The PREPSOIL Business Model Canvas (BMC) for Living Labs (LLs) & Lighthouses (LHs) in the Mission Soil is a tailor-made tool that considers the specificities of Soil LLs and LHs to support and inspire these initiatives to find a strategy for their long-term sustainability. [read more]
To achieve this, the PREPSOIL BMC offers practical examples based on different exercises conducted in the PREPSOIL project. These examples can be found below and can be filtered according to different soil uses (agriculture, forestry, (post-)industrial, and (peri-)urban), as well as different elements, and spheres of intervention within each of the elements.
These examples are to serve as guidance and inspiration for the design of Business Models for Soil LLs, acknowledging the uniqueness of each of them in terms of the ambition, capacities, and context in which the LL operates.
For more information on the BMC methodology please see PREPSOIL Report on LL/LH business model plans (D4.2)
For a step-by-step guide on how to use the BMC see Business Model Canvas for Soil Living Labs and Lighthouses: A guide for users
Download your working copy of the BMC here
Create the occasions to grasp emerging demands on land use interventions, guiding both formal and informal practices
Co-creation of monitoring mechanisms on soil health and its effects on residents
Make the LL platform where different expertise meet and collaborate to support policy decisions and interventions (e.g. identifying and monitoring the presence of toxic and harmful elements
Bridge concrete stakes of urban users with practical solutions of different types of professionals, also in a cross-sectoral perspective
Open the market to different customer segments
Living Labs provide access to cutting-edge technology and offer free testing environments, empowering innovation and accelerating the development of new solutions. They serve as experimentation, innovation, and demonstration spaces, bridging the gap between research communities and productive, social environments. By offering both physical and digital spaces, Living Labs foster social cohesion and support corporate social responsibility project-based activities, enabling diverse stakeholders to collaborate and drive impactful technological advancements. This holistic approach not only accelerates technological progress but also enhances community engagement and societal benefits
The Living Lab methodology brings economic and financial advantages for businesses and organizations, as by operating through real-world testing and direct user involvement, it achieves significant cost reductions and maximize return on investment with faster market adoption and enhanced product and/or service quality. Delivering user-centric solutions drive sustainable growth and market leadership. Also, LLs develop innovative, low-cost solutions via collaborative co-creation, boosting operational efficiency and accelerating time-to-market.
Living Labs offer a dynamic platform for pioneering climate-smart, sustainable soil management practices, essential for mitigating and adapting to climate change. By fostering collaborative innovation, Living Labs raise awareness and deepen knowledge about soil health, ensuring long-term environmental and social benefits. This approach stabilizes and increases local, healthy food production, enhancing climate resilience and supporting sustainable practices. Engaging stakeholders at all levels, Living Labs harness collective expertise to develop and adapt solutions tailored to local constraints, promoting soil biodiversity and conservation
Living Labs offer comprehensive support in utilizing advanced tools, significantly reducing risks in the prototype phase. By assisting SMEs with testing and development during their innovation processes, Living Labs enable the creation of smart soil health solutions and services. Through user panels, co-creation tools, and dedicated labs, they provide access to essential knowledge and networks, ensuring that innovations are robust, effective, and ready for market deployment. This collaborative approach empowers SMEs to develop high-quality solutions while minimizing risks and accelerating the path to success
Agricultural LLs accelerate the development of new solutions to tackle soil health problems by bringing together innovative farmers and citizens, researchers and companies. Solutions can for instance be new climate smart sustainable soil management practices to mitigate and/or adapt to climate change, or adaptations of existing practices needed to deal with local constraints. Further, a structured collaboration with potential investors as well as regulators and authorities fosters a faster development and upscaling of solutions and removal of barriers of their implementation
LLs accelerate the development of innovative solutions to soil health challenges by uniting farmers, citizens, researchers, and companies. This collaboration fosters fair and sustainable, regionally-produced food, while enhancing soil health and crucial ecosystem services such as climate change mitigation, flood prevention, and erosion control. By promoting agroecology and beneficial soil health practices, Living Labs boost soil biodiversity and fertility, reducing soil degradation in arable lands, grasslands, and forests. This approach not only creates sustainable livelihoods for farmers, especially younger generations, but also drives sustainable forest soil management, ensuring a resilient and healthy ecosystem for future generations
Forestry LLs have the potential to accelerate the development towards sustainable forest soil management by finding and developing solutions to tackle soil health issues. LLs do this by bringing together innovative forest owners, researchers, companies and citizens. LLs will provide a platform for all levels of stakeholders to contribute with knowledge, experience and solutions. Solutions can for instance be new climate smart sustainable soil management practices to mitigate and/or adapt to climate change or to conserve soil biodiversity. Adaptation of existing practices needed to deal with local contraints
