About Us
Limerick’s Citizen Innovation Lab is a place for observation, co-creation and experimentation in the city. It is a collaboration between the University of Limerick, Limerick City and County Council, and the citizens of Limerick, supporting them to work together on a sustainable future for the city.
It is a place where people can help shape a path to a climate neutral Limerick by 2050, guided by the Limerick Climate Action Plan. As a living lab, it leads and supports collaborative research projects, citizen-led initiatives, digital and citizen science tools, and public engagement activities. The shared approach is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and focuses on areas including decarbonisation, the clean energy transition, climate innovation, digitisation and technology, active travel, and urban development. The Citizen Innovation Lab puts people at the heart of Limerick’s climate transition.
The Space
Citizens’ Observatory
The Citizens’ Observatory provides access to digital tools so people in Limerick can make and share observations on their local environment and buildings. It is also the location of the 3D-printed city model.
Engagement Hub
The Engagement Hub is a meeting space and a hub for collaboration and co-creation where co-design workshops and creative engagement events take place.
Fab Lab Limerick
Fab Lab Limerick is a maker space and digital fabrication laboratory run by the School of Architecture at University of Limerick. This is a space which has as its central ethos a public-facing, urban, embedded research role. The School of Architecture’s city Fab Lab is a centre of research contributing consistently to developing research projects with State and Local Authority partners, communities, activists and artists in various combinations as questions for society, both pragmatic and theoretical, arise. See fablab.saulstudio.ie for more details.
Access
Activities are free of charge. The Citizen Innovation Lab runs Open Calls, City Engage Weeks, and activities linked to collaborative research projects. The Citizen Innovation Lab can also host self-organised or community-organised projects that address its Innovation Agenda.
The opening hours are generally Monday to Saturday 10am to 5:30pm, and there are evening events during the week. There are evening classes delivered by UL on Tuesdays and Wednesday, and there is a Makers’ Meetup every Thursday night in the Fab Lab.
Access to the building is from Sarsfield Street, with a main entrance and a side entrance, which includes an exterior ramp and a wheelchair lift. UL provide for a security officer to be at the building during these hours.
Research
Citizen-led and citizen-focused research is more prominent at EU and national level, particularly in fields related to the climate transition. The CIL has been created to bring the University and the City together in Limerick, with established networks of citizen initiatives and communities already embedded. The Lab has a proven track record in leading and supporting citizen-centred research, policy, and community projects including projects funded by SEAI, Creative Ireland, and EU Horizon. Its affiliation with the European Network of Living Labs, including membership of the Energy and Environment working group, situates the CIL within European research priorities. Its collaboration spaces offer opportunities for city-focused research including guided access to the multiplicity of digital and creative tools at the Fab Lab. The CIL is a potential partner in a variety of collaborative research projects, offering space, access to citizen engagement opportunities, and a certified living lab approach to bolster and ground university research across disciplines.
Take Part
The Citizen Innovation Lab runs Open Calls, City Engage Weeks, and activities linked to collaborative research projects. The Citizen Innovation Lab can also host self-organised or community-organised projects that address its innovation agenda.
Contact the Citizen Innovation Lab if you would like to suggest an activity, enquire about a potential research project, or hold an event.