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Hello,</div>
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Thank you for the draft and comments/additions! I have a couple of suggestions based on my experiences at IAS:</div>
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<div role="presentation" style="direction: ltr;">As much as our project is very qualitative, I think it would be great to mention that the team has quantitative experts and is happy to establish a qualitative-quantitative dialogue (e.g., via talks and events
at IAS). IAS folks love that, and it could make a broader range of IAS members interested in our work. </div>
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<div role="presentation" style="direction: ltr;">Regarding terminology: One of IAS's main projects/collaborators, SciSis, uses terms that are very similar to
<i>safe space</i>: e.g., “[inclusive, diverse, welcoming] space.” Therefore, I think
<i>safe space </i>is a safe bet in terms of conveying shared values and perspectives. On a different note, I like
<i>participants </i>(instead of citizens). I also remember Giulia using <i>collaborators,
</i>which I find pretty cool, too. </div>
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<div role="presentation" style="direction: ltr;">Would law clinics count as participatory methods? I have been thinking of how to combine pre-established infrastructures of participation within my case study and our lab. Apologies if a law clinic does not fit
the project’s vision. I am looking forward to learning more about participatory methods with y’all!</div>
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Kind regards,</div>
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Carina</div>
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<b>From: </b>Core <core-bounces@lists.datagovlab.net> on behalf of Giulia Campaioli via Core <core@lists.datagovlab.net><br>
<b>Date: </b>Wednesday, 11 March 2026 at 17:58<br>
<b>To: </b>core@lists.datagovlab.net <core@lists.datagovlab.net><br>
<b>Subject: </b>Re: [DATAGOV Core] Living Lab - draft mission statement<br>
<br>
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<div class="PlainText" style="font-size: 11pt;">Hi everyone,<br>
<br>
Picking up this email thread to add my two cents. I actually just took<br>
Stefi's proposal and Federico's comments and put it together in a<br>
document, then added a few 'practical proposals' for how the Living Lab<br>
could approach its goals.<br>
<br>
Attached to this email, to keep the conversation alive :)<br>
<br>
Best,<br>
G<br>
<br>
On 26/02/2026 13:01, Federico Bonelli via Core wrote:<br>
> Great Stef!<br>
> I send it back with some of my thoughts about it. I layered them a bit<br>
> as they came.<br>
><br>
><br>
> f<br>
><br>
><br>
> **DATAGOV Living Lab: Draft mission statement**<br>
><br>
> **Stefi first run – 25/2/2026, Switzerland ;-)**<br>
><br>
><br>
> - Interrogate governance by data infrastructure by making regulatory<br>
> data systems (primarily: biometrics, digital ID, health tech, edu<br>
> tech) tangible, experiential, accessible (?), and publicly debatable.<br>
><br>
> - Center citizens as co-investigators _on equal footing_, creating a<br>
> safe space where non-experts critically engage (and experiment?) with<br>
> the data infrastructures that increasingly govern their lives, while<br>
> meeting experts for cross-fertilization and mutual learning.<br>
> - Creating that "safe space" requires immense facilitation skill<br>
> and a conscious dismantling of traditional hierarchies. It's about<br>
> creating conditions for _mutual_ vulnerability and learning. I am not<br>
> sure that "safe spaces" are more than mythical houses for spoiled<br>
> gods. Is not the right term. In therms of post dramatic performance we<br>
> should define them differently. I use the term "situations".<br>
> - To design situations that not only allow but foster equal<br>
> footing access to investigation by all participants I have divided the<br>
> practice into a structured approach in 7 phases: radical observation,<br>
> situation setting, active exploration, opening, transformation,<br>
> communication, care. ( i refer to this as the trasformatorio: a<br>
> situation based laboratory for transformations)<br>
><br>
> - Foreground and value the lived experience of people when<br>
> investigating regulatory data infrastructure.<br>
> - critical data shadows digital infrastructure. Because<br>
> infrastructure character is to being liminal (when it works),<br>
> maintenance is delegated to "specialists", "lower people" and<br>
> "working class" and is expensive to fix when it brakes.<br>
> Both hard shell and digital infrastructure is encrusted into<br>
> nature and society in complicated ways. A thunderstorm or a strike<br>
> proof it. To move in this complex field between digital and real<br>
> infrastructures was the activity of hackers. At this intersection<br>
> developed mostly in autonomous ways a different type of sensibility.<br>
> Is the zone of digital art forms and hacktivists. Is a "hot compost<br>
> pile" to talk with a metaphor from Donna Haraway, were many processes<br>
> are supposed to live at the same time.<br>
><br>
> - Translate complex data assemblages and the associated social costs<br>
> into lived experience through, among others, interactive art, playable<br>
> citizen science, infrastructure walking, and co-design methods.<br>
> - About the compost pile mentioned above, to allow real<br>
> participation any presence has to be treated from the perspective of<br>
> the process and identity has to stay as fluid (as processes are). In<br>
> trasformatorio methodology i set this by crafting the situation for<br>
> participation as i have learned from guided improvisation and<br>
> storytelling. Many artists have worked in this way in many fields:<br>
> musical improvisation, dance, installation. As well many technically<br>
> rich fields have developed in established practices starting from<br>
> these activities. I make some examples: lighting a stage for a play<br>
> with unplugged live music, an exploratory walk in nature, filming a<br>
> stunt scene, allowing "audience" to interact in a dance performance.<br>
> - When the focus shifts, as we want, to complex data assemblages<br>
> the associated social costs and the structure of power and governance<br>
> we walk into a hybrid territory: the meat world touches the real one<br>
> and viceversa. Internet of things and humans and non humans and ...<br>
> all agents with a degree of agency within and outside the limits of<br>
> complex governance systems depending on complex infrastructures. As I<br>
> see it is almost as complicated as religion (hihihi).<br>
><br>
> - Experiment with democratic futures for governance by data<br>
> infrastructure, enabling participants to collectively imagine and<br>
> prototype (?) alternative socio-technical arrangements.<br>
> - Play. Invent by playing, learn by playing. Who plays? Is a game<br>
> you cannot hack fair? Wich rules can be changed and which if changed<br>
> destroy the game? Who owns the ball can go home leaving all idle or to<br>
> own a ball is a responsability to the survival of the game? How do you<br>
> learn to play?<br>
><br>
> - Bridge research, policy, and public life, fostering dialogue between<br>
> citizens (people), scholars, technologists, and decision-makers.<br>
> - defuse identity, carve situations that question rank, make role<br>
> fluid, detour, disrupt your own organisation, live in the world, learn<br>
> from non humans, plants, engineered machines, see the world as a poet,<br>
> see poetry to be in "words" made by stuff that does not have any yet.<br>
><br>
> - Expose and contest inequalities embedded in data infrastructures,<br>
> foregrounding issues of exclusion, bias, discrimination, and<br>
> sovereignty (…).<br>
> - design in spaces were exclusion and discrimination is<br>
> impossible, biases are noted, observed and bypassed. Show the way you<br>
> think is best to live together by being the way is best to live<br>
> together. Be self sovereign by acquiring and respecting the knowledge<br>
> and the social awareness that is necessary to be self sovereign. Be<br>
> human.<br>
><br>
> - Develop and openly share innovative participatory methodologies,<br>
> contributing reusable blueprints for critical data studies and civic<br>
> engagement worldwide.<br>
><br>
> - Develop a play-based approach to participatory methods, where<br>
> first-hand experience and leisure contribute to make complex,<br>
> intangible issues accessible to the general population.<br>
><br>
> - Cultivate literacy, agency, and collective capacity, empowering<br>
> participants to articulate claims, resist harms, and shape datafied<br>
> democracies.<br>
> - To cultivate you need to respect the land and design within the<br>
> land. You need to live part of the product in the land, you want it or<br>
> not, to grow you need soil and soil is generational long process. Same<br>
> thing for the digital world. It has to be intelligible, therefore has<br>
> to be open to inquiry and not close by corporate greed and predatory<br>
> use of copyright law. Let's take Data. Sometimes is like dust in a ray<br>
> of light. The air is calm and moves or is visible on the scaffold<br>
> because of the sun touching it. Similar to what we are allowed to know<br>
> and feel by bones and blood, neurons, societal constraints and<br>
> conscience. The movement and consistence of this type of data follows<br>
> our body in the space, leaves telling traces can be codified. See the<br>
> movie "Gattaca" as a reference to a society that uses exactly dust as<br>
> a mean to control people's behaviour.<br>
> - Our hectic times use data as they have used oil. High entropy<br>
> fuel for extractive knowledge. Knowledge is valued according to<br>
> exploitative principle in his own virtual space. This concept deserves<br>
> more investigation offcourse. I just want to point to the feeling that<br>
> a datafied democracy cannot coexist with a capitalistic highly<br>
> volatile economy that has no interest to control externalities. Be it<br>
> digital or physical or both. The perspective of infrastructure, be it<br>
> infrastructure for society, for digital economy or for human<br>
> "knowledge" production is the right starting point.<br>
> - In my own adaptation of the process "empowerment" is less than<br>
> "participate" and the latter less than cultivate. I think that to get<br>
> a yeald there is much more to be involved than articulated knowledge.<br>
> There is capacity of observation and social awareness for example, but<br>
> also capability to play within the world acknowledging its power.<br>
> There is a need for a different type of wisdom based on different<br>
> premises.<br>
><br>
> - Contribute to establishing citizen-generated experiential data as a<br>
> legitimate and authoritative form of knowledge, on equal footing with<br>
> institutional and technical expertise, recognizing its essential role<br>
> in decision-making on governance by data infrastructure.<br>
> - I feel we need to be super critical on what we measure, when we<br>
> measure and what are the properties of our measurements. Too long to<br>
> put out here as a side note but relevant. Institutional technical<br>
> expertise is important but is actually mostly outsourced on the base<br>
> of risk management to high cost corporate structures. Practices are<br>
> wider then what is advertised as a practice as any lawyer knows well.<br>
> - Algorithms can be more transparent than democratic work in<br>
> opaque institutions. But they tend to be hard to bend to real world<br>
> cases. Injustices exists in and out of any bureaucratic hell.<br>
> - I feel that the ethical, the logical and the physical<br>
> perspective on power should emerge from practice. A "do" were<br>
> coexisting, sharing, growing and respecting the soil were life burst<br>
> into behing define the way to live. And I feel that to get into this<br>
> is a task were learning is shared within a wide group of peers should<br>
> be open *de facto* and *de iure*. The free software movement was<br>
> seminal in the digital world to establish this as its<br>
> de-politicisation and actual sidelining indirectly proof.<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> Some of the questions for us to think about:<br>
><br>
> - What name/label? Is Living Lab what we want to convey? What would be<br>
> added-value of being a Living Lab? What are the alternatives?<br>
> - A living lab is a good term because is used widely and is<br>
> accepted european slang for about everything under the sun. In my view<br>
> will always be to interpret it as a trasformatorio. a situation<br>
> (defined by people, place, time and intentions) to pray and work<br>
> together (labor as work and fatigue in the sense of the benedictine<br>
> monks, finalised to the glory of a collective end with spiritual<br>
> connotations). And it has to be structured to archive<br>
> "transformation". Transformation of<br>
> energy-structure-mind-awareness-society-people-life. This is the core<br>
> of what deserves to be remembered an told around the fire.<br>
><br>
> - Any role for prototyping? Is it strategically good to keep it in, or<br>
> shall we remove it?<br>
> - is important and vital. Because happens in the complex real<br>
> multidimensional world were anything can happen and is not confined by<br>
> human languages and singular desires. Works or does not work yet it<br>
> teaches all the times. What is the sense of producing and reharsing a<br>
> play that never gets staged?<br>
><br>
> - Shall we refer to “citizens” or avoid it for its exclusionary<br>
> nature? What is a good alternative? “People” does not work everywhere.<br>
> - i use participants. They walk into a situation, aware or not.<br>
> And respect and care for participants is paramount.<br>
><br>
> On 25/02/2026 22:59, Stefania Milan via Core wrote:<br>
>> Dear all<br>
>> I took a stab at drafting a minimal bullet-point list for a mission<br>
>> statement for the DATAGOV “Living Lab”.<br>
>> Essentially, there are 3 goals:<br>
>> 1_ gather qualitative data through participatory methods<br>
>> 2_develop and experiment with new participatory methods (play-based,<br>
>> innovative…)<br>
>> 3_contribute to awareness raising on the DATAGOV agenda<br>
>> (4_bonus: enable conversations between people and decision-makers)<br>
>><br>
>> My draf, very messy and unstructured, has been compiled as next to me<br>
>> people are deciding where to go skiing tomorrow—which means I cannot<br>
>> even complain if I don’t like the place (next time I go with Mattéo)<br>
>> ;-) So, it is quick and dirty, as they say, but it is a start.<br>
>><br>
>> If you want to know more about what I mean re: “on equal footing” and<br>
>> legitimizing people’s experiential knowledge, check out this<br>
>> <<a href="https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC139026" data-outlook-id="f7cd9bf4-ad3c-481e-a8ff-91ba4da3baf2">https://eur04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublications.jrc.ec.europa.eu%2Frepository%2Fhandle%2FJRC139026&data=05%7C02%7Cc.romanachnasser2%40uva.nl%7C7685b8e6248b4b87eab308de7f69976e%7Ca0f1cacd618c4403b94576fb3d6874e5%7C0%7C0%7C639088289288082415%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=3WGf7yq6Ap8GWYqrukl3RmyCN7%2Fqa7wxw2WmaLdcAgU%3D&reserved=0</a>>
(my<br>
>> chapter) and this<br>
>> <<a href="https://www.sustainabilityperformances.eu/ethical-data-governance-for-a-just-transition/" data-outlook-id="bdb229a3-9df1-46fe-a513-93236d14ebd9">https://eur04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sustainabilityperformances.eu%2Fethical-data-governance-for-a-just-transition%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cc.romanachnasser2%40uva.nl%7C7685b8e6248b4b87eab308de7f69976e%7Ca0f1cacd618c4403b94576fb3d6874e5%7C0%7C0%7C639088289288099662%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=LbVZ0ORKzQgLzrNjxz2UZvG%2FXuO46gLnhPmK%2Fh3Xcas%3D&reserved=0</a>>
(none<br>
>> of them particularly relevant to DATAGOV, so you can also ignore!). I<br>
>> got more sources if you want to read more 😉<br>
>><br>
>> TAKE IT APART! and thank you for your good vibes and precious inputs.<br>
>><br>
>> ~st. (who comes to CH to ski and it is 15C and today skated on 3cm of<br>
>> water… But there is a stunning blue sky!)<br>
>><br>
><br>
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