LUPI — Innovative uses and practices lab, core of the Design Creative City Living Lab

The LUPI (innovative uses and practices lab) is an innovative methodology at the core of Design Creative City Living Lab (DCC-LL), managed by the Economic Development Department of the Saint-Etienne Cité du design. It develops short term programs (2-6 months) with professional designers, implementing new products, services or systems in the form of scenarios of uses. This co-innovation scenario process is particularly adapted to SMEs and organized as collaborative workshops on practices observation, creativity and analysis, with multidisciplinary working groups (local government, designers, companies, clusters and users). The LUPI is a light structure evolving with the projects. It works in close collaboration with the Research Department of the Cité du design, which provides it with its global watches and users´ investigation programs.