Coboi lab

Coboi lab (also styled CoBoi) is the public innovation and experimentation laboratory of Sant Boi de Llobregat, a municipality in the Barcelona metropolitan area of Catalonia, Spain. According to its official website, it exists to confront the urban challenges of Sant Boi and its surrounding territory through collaborative experimentation. It is not a conventional commercial company but a public-sector innovation vehicle, operating as a laboratory where citizens, public officials, researchers, and territorial actors share challenges and prototype responses. The lab organizes its work around several thematic areas. "Relacions" (Relations) is described as a collaborative environment for sharing challenges with actors from the territory. "Coneixement" (Knowledge) covers methodologies, tools, and research in service of co-design and co-creation, including the Mètode 4>17, a collection of good practices that Aalto University has applied to work on urban challenges. "Laboratori" (Laboratory) focuses on experimenting with initiatives that have a vocation for social transformation, such as futures design as a tool for public policy, the L'Olivera project, and DigitALL, a move toward a community laboratory for digital social innovation. "Meta-Lab" concerns the constant evolution of the public innovation space at conceptual, methodological, and structural levels. "Espai BETA" is a dedicated space for residencies and hackathons, including work with the Gasol Foundation and a 2024 residency call. Coboi lab's activities include hackathons (for example, HackB at the Campus Docent Sant Joan de Déu), residencies, talks within the Xarxa d'emancipació juvenil (Youth Emancipation Network), and collaborations such as the Col·laboratori de Catalunya. Its content is published primarily in Catalan, reflecting its local public mission. The website also documents practical engagements, including an interview with a UB 2025 intern and sessions on women and innovation. As a public laboratory, Coboi lab is tied to the Ajuntament de Sant Boi de Llobregat (the city council). It functions as an institutional brand for the municipality's innovation agenda rather than a profit-seeking enterprise. Its "customers" are residents, civic organizations, and public administrations, and its outputs are methodologies, pilot projects, and policy prototypes. The lab positions itself as a permanent, evolving space for public innovation, combining relational, knowledge, and experimental dimensions. Because the available evidence is limited to the official homepage and a Wikidata identifier, some details—such as the exact founding year, budget, and staffing—are not documented here. The dossier therefore focuses on what the lab itself states about its mission, methods, and programs.

Coboi lab is the public innovation and experimentation laboratory of Sant Boi de Llobregat, Catalonia. Its official website describes it as a laboratory for public innovation and experimentation aimed at facing the urban challenges of Sant Boi and its territory. The available evidence does not specify a founding date, so the lab's history is best understood through the evolution of its programs and thematic areas as presented on its own site. The lab organizes its activity into interconnected areas. Under "Relacions" (Relations), it provides a collaborative environment where challenges are shared with actors from the territory. Under "Coneixement" (Knowledge), it develops and shares methodologies, tools, and research for co-design and co-creation. A notable example is the Mètode 4>17, described as a collection of good practices, which Aalto University has applied to work on urban challenges. Another knowledge-related activity is HackB at the Campus Docent Sant Joan de Déu. Under "Laboratori" (Laboratory), Coboi lab experiments with initiatives that have a vocation for social transformation. Examples include "Disseny de Futurs" (Futures Design), presented as a tool to contribute to public policy design; "L'Olivera"; and "DigitALL: Cap a un laboratori comunitari d'innovació social digital" (Toward a community laboratory for digital social innovation). Under "Meta-Lab," the lab frames its own constant evolution at conceptual, methodological, and structural levels. Under "Espai BETA," it hosts residencies and hackathons, including work with the Gasol Foundation ("hack acadèmica i aproximació al Mètode 4>17"), a session on women and innovation, and a 2024 residency call. The site also records current activity: an interview with Alba Albuger Martí about UB 2025 internships at Coboi lab; a first working session on new challenges related to women and innovation; a reflection space within the BETAfest; and a prompt to discover the method. Coboi lab participates in broader networks, including the Col·laboratori de Catalunya and a talk within the Xarxa d'emancipació juvenil (Youth Emancipation Network). It also works on innovation in administrative processes of the Ajuntament de Sant Boi. Because the lab is a public initiative, its history is intertwined with the municipality's innovation policy rather than with commercial milestones such as funding rounds or product launches. The evidence available here does not include a timeline of institutional decisions, so this history remains programmatic and thematic rather than strictly chronological.

• Coboi lab operates as the public innovation and experimentation laboratory of Sant Boi de Llobregat, addressing urban challenges in the territory.

• Aalto University applies the Mètode 4>17 to work on urban challenges.

• HackB is held at the Campus Docent Sant Joan de Déu.

• Espai BETA 2024 residency call is announced.

• Gasol Foundation participates in an academic hack and approaches the Mètode 4>17.

• A first working session on new challenges related to women and innovation is held.

• An interview with Alba Albuger Martí about UB 2025 internships at Coboi lab is published.

A public-sector innovation laboratory for collaborative, experimental responses to urban challenges in Sant Boi de Llobregat and its territory.

• Mètode 4>17

  A collection of good practices for working on urban challenges, applied by Aalto University.

• Espai BETA

  A space for residencies and hackathons, including the 2024 residency call.

• DigitALL

  An initiative toward a community laboratory for digital social innovation.

• Disseny de Futurs

  Futures Design, a tool to contribute to public policy design.

• L'Olivera

  An experimental initiative with a vocation for social transformation.

1. 1Inici - Coboi labcoboilab.cat
2. 2CoBoi - Wikidatawikidata.org