IURC Advance Cooperation through the International Human Smart Living Lab Network

Partners from Europe, Australia and New Zealand came together in Granada Province and Coimbra from 28 September to 2 October 2026 for an IURC Advanced Cooperation Mission focused on how living labs can support territorial development, citizen participation, innovation and more sustainable, people-centred communities.

The mission brought together partners from the International Human Smart Living Lab Network, formed within the framework of the European Union’s International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) programme. Delegations from Adelaide and Christchurch began the mission in the Province of Granada before travelling to Coimbra, accompanied by representatives from Granada Province. Jeonju and newcomer Seberang Perai also joined parts of the Coimbra programme online.

Across the two stops, participants explored very different applications of the living-lab concept—from a dispersed rural territory and UNESCO Global Geopark in Granada to environmental research, blue economy innovation and urban experimentation in Coimbra. Together, the visits demonstrated how living labs can connect public authorities, universities, businesses and communities around shared territorial challenges.

Granada: applying living-lab principles across a rural territory

The first stop took place in the Province of Granada, where partners examined how living-lab principles can be applied across a large and dispersed rural territory rather than within a single urban facility. Granada presented its proposal to build its Human Smart Living Lab around the Granada Geopark Landscape Charter, a voluntary territorial agreement focused on landscape and sustainable tourism.

At a working session in Purullena, participants met local authorities, entrepreneurs, representatives from rural development and education, and the Geopark’s interpretation centres. The mayors of Purullena and Guadix also joined parts of the exchange, adding a local-government perspective to the discussions. The Landscape Charter emerged as a practical model for bringing a broad range of stakeholders together around shared territorial objectives. By May 2026, it had grown to 57 signatories and 115 commitments, covering priorities including rural vitality, compatible land uses, climate adaptation, landscape value and access to the territory.

For Christchurch, the Charter was particularly relevant as it prepares a volcanic geopark for the Banks Peninsula. Both territories face a similar challenge: how to align a wide range of stakeholders behind a common territorial strategy where no single protective designation applies. Granada Province also offered to share its experience on the pathway towards UNESCO Global Geopark status, with both sides interested in distributing tourism more widely and strengthening recognition of the territory and the people who live there. A third area of cooperation emerged around agrifood, alongside a shared interest in demand-driven vocational training as a way to retain people, skills and economic activity in rural areas.

The programme also included visits to Fonelas, Guadix, the University of Granada MediaLab and the Granada Health Sciences Technology Park, broadening the discussion to university involvement and health innovation. The Granada UNESCO Global Geopark has published further details on the visit and the International Human Smart Living Lab Network, highlighting its approach to governance and participation.

Coimbra: connecting environmental research, innovation and the blue economy

The delegation then travelled to Coimbra for the second stop of the mission. At the University of Coimbra’s MAREFOZ facilities in Figueira da Foz, part of the UC Blue platform, participants explored the Mondego estuary, environmental monitoring, coastal ecosystem management, climate adaptation and blue economy innovation.

A joint session with the Intermunicipal Community of the Coimbra Region (CIM Coimbra) also highlighted the wider global approach of IURC. CIM Coimbra participates in IURC’s Latin America region-to-region cooperation and shared its work with Tierra del Fuego in Argentina and Brest Metropolitan Region in France on the blue economy, illustrating how cooperation can connect across different IURC geographies and levels of governance.

Visits to the UC Blue laboratories and SeaPower facilities at Cabedelo Beach demonstrated how the Mondego estuary can function as a natural living laboratory, linking research, technology demonstration and territorial management. Local media also highlighted this approach, describing the Mondego as a laboratory for urban innovation within the international network.

From research to technology entrepreneurship

The programme continued at Instituto Pedro Nunes (IPN), where participants explored how research can move towards commercial and societal application. The delegation learned about ESA BIC Portugal, supporting start-ups using space technologies and Earth observation data, and Coimbra Supernova, which brings together public authorities, academia, innovation centres and companies around Coimbra’s growing space ecosystem.

For CoP-11, this provided a practical example of an innovation pathway extending from research and experimentation through technology development to entrepreneurship and commercial application. Public authorities, universities and innovation organisations all play a role in connecting these different stages.

International Human Smart Living Lab Network meets in Coimbra

The second day centred on the conference “My City, Our Lab. Human. Smart. Liveable. Co-creating Cities for People, Nature and Wellbeing” at Coimbra City Hall. Partner cities presented their different living-lab trajectories, including Jeonju’s work on participatory governance, Granada’s Geopark model, Adelaide’s work on urban cooling and river restoration, Christchurch’s experience following major natural disasters, and Coimbra’s emerging approach.

The conference programme provides further details on the participating cities, speakers and themes explored during the day.

The City of Coimbra has identified the Mondego and its riverbanks as an initial territory for living-lab experimentation, directly connecting the field visits with the network’s wider work. The City of Coimbra also published its own account of the conference and the role of the International Human Smart Living Lab Network within IURC.

The conference was followed by a closed technical working session focused on moving from exchange towards implementation. Discussions covered pilot projects, the network handbook, a shared digital communication platform, the onboarding of new partners including Seberang Perai, possible funding mechanisms and next steps. A contribution from the City of Hamburg also introduced discussion on data-driven decision-making and the emerging role of agentic artificial intelligence in urban governance.

From exchange to action

The Granada Province–Coimbra mission demonstrated the value of bringing very different territorial models into one Community of Practice. Granada Province showed how a living lab can be built around rural territory, landscape governance and an established stakeholder network, while Coimbra demonstrated how environmental research, blue economy innovation, universities and entrepreneurship can be connected within an urban and regional innovation ecosystem.

The mission also highlighted the importance of multilevel governance, linking cities, provinces, intermunicipal organisations, universities, businesses and communities while connecting different IURC cooperation strands. By the end of the mission, partners had moved beyond comparing experiences towards identifying concrete instruments, pilot projects and areas for continued collaboration.

The two stops demonstrated the International Human Smart Living Lab Network in action—connecting territories across continents, adapting successful approaches to local realities and building the foundations for longer-term cooperation under IURC.