In general the WG members have been working on more than 1 deliverable simultaneously. Most of the papers and research focused on for example case studies (developing Western Balkan Sport Innovation Lab, or research on Italian and Finnish best practices) or literature review (on PSI labs, or Public Innovation labs). These publications mostly started with the uncovered challenges (deliverable 1) and afterwards focused for example on developing a theoretical and/or applied working model for these types of labs.
Based on the research the WG members decided that a sustainable pan-European PSI lab should focus on concrete challenges and should have the form of a hackathon. This concept will be tested during the training school in Novi Sad in July. The idea is that this concept of EPSI can be used by for example universities during summer schools or other interested parties. The idea is also to set up an entity (For example an NGO registered in Montenegro or Serbia. Maybe with ‘branches’ in other countries as well.
During the meeting in Warsaw (Poland) in March 2023, the WG members discussed the concept of EPSI. In two different groups they explored future possibilities. In brief, the first group argued that EPSI should be a digital platform, hosted on a website (preferably SHIINE) that could be used by different stakeholders to tackle specific challenges. The other option involved the use of the training school to develop an EPSI. The idea was to ask the attendees of the Training School to develop the EPSI. Follow-up idea was that the concept could be used during for example training schools:
Figure 1 Ideas of Group 1 (Digital Platform)
Figure 2 Ideas of Group 2 (EPSI in Training School).
Based on these findings, it was decided that the EPSI concept:
– is based on bringing people together in a physical place and urge them to collaborate in a given time (social hackathon);
– This concept will be tested during the Training School with a specific challenge for the attendees of the training school (how can we educate students for society instead of jobs);
– The presentations of the different groups of the training school will also be recorded;
– The training school will be evaluated and the process of the hackathon will be described and will act as the EPSI concept. In addition, the idea is to set up a legal entity (for example an NGO) that could help to facilitate the EPSI.
