On November 17th, the consortium meeting of the Fieldlabs@Scale project took place, bringing together partners to share new research insights and project updates.

Hans Berends opened the meeting and welcomed all participants. The central theme of the meeting was the governance of collaborative innovation, with a specific focus on experimental infrastructures such as FieldLabs.

Configuring innovation ecosystems for multidimensional value creation

Luca Vadacca led the first discussion, based on insights from his first PhD paper. Drawing on a qualitative comparative analysis of 38 projects, his research reinforces a configurational perspective on innovation ecosystems, emphasizing that no single ‘best practice’ blueprint exists. Instead, the study highlights multidimensional value creation as a useful framework for assessing ecosystem outcomes in the context of grand challenges. The discussion emphasized the importance of cultivating ecosystem-wide capabilities, aligning governance strategies with project maturity, and providing targeted support to vulnerable ventures to increase the likelihood of long-term impact.

Experimental infrastructures for mission-driven innovation ecosystems

Orlando Vazquez Villegas and Attabik Awan jointly led a discussion based on insights from the Academy of Management 2025 symposium. They introduced a typology of experimental infrastructures and discussed their potential functions within innovation ecosystems. This was followed by a lively exchange on practical governance challenges, including tensions between stability and flexibility, technological salience and social value, and openness and steering. The discussion surfaced several open questions, reinforcing the need for closer research–practice collaboration around experimental infrastructures.

Governance of collaborative innovation

Hans Berends facilitated an interactive discussion on governance forms in collaborative innovation. Building on the previous sessions, he elaborated on key structural and relational contingencies shaping governance choices, including shared governance, lead organization governance, and network administrative organizations. The discussion concluded with reflections on which governance forms are most commonly observed or feasible in FieldLab settings and the tensions they entail.

Future research

Finally, Esther van de Camp shared information about an upcoming NWO call on Adaptivity in Mission-Driven Innovation for Transitions,focusing on three domains: food systems, sustainable mobility, and the energy transition in the built environment. Further details can be found via the NWO website.