Living Labs

What is a Living Lab?

A Living Lab is a space where consumers, health services, industry and academia work together to explore, test and improve solutions to real health challenges, before they're rolled out more broadly. There's no single agreed definition of a Living Lab in healthcare, the term is often used loosely alongside words like testbed or sandpit. QuILL uses one clear, shared typology so everyone means the same thing when they talk about testing.

Living Labs come in different forms, each suited to a different stage of testing, each with its own strengths and its own limits. QuILL's own work sits mainly across In situ and Simulation Living Labs, matched to what's being tested and how ready it is for real-world use. No single type does the job alone. An idea often moves through more than one as it matures.

In situ Living Labs

Testing done in real care settings, homes or communities, as close to real life as possible. This gives the most realistic picture of how something will actually work, but it's harder to set up: patient safety, staffing and everyday clinical demands all have to be worked around.

Simulation Living Labs

Controlled environments that copy real-world conditions, so ideas can be tested safely, repeatedly and early, before going live. This comes in three forms:

• Static: a fixed lab space, set up and ready to go. This is what CSDS is, and where QuILL predominantly operates from.
• Mobile: pop-up and on-wheels setups that bring simulation testing to where it's needed, including rural and remote communities.
• Digital and data: testing focused on digital systems, data and software, including how new technology and AI perform before they're used in care.

Because it's a controlled setting, findings still need to be checked against the real thing once testing moves closer to everyday use.

Biological and Manufacturing Living Labs

Testing focused on advanced therapies, devices and biological or manufactured products, under strict safety and quality controls, where precision and compliance matter more than speed. This type sits within the broader Living Lab ecosystem rather than being a current focus of QuILL's own testing work. The Herston Biofabrication Institute is an example of this kind of facility, co-located at the Herston Health Precinct.