Between Research and Action: Methodological Reflections on the Experience of a Living Lab

At the intersection of qualitative research, social innovation, and participatory practices, the Living Lab represents a methodological device in full effervescence. This presentation offers a methodological reflection on the contribution of Living Labs to qualitative research, based on the experience of the MaillAGE Living Lab (https://labvieillirlaurentides.uqo.ca), implemented in two rural territories in Québec, Canada. The project pursues two main objectives: 1) to identify the needs of older adults living in rural municipalities to age at home and within their community; and 2) to develop and experiment with innovative strategies to support aging in place.

Over three years, a process grounded in design thinking was deployed through successive phases: identifying older adults’ needs through data collection and co-interpretation, ideation of solutions, co-construction of priorities, and finally prototyping and experimenting with projects in the selected territories. A variety of activities supported local actors across these evolving phases, including a regional partners’ forum, citizen discussions, ideation and co-creation workshops, and a project co-construction accelerator. From an epistemological standpoint, the Living Lab is rooted in a participatory research paradigm oriented toward intersectoral action, co-construction, and experimentation. It challenges the traditional boundaries between research and action, between expert and experiential knowledge, by fostering the dialogue and intersection of heterogeneous perspectives.

This presentation will discuss three main axes: (1) the researcher’s posture as a facilitator of collective processes rather than the sole producer of knowledge; (2) the plurality of methods mobilized and their integration into a single evolving device; and (3) the conditions fostering the participation of older adults. By sharing insights from the MaillAGE Living Lab, we aim to contribute to ongoing debates on the foundations and paradigms of qualitative research (Topic 1), while highlighting the potential of the Living Lab to renew ways of thinking and doing qualitative research (Topic 2).