Living Lab
Flevoland as a testing ground for food system challenges
Flevoland is unique in Europe: land reclaimed from the sea, where urban development and agriculture come together. That combination makes it an ideal starting point for research into urban agriculture, food democracy and food innovation. From Almere, Food Pioneers operates as a living lab: science, practice and policy meet here to experiment and learn in real-life settings. This approach closely connects to the research projects within our Food Labs.
Change begins where theory becomes practice
What is a living lab?
A living lab is a research environment in the real world. No simulations, but real people, streets and challenges. In Almere, new ideas are tested together with residents, entrepreneurs, policymakers and researchers, in a continuous process of learning and improving. This aligns with the European living lab approach: open, user-driven and co-creative. Want to know who is involved? Take a look at our For Whom page.
Why Flevoland & Almere?
Flevoland is young, spacious and open to experimentation. Short lines between government, education and local initiatives make it easy to move quickly, which is exactly what a living lab needs. In Almere, we work with a wide range of real-life practices: from school and community gardens to food forests, CSA farms and Oosterwold, where urban agriculture is part of everyday life. The Food Campus also plays an important role in sharing knowledge and supporting education.
How we work
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Mapping: Identifying urban food initiatives and opportunities.
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Co-creation: organising sessions with residents, entrepreneurs, researchers and policymakers.
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Measure & learn: assessing impact with clear indicators (environmental, social, economic).
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Scaling up: feeding successful solutions back into policy and practice. This connects directly to the trajectories within our Food Programs.
Examples from the Living Lab
FOODCITYBOOST (European project)
We are a living lab partner in FOODCITYBOOST. This project develops a decision support tool with evidence-based indicators for the environmental, social and economic impact of urban agriculture, along with policy guidelines to help urban food production grow in a responsible way.
What do we do in Almere?
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Map urban food initiatives and assess their impact and feasibility.
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Organise co-creation sessions to connect knowledge and practice.
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Feed insights back into policy and implementation so that effective solutions can be scaled up.
Urban Agriculture Lab (Almere & region)
In and around Almere, a growing network of residents is producing and adding value to their own food. Think of the Oosterwold district, where residents grow vegetables and process them through their own food co-op. Or the Burgerboerderij, where experiments are taking place with community-supported agriculture and new local business models. Food Pioneers supports this movement through the Urban Agriculture Lab: a platform where initiators can find each other, share knowledge and jointly build a strong local food system.
What is the Urban Agriculture Lab?
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Network & knowledge sharing: residents, farmers, researchers and policymakers work together.
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Learning by doing: experiments with growing methods, revenue models and cooperatives.
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From neighbourhood to policy: insights from local practice inform municipal and regional policy.
Get involved or learn more
Check our current programme or get in touch via the contact form. Together, we are building a healthy, local and future-proof urban food system.