Living Lab

What is the Living Lab?
The Living Lab is at the heart of this pilot project. It is a real-world testing environment in Fuvahmulah City where government agencies, technical experts, communities and other key stakeholders come together to design, test, and improve a modern early warning system.
Instead of developing tools in isolation, the Living Lab brings innovation directly to the island, allowing solutions to be shaped by local realities, risks, and user needs.
How the Living Lab Works
  1. Co-Creation: Local authorities, frontline responders, and technical teams jointly design the features of the early warning system.
  2. Real-Time Testing: Tools are tested using real local data, past hazard events, and simulated scenarios.
  3. Community Input: Residents and island institutions share insights on communication needs, vulnerabilities, and how they prefer to receive warnings.
  4. Iterative Improvement: Features are refined continuously based on feedback, ensuring the system is practical, user-friendly, and relevant.
Why It Matters
The Living Lab approach ensures the early warning system is not just technically strong but locally owned and locally usable. It strengthens collaboration across agencies—MMS, NDMA, MoTe’s Water and Sanitation Department, and the Local Council—while building the skills needed to operate the system long-term.
By piloting the system in a Living Lab setting, the project creates a proven model that can later be scaled nationally, supporting stronger climate resilience across the Maldives.