The NouLAB process launched at GovMaker II in November 2015 is still carrying on. Since we last communicated progress on the NouLAB Social Innovation Lab process, we hosted another workshop for the lab teams. The March 7^th workshop provided lab teams with techniques for developing prototype solutions and identifying when a prototype is appropriate for scaling or larger scale implementation.

As mentioned in the February update, teams are looking forward to the opportunity to pitch prototype solutions as part of the upcoming Innovation Week in May. With this in mind the last scheduled workshop in the series, on April 4^th, will provide teams with support in developing and testing their pitches.

This month we want to tell you about another one of the lab teams. The Rural Lab originally came together to explore the complex social problem of “How to Rebuild the Rural”, and is comprised of four members: Megan de Graaf, Estelle Drisdelle, Laura Reinsborough, and Rémi Donnelle. After much work identifying the most pressing issues that plague rural communities, the team decided to focus in on the challenge of removing barriers to people building small rural-based enterprises that are both economically and ecologically sustainable. More specifically, the lab team will look at how to reduce the risks to farmers and foresters who want to innovate new ways to make a living from their lands.

The team is supported in their task by Community Forests International, a charity that owns New Brunswick’s first Rural Innovation Campus. This Campus, located near Sussex, is a prototype centre for innovation in forestry and farming, that aims to test new techniques and technologies, for sharing with rural communities in New Brunswick and beyond. The Rural Lab team is using this fledgling Rural Innovation Campus, and some of its early projects, as the core of its work in the social lab process.

Stay tuned to the NBSPRN newsletter for future updates on NouLAB teams and the social innovation lab process.