. Possible collaborations with other laboratories of other Lab Villages have not been identified, but there are various topics of common interest with other spokes. MEETING AT SPOKE 6 On February 7th morning, following a previous, introductory meeting via Teams, the CC2 contact person for spoke 6 and the research fellow recruited within CC2 were met. The spoke deals with Tourism, Culture, and Creative Industries. Communication with the contact person and the working group was very effective. The spoke does not yet have a Lab Village, but the progress of the project is at a good point. The launch of the Lab Village is expected on March 25th. The Lab Village will be widespread, with laboratories distributed throughout the city of Venice and two locations, one at the Ca' Foscari headquarters and one at the Ca' Bottacin headquarters. Ca' Foscari University has many laboratories already operational, but it is not yet well defined which of them will be include in the Lab Village. As with the other spokes, the prevalent form of collaboration is commissioned research. The Lab Village activity will consist of events aimed at presenting the projects and products created at the laboratories to companies, local authorities, and all stakeholders in general. The Ca' Foscari working group has already designed three pilot experiences, which will be carried out in three distinct phases and will serve to define and refine the Lab Village activity. Various possible collaborations with other laboratories of other Lab Villages are planned, both in affinity and in support of the activities of other laboratories, for instance, in the promotional field. MEETING AT SPOKE 7 On January 24th afternoon, following a previous, introductory meeting via Teams, the CC2 contact person for spoke 7 and the research fellow recruited within CC2 were met. The spoke deals with Smart Agri-food. Communication with the contact person and the working group was effective. The spoke has already implemented its own Lab Village. The Lab Village consists of three laboratories already operational throughout the area. The headquarters of the Lab Village in Verona will be located at the headquarters of the Department of Viticultural and Enological Sciences and Technologies in Villa 50 Lebrecht. As with the other spokes, the prevalent form of collaboration is commissioned research. The contact person considers the possibility of carrying out collaborative research to be challenging due to the type of reference companies, that is, companies that produce agricultural machinery and wineries. A possible form of collaboration could be achieved by organizing events where companies producing machinery for viticulture are brought into contact with wine-growing companies, through the mediation of the academic component, so that both types of companies may have mutual feedback, and possible joint projects can then be planned starting from this interaction. In this direction, the working group is organizing itself to create pilot experiences. Possible collaborations with other laboratories have been hypothesized, even though they are not with other Lab Villages but rather with university research centers. MEETING AT SPOKES 8 AND 9 On January 17th afternoon, following previous, introductory meetings that took place via Teams, the CC2 representatives of spoke 8 and spoke 9 were met. Spoke 8 deals with Marine and Maritime Technologies and Inland Waters, while spoke 9 deals with Models, Methods, Computations, and Technologies for the Digital Twin. Communication with the contact persons was effective. Spokes 8 and 9 will create a single, common Lab Village. They have currently established agreements with an urban center to have 3 laboratories available. These laboratories will constitute a proto-Lab Village with the aim of designing the definitive Lab Village. They have not been identified yet, and the pilot experiences to be carried out have not been defined as well. 5.2 A SHORT ANALYS OF THE OUTCOMES OF THE MEETINGS The progress of each university on the project was evaluated on 8 Factors which are listed below. 1. Is there a form of Lab Village? 2. Are the laboratories defined? 3. Has any pilot experience been defined? 4. Is there any possibility for collaborations with other Lab Villages? 5. Was it easy to communicate with the spoke's CC2 contact? 6. Are there research collaborations with companies in the laboratories? 7. Have been the spaces for the Lab Village already identified? 8. Implementation times. To depict how far different spokes have come on the above eight points, Ratings of low, medium, and high were assigned to each of the above factors for each spoke depending upon their progress on these factors. A simple frequency table (Table 1) gives the first glimpse at how all spokes are performing on different factors. The following table highlights the counts of high, medium, and low for each factor from all the Spokes. Table 1 Frequency table for each factor Factors High Medium Low Is there a form of LabVillage? 3 0 5 Are the laboratories defined? 4 2 2 Have any pilot experiences been defined? 4 2 2 Are there any possibilities for collaboration with other labvillages? 3 3 2 51 Was it easy to communicate with the spoke's CC2 contact? 4 3 1 Is there research collaboration with companies in the laboratories? 0 2 6 Are the spaces for the labvillage already defined? 5 3 0 Implementation times 3 3 2 It can be seen from Table 1 that Factors 1 and 6 are doing worst among all the spokes, as they received the most frequent assessment of “low”, while Factors 2, 3, 4, and 7 are doing best among all the spokes, as they received the most frequent assessment of “high”. Visualizing progress by Factors and Spokes To assist the report in visualizing the progress on the above 8 factors, a uniform scale was used where a value of 1 was assigned to low progress, a value of 2 was assigned to medium progress, and a value of 3 was assigned to high progress. Frequency report for each factor by universities is given below. Overall progress by factors First, the report visualizes the progress made on each factor. A factor can score a maximum score of 24 if the progress is high in all 8 Spokes and a minimum score of 8 if the progress for the factor is low in all 8 Spokes. Table 2 visualizes the breakdown of the progress on each factor from all 8 spokes. Table 2 Overall progress on the 8 factors by all the spokes. It can be seen from Table 2 that the least progress is made on factor 6 “Is there research collaboration with companies in the laboratories?”, While the most progress is made on factor 7 “Are the spaces for the Lab Village already defined? One should also consider that the importance of these factors varies depending on the current deliverables and milestones. As an example, defining pilot experiences and laboratories for the Lab Village is more important than collaborating with companies at the current milestone. Thus, it is important to consider the urgency of each factor. Following Radar, Chart 1 further helps the report visualize the overall progress of every spoke on the 8 factors. Radar Chart 1 Overall progress on the 8 factors by all the spokes. Factors under examination Total points Progress Form of Lab 14 laboratories defined 18 pilot experiences 16 collaboration with other labvillages? 17 communication ease 19 companies' collaborations 10 Spaces defined 21 Implementation times 17 Total 24 52 Overall progress by Spokes Next, the overall performance of each Spoke is visualized for all 8 factors. A spoke can score a maximum score of 24 if the progress is high in all 8 factors and a minimum score of 8 if the progress is low in all 8 factors. Table 3 depicts the performance of each Spoke on 8 factors that were investigated. Table 3 Progress made by Spokes on the 8 factors. It can be seen from Table 3 that the least progress is made by the Spokes UniTs+Sissa and UniPd, while most progress is made by Spokes UniBz and UniUD on all 8 factors. Following Radar Chart 2 further assists in visualizing the progress made by each spoke. Radar Chart 2 The overall progress of each Spoke on all the 8 factors. Universities Progress Points Progress bar UniBz 23 UniTn 11 UniUd 23 IUAV 15 UniPd 11 UniVe 18 UniVr 20 UniTs+Sissa 11 Total 24 53 CONCLUSIONS When it comes to progress by Spokes, UniTs+Sissa and UniTn are significantly lagging behind other spokes, while UniUd and UniBz are leading in terms of progress. When it comes to progress factors, the least progress is made on having a lab form and collaboration with industries, while most progress is made in defining the spaces for Lab Villages and ease of communication. The importance of defining success factors or KPIs based on current milestones and deliverables is also highlighted as it will better allow tracking, controlling, and communicating the progress of the project.