Exploring the potential of local stakeholders’ involvement in crisis management. The living lab approach in a case study from amsterdam

Abstract

This article presents the outcome of research into the potential of local stakeholders’ involvement in crisis management in two Amsterdam neighborhoods. It addresses the recognized challenge of enabling and improving collaboration between established formal response organizations and local actors engaged in extending and emergent organizational behavior during crises. To further explore the potential of local actors in responding to a crisis, the authors adopted the living lab approach to bring together actors from established response organizations, the municipality and local stakeholders. The so-called Amsterdam Crisis Resilience Living Lab, set up in the Zuidas and Indische Buurt neighborhoods, enabled the co-creation of knowledge produced by both formal organizations and local stakeholders in close collaboration with researchers from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the Institute for Societal Resilience. The results and lessons learned show potential of collaboration between formal, traditional response organizations and local stakeholders in crisis response. Strengthening the links between them can ultimately lead to a more inclusive and resilient crisis management approach.In addition the article shows the added value of the living lab approach in bringing together multiple responding stakeholders from different backgrounds.