Principles of Governance Practices for PED Communities

BIPED published a handbook which combines conceptual governance guidance with practical experiences generated throughout the BIPED project and is structured into three complementary parts:

• Part 1 presents a governance framework for LDT-supported PEDs, introducing principles and structures for data governance, stakeholder collaboration, layered governance, accountability, control mechanisms, and risk management. Together, these elements provide a foundation for trustworthy, transparent, and coordinated governance.

• Part 2 demonstrates how these governance principles emerged through the establishment and operation of the Brabrand Living Lab in Aarhus. Drawing on the BIPED experience, it shows how multi-stakeholder engagement, co-creation, systematic documentation, thematic analysis, and real-world experimentation were used to identify governance challenges, translate complex concepts into shared understanding, and synthesise practical governance principles. In this way, the Living Lab is presented not only as an innovation environment, but also as a methodology for governance development.

• Part 3 synthesises the lessons learned from BIPED, reflecting on both the strengths and limitations of the approach. It provides recommendations for municipalities and PED communities seeking to establish Living Labs, develop context-specific governance approaches, and apply the governance principles in practice. It also identifies future directions for validating and scaling the methodology across different urban contexts.

A central finding throughout the handbook is that governance for LDT-supported PEDs is not static. It is an evolving socio-technical process shaped by stakeholder relationships, data practices, organisational learning, and continuous adaptation. Technology alone does not create value; value emerges when digital tools are embedded within inclusive governance, transparent decision-making, and coordinated cross-sector collaboration.

Beyond presenting governance principles, the handbook demonstrates how these principles can be developed through a structured Living Lab methodology. The governance principles are therefore not intended as a universal model, but as an empirically grounded framework derived from the BIPED project that can be adapted and refined by other PED communities according to their local context, organisational maturity, and stakeholder ecosystem.

By combining governance theory with practical implementation experience, this handbook provides municipalities, practitioners, researchers, and other PED stakeholders with both a governance framework and a transferable methodology for supporting inclusive, data-driven, and resilient urban transitions.

Learn about PED Governance Principles