LSE Living Lab Research Projects

LSE Living Lab Research Projects are campus based research projects that address the most pressing sustainability challenges affecting food systems on campus.

Research Projects should bridge the gap between academic research and real-world impact. Impact can take many forms, including influencing behaviour change, informing policy and decision-making, improving operations, or shaping more sustainable practices across campus.

Research Projects should respond to a real need. The Living Lab is working closely with LSE Catering to identify key sustainability challenges impacting food systems on campus, which will be published online, to support your proposals. Proposals can also be based on needs identified through previous research or lived experiences.

Researchers will have the opportunity to collaborate with key stakeholders and access data, facilities and resources to test and implement their solutions.

Living Lab Research Projects can be proposed by individuals or teams, but they must be collaborative in nature. This could include working across disciplines or engaging with key stakeholders such as catering, LSE staff and students, or running community consultations to shape the project.

You can out more about the Living Lab approach on the European Network of Living Labs website.

Research Project proposals can be submitted by LSE students and staff. You can submit individually or as a team. There may also be opportunities to join existing Research Projects based on the project outline.

Student eligibility:

• For Research Projects, 3rd-year undergraduate, master’s, or PhD students may apply. The Research Project can form part of your dissertation, masters or PhD research.
• Students must get sign-off from their academic supervisor before submitting a Research Project proposal.

Staff eligibility:

• All academic and professional services staff can apply for Research Project funding.

Applications for LSE Living Lab Research Projects are now open. You can find out more about the application process and apply for funding here.

The maximum funding request for a Research Project is £10,000.

You can also access additional funding for community engagement activities through the LSE Living Lab Action Project fund.

Find out more about LSE Living Lab Action Projects here.

Research Projects can run for up to 18 months. Given the applied nature of the research, projects are expected to run for a minimum of six months to allow sufficient time for testing, evaluation and where appropriate, implementation.

Applications will be reviewed by the LSE Living Lab team to assess feasibility, community need, impact and outcomes. Applications for the first round of LSE Living Lab funding are now open. The proposal submission deadline is 31st July 2026. The LSE Living Lab team will aim to contact you with an application outcome within 4 weeks of the closing deadline.