Social Labs: A Cooperative Participatory Methodology for Fieldwork

Social Labs is a methodology that belongs to the broad context of participatory approaches but seeks to distinguish itself through a practical vocation, aimed at promoting concrete actions in contextual settings. Social Labs can be understood as dynamic platforms where societal actors collaboratively experiment with ad-hoc strategies to foster social inclusion and address radicalisation and polarisation. The process involves three iterative activities: critical policy discussions, social experiment design and implementation, and outcome reflection for continuous learning. Social labs share with other participatory processes such as focus groups and multistakeholder workshops. What is unique about this methodological approach is that it is not expert oriented, but cooperative. It is also characterised by a strong action-oriented approach, and therefore does not necessarily require a thorough expertise, but it rather builds on common experiences and the desire to be involved in change-making.