Living lab: A potential change catalyst for development in Nongoma

Rural living labs are an approach for enabling user driven ICT-based innovation initiatives geared towards economic and social development in rural areas. They also provide an environment for open innovation based on partnerships between all stakeholders. There are few deployments of Living Labs in South Africa and in Africa in general. The benefits of these deployments vary from place to place depending on various factors. Some success stories include the Siyakhula living lab in the Easten Cape province of South Africa. However, deploying a living lab is not an easy task since it involves a lot of planning and research. In this paper we perform a pre-deployment analysis of the possible impact of a rural living lab in the Nongoma area of South Africa. We also identify key players in the proposed Living Lab and how they will benefit.