Actor

An individual, group, or organisation that influence or are influenced by a challenge or solution.

Barriers

Barriers are factors that could hinder or constrain the effectiveness, success, and long‑term functioning of your solution. Enablers, barriers, and future considerations for living lab effectiveness in environmental and agricultural sustainability transitions: a review of studies evaluating living labs.

Blueprint

A structured and iterative plan or model that provides guidance for the design, planning, and implementation of processes in real-life environments, outlining goals and how to achieve them. Blueprint – an overview | ScienceDirect Topics

CARE (Principles for Indigenous data governance)

A framework for safeguarding the rights of Indigenous People, emphasising collective benefit (community well-being), authority to control (communities retain control over their data), responsibility (data use must support Indigenous people’s self-determination), and ethics (data practices must prioritise Indigenous people’s well-being) to ensure data respects Indigenous rights and values. FAIR and CARE | UiT

Co-creation

A structured, iterative, and participatory process in which diverse actors produce knowledge, define challenges, and develop, test, and refine solutions. Characterizing nature-based living labs from their seeds in the past – ScienceDirect

Co-design

A participatory and facilitated process within the broader co-creation process, in which diverse actors frame problems and design solutions, emphasising early-stage collaboration, power-sharing, and the mutual learning across knowledge systems. Co-creation and the new landscapes of design

Co-evaluate

A participatory process within the broader co-creation process in which diverse actors assess processes, goals, and outcomes of their actions. Principles of Participatory Evaluation – ZSI

Co-implement

A collaborative and coordinated process within the co-creation process in which diverse actors operationalise and test solutions. Characterizing nature-based living labs from their seeds in the past – ScienceDirect

Community

A group of local actors, connected through shared social, spatial, or interest ties which could be businesses, researchers, citizens, planners, and/or decision makers. Citizen Engagement in Spatial Planning, Shaping Places Together

Data Management Plan

A formal document that outlines how data will be collected, organised, stored, shared, and preserved during and after a project, ensuring ethical handling, data security, and appropriate accessibility. Purpose of a Data Management Plan

Desired scenario / vision

A representation of a preferred future state that guides planning, action, and decision-making towards achieving long-term goals It provides a shared orientation for actors, supporting transformative processes. Quality criteria for visions and visioning in sustainability science

Driver

An underlying cause, either natural or human-induced, that initiates change in environmental or socioecological systems. Drivers can lead to pressures on socioecological systems. Drivers and pressures–untangling the terms commonly used in marine science and policy

Ecosystem-based management (EBM)

An integrated, holistic, and science-based approach to natural resource management that considers the whole ecosystem, including humans, with the aim of sustaining ecosystem health, resilience, and the sustainable use of resources. Key principles of marine ecosystem-based management

Enablers

Enablers are factors that could support and enhance the effectiveness, success, and long‑term functioning of your solution. Enablers, barriers, and future considerations for living lab effectiveness in environmental and agricultural sustainability transitions: a review of studies evaluating living labs.

FAIR

A set of guidelines to ensure data is findable (i.e., easily located), accessible (i.e., retrievable), interoperable (i.e., integrated with other data), and reusable (i.e., well-documented for future use), promoting open and efficient data sharing in research. FAIR and CARE | UiT

Marginalised or vulnerable groups

Marginalised or vulnerable groups are those considered at risk of poverty and social exclusion due to factors like physical disabilities, age, ethnic origins, or lack of housing. These groups often face disadvantages that limit their opportunities compared to more fortunate segments of society. Vulnerable social groups

Nature-based solution

Actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore ecosystems that address societal challenges while providing benefits for both human well-being and biodiversity. Nature-based Solutions – United Nations Environment

Outscaling

Describes the most common approach to achieving scale with an innovation: expanding reach by replicating and disseminating it to larger audiences. Scaling Out, Scaling Up, Scaling Deep

Partner

An active participant from the public, private, academic, or civil society sector who collaborates in the whole process of your living lab.

Pressure

A direct impact on the environment, natural or anthropogenic, that imposes stress on an ecosystem and results from drivers, causing changes in the ecosystem’s state or functioning. Ecological Pressure

Protected area

A clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated, and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature, including ecosystem services and cultural values. Practice guidance for protected and conserved area finance | IUCN Library System

Replicating

Reapplying a solution or approach in a new context with similar conditions, using the same or slightly adapted design to achieve comparable outcomes.

Rightholder

Individuals or groups, often sharing a common identity and culture, who hold recognised rights and collective authority over territories, resources, and knowledge systems, enabling them to self-determine and influence decisions affecting their well-being. Rightholder | IPBES secretariat

Scaling

Amplifying and expanding actions to transform institutions, cultures, economies, politics, and power dynamics, with the goal of creating widespread and lasting positive change for people, ecosystems, and communities.

Scaling out

Describes the most common approach to achieving scale with an innovation: expanding reach by replicating and disseminating it to larger audiences. Scaling Out, Scaling Up, Scaling Deep

Scaling up

Involves efforts to transform institutions by influencing policies, rules, and laws. Scaling Out, Scaling Up, Scaling Deep

Socio-ecological system

Complex networks of interactions between social and ecological components, where different actors perceive and delineate the boundaries and critical actors of the system in varied ways, influencing their attitudes and interactions within the system. Socio-Ecological System – an Overview

Spatial information

Spatial information refers to data that is linked to specific geographic areas. Spatial data

System

A group of connected elements (e.g., people, nature, or institutions) that interact and together produce outcomes or changes. A general framework for analyzing sustainability of social-ecological systems

Testing

Testing refers to trying out solutions in a structured way under real‑world conditions to learn what works, what does not, and what can be improved, before deciding whether to adapt, scale, or embed them into practice.

Transformative change

A fundamental, system-wide reorganisation across technological, economic, and social structures, including paradigms, goals, and values, that addresses the root causes of environmental and societal challenges and leads to long-term, sustainable outcomes. Introductory sections of the GBF

Transformative Living Labs

Collaborative environments that enable communities to drive socio-ecological transformations by sharing ideas, knowledge, and solutions, leveraging real-world experiments, continuous learning, reflection, and adaptation.

Upscaling

Involves efforts to transform institutions by influencing policies, rules, and laws. Scaling Out, Scaling Up, Scaling Deep