LabGOV – commons

LabGov.City is an international theoretical, empirical and applied-research laboratory focused on the study of the application and adaptation of the theory of the commons (i.e. Elinor Ostrom’s theory on the governance of the commons) to the urban context (in particular urban commons, knowledge commons and infrastructure commons). This led to the formulation of the quintuple helix urban co-governance approach inspiring the design of loosely coupled legal, institutional and financial partnerships between five main urban actors (i.e. local public institutions, cognitive institutions, the local private sector, NGOs, city makers/active city residents) to deliver urban innovation and face urban justice issues. The research methodology is based on a trans-disciplinary and design experiment approach. It combined empirical and action-based research tools to generate and empirically test the so-called “Co-City Protocol”, which is composed of five design principles, a toolbox and a project cycle. The protocol is being used in different testing grounds in Europe and the US to analyze and experiment processes, practices, policies, projects based on the quintuple helix urban co-governance theory. LabGov empirical research team is currently engaged in the “Co-Cities Project,” an applied research project on public policies and local projects from over 100 cities around the world.