Vitalise -Virtual Health and Wellbeing Living Lab Infrastructure
The VITALISE (Virtual Health and Wellbeing Living Lab Infrastructure) project is a European research infrastructure initiative aimed at opening up and harmonising research processes within Living Labs operating in the field of health and well-being. The project promotes international cooperation, scientific excellence, and innovation by providing researchers with access to real-life research environments and digital datasets.
Project Mission and Significance
Living Labs are key environments for health and well-being innovation. They provide real-life testing and research settings where users, professionals, and researchers jointly develop, test, and evaluate new solutions. VITALISE recognises that Living Labs often apply different methodologies, protocols, and data management procedures, which can limit comparability, knowledge transfer, and international cooperation.
The project therefore establishes a harmonised framework that:
Project Mission and Significance
Living Labs are key environments for health and well-being innovation. They provide real-life testing and research settings where users, professionals, and researchers jointly develop, test, and evaluate new solutions. VITALISE recognises that Living Labs often apply different methodologies, protocols, and data management procedures, which can limit comparability, knowledge transfer, and international cooperation.
The project therefore establishes a harmonised framework that:
- standardises research processes,
- introduces common standards and protocols,
- facilitates data sharing and reuse,
- increases the research capacity and visibility of Living Labs.
This harmonisation makes research more efficient and helps ensure that Living Lab results can be more widely used in health and well-being innovation.
One of the key pillars of VITALISE is the Transnational Access (TNA) programme, which provides external researchers with free access to 17 Living Lab research infrastructures. Access is offered in two forms:
One of the key pillars of VITALISE is the Transnational Access (TNA) programme, which provides external researchers with free access to 17 Living Lab research infrastructures. Access is offered in two forms:
- Physical access: researchers can conduct studies, testing activities, and user research on site.
- Virtual access (VA): harmonised digital datasets from rehabilitation and everyday living environments are made available for research purposes.
Researchers were able to apply through three consecutive open calls, and selected projects gained the opportunity to work in real-life settings with real users.
Harmonisation Activities
One of the project’s major added values is the work of the Harmonisation Board and the Harmonisation Body, which:
Harmonisation Activities
One of the project’s major added values is the work of the Harmonisation Board and the Harmonisation Body, which:
- developed a common methodological framework,
- standardised data collection and research protocols,
- created the Harmonisation Wiki knowledge base,
- introduced new standard versions for the operation of Living Labs.
Before the project, the lack of harmonisation often caused significant loss of time and resources across Living Lab research activities. VITALISE addressed this challenge by building a shared European research infrastructure that can be sustained and further developed in the long term.
Joint Research Activities (JRAs)
Joint Research Activities (JRAs)
Within the project, several Living Lab research teams collaborated across three main research domains:
- Rehabilitation
- Transitional care, such as supporting the transition from hospital to home
- Everyday living environments, including smart homes, activity monitoring, and well-being technologies
The aim of the JRAs was to:
- bring together the expertise of different Living Labs,
- produce joint publications and research results,
- develop new innovation testbeds,
- support knowledge exchange and methodological alignment.
The VITALISE project makes a unique contribution to the development of European health and well-being innovation. By opening Living Labs, harmonising research protocols, and enabling transnational access, the project has created a shared research ecosystem that:
- supports multidisciplinary research,
- promotes scientific excellence,
- strengthens Europe’s innovation capacity,and
- provides a sustainable infrastructure for researchers in the long term.
VITALISE is not only a project but also the foundation of a new European research infrastructure supporting the development of future health and well-being solutions.