About the Journal

About the Journal

Please note: Currently the Journal of Living Labs is not accepting submissions via the website, however we do consider directly relevant manuscripts. Please submit a short (max. 200 words) expression of interest via email to Kristof Santa 

Aims and Scope

The Journal of Living Labs publishes papers on the co-development and the real-world validation of innovations within health and social care.

The Journal`s mission is to report new literature from real-world settings; combine various articles from the social sphere and act as a forum to share findings and encourage discussions, whilst stimulating the flow of information across the boundaries of relevant disciplines.

The Journal encompasses literature that explored a wide range of experiences and initiatives, including social life and systems as well as policies to increase awareness and understanding of the lived-in reality of individuals and its consequences to find or facilitate the investigation of solutions to real-world issues that are local and grounded in a specific context.

The Journal aims to promote; publish and pioneer thought provoking work conducted in a user-centred, open innovation ecosystem (e.g., Living Lab) based on a systematic user co-creation approach, integrating research and innovation processes in real-life communities and settings via a series of qualitative and creative methods to collect; analyse and share data.

The Journal`s topics of interest include:

  • Innovative processes
  • Evaluation of innovative technologies and associated study protocols
  • Social implications of clinical research
  • Participatory design methodologies
  • Health inequalities
  • Access to health services; medical records and data
  • Cost-effective and efficient delivery of services

Please see the Guidance for Authors for specific submission instructions

Open Access Policy

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Notice and Takedown Policy

If you are a rights holder and are concerned that you have found material in LJMU Open Journals which infringes UK law, please contact us by emailing openjournals@ljmu.ac.uk, stating the following:

  1. Your contact details and the reason for the withdrawal request, some examples are:
    1. Unauthorised use by reason of reproduction and/or making available the material
    2. Breach of moral right of [paternity/integrity/right not to have my work subjected to derogatory treatment]
    3. Other complaints, e.g. defamation, breach of confidence, data protection
  1. The full bibliographic details of the material and the full URL
  2. Proof that you are the rights holder or are an authorised representative.

 Upon receipt of notification the ‘Notice and Takedown’ procedure is then invoked as follows:

  1. LJMU will acknowledge receipt of your complaint by email or letter and will make an initial assessment of the validity and plausibility of the complaint. We aim to acknowledge and assess the complaint within seven days of receipt.
  2. Where grounds for complaint are plausible, the material will be temporarily removed from public view in LJMU Open Journals pending an agreed solution.
  3. LJMU will contact the contributor who deposited the material, if relevant. The contributor will be notified that the material is subject to a complaint, under what allegations, and will be encouraged to assuage the complaints concerned.
  4. The complainant and the contributor will be encouraged to resolve the issue swiftly and amicably and to the satisfaction of both parties, with the following possible outcomes:
    1. The material is replaced on LJMU Open Journals unchanged.
    2. The material is replaced on LJMU Open Journals with changes.
    3. The material is permanently removed from LJMU Open Journals.
    4. In some cases a metadata record will remain. This will be on a case by case basis.

If the contributor and the complainant are unable to agree a solution from receipt of notification, the material will remain unavailable through LJMU Open Journals until a time when a resolution has been reached. It may be necessary for us to seek legal advice before the complaint can be fully resolved.