26th International Association for Management of Technology Conference - IAMOT 2017

Connecting people" is a common expression nowadays, often repeated in digital companies' communication strategies. Beyond the catchy slogan, however, connecting people and connecting things has become a real challenge for companies wanting to stay competitive. The fact is, we are seeing the end of the "mad", isolated inventor, replaced by collective and collaborative creation. In this context the concept of the FabLab has emerged to meet new expectations for the design of the products of tomorrow. Born in the hallways of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States at the end of the 1990s, FabLabs are growing fast today, with over 300 worldwide, including in developing countries. FabLabs are defined as fabrication laboratories in which several technologies are gathered together: software, small equipment and, usually, machine tools. Their association and the democratisation of knowledge and skills related to their use make it possible to design and make objects or micro-robots, to repair devices... and to manufacture at the prototype or small production run level. To put it simply, a FabLab is a fitted-out physical space that enables communities of practice to design and manufacture their own objects, particularly using digital tools. People come to these places, which could be thought of as communities of skills, to exchange views, get trained, find solutions and produce things. Mobilising shared and collaborative forms of innovation, FabLabs are involved in the development of new models of innovation, strengthening 'open innovation' even further. Nevertheless, from the point of view of innovative design, the process would not be complete were we not to reintroduce the notion of use. Indeed, if this passage from problem to solution seems relatively simple and, in fact, widely accessible, we must not neglect the power of the end user to refuse or accept the solution. In this respect, from the point of view of design research, the association of FabLabs and Living Labs (a type of project involving users and particularly using behaviour observation tools and methodologies) may strengthen the development of knowledge of design practice and user feedback so that, right from the upstream phase of the innovation process, improvements can be made to the acceptability of the future product or service by having multiple by/for tests and with use. That is what we are going to show in this paper. In the first paragraph we shall give an overview and then define the notions of FabLab and Living Lab, collaborative design, open innovation and creative community. Then, in the second paragraph and using the example of the Lorraine Fab Living Lab® space designed to foster both collective creativity and design by use, we shall show how the principle of "connecting people" is given life today in the ability of territories to promote the development of spaces conducive to hosting these new creative communities that are revolutionising our relationship with the status of knowledge and intellectual property. It is these very last two points that will allow us to set certain limits and to open research opportunities because it is undeniable that collaborative design and open innovation, intrinsically linked to the FabLab and Living Lab model, cannot go on without asking the question of intellectual property rights and how to value them. The free use of projects (shelved and, in fact, potentially accessible to all with or without payment obligation) has little compatibility with the definition of intellectual property rights and demands reflection on the new business models to be designed. For academics and practitioners