The Change Laboratory® is a new method for developing work practices by the practitioners. It facilitates both intensive, deep transformations and continuous incremental improvement. The idea is to arrange on the shopfloor a room or space...
moreThe Change Laboratory® is a new method for developing work practices by the practitioners. It facilitates both intensive, deep transformations and continuous incremental improvement. The idea is to arrange on the shopfloor a room or space in which there is a rich set of instruments for analyzing disturbances and for constructing new models for the work practice. The Change Laboratory is used by a natural team or work unit, initially with the help of an interventionist. The Change Laboratory was developed in the Center for Activity Theory and Developmental Work Research of the University of Helsinki, and it is currently implemented in two major Finnish companies as pilot projects financed by the Finnish Ministry of Labour.
The method used in Change Laboratory is based on the notions of re-mediation and dual stimulation, derived from the cultural-historical theory of activity (Vygotsky, 1978; Leont'ev, 1978; Engeström, 1987; Cole & Engeström, 1993). Within the Finnish school of developmental work research, activity theory has been applied in work settings for some 15 years (see Engeström & Engeström, 1986; Engeström,1991; 1993; 1995; 1996a). In the various projects, particularly in the project 'Learning and Expertise in Teams and Networks' (see Engeström, 1992; Engeström, Engeström & Kärkkäinen, in preparation) four new ideas emerged which led to the creation of the Change Laboratory:
