The COVID-19 outbreak forced Latvia to enter a state of emergency on 12 March, but the restrictions were considerably milder than in other EU member states affected by the virus, so it would be inaccurate to call it a lockdown. While there were limits on how many people could gather in one place, there were no restrictions on the freedom of movement within Latvia.

Nonetheless, authorities urged people to exercise caution and consider whether travel was necessary. Similarly, even though many services were not deemed essential, Tukums municipality and many other public institutions in the region continued to operate. However, municipal employees had to take on additional responsibilities (e.g. sourcing disinfectant) that involved managing the pandemic’s impact. Cultural institutions operations were largely suspended due to the restrictions placed on large gatherings. As a result, staff devoted their time to practical managerial matters that had been put off prior to the pandemic.

Fortunately, the living lab managed to organise several face-to-face events before the restrictions went into effect. Two stakeholder meetings were held on 14 January and 4 February, respectively. The purpose was to discuss different ideas and visions for the municipal cultural strategy, which is the main focus of the Tukums living lab.

Likewise, a regional workshop was held on 6 March. In it, the participants discussed the possibility of turning Tukums into a major tourist destination with a well-planned and coordinated cultural life across the municipality, good infrastructure (incl. cycling paths) and facilities for the film industry. Unfortunately, the participants were much more comfortable focusing on the obstacles that prevent them from implementing this vision, rather than the actions that must be taken to effect change.

Understandably, there were no face-to-face meetings between the practice and research partners during this period. The core living lab team primarily communicated via email, though a webinar was organised on 9 April to discuss the impact of COVID19 on culture, food and infrastructure (public transport).

Overall, we observed a rapid re-alignment of supply and demand and more frequent reliance upon digital tools. For instance, purchasing food online was uncommon in Latvia prior to the pandemic, whereas now supermarket delivery services are in high demand. Likewise, a lot of cultural content was placed online for people to enjoy in isolation, enabling new ways to experience culture. It is unclear whether this will change and revert to the pre-pandemic rhythms after the restrictions are lifted (the state of emergency ended on 10 June). 

Unexpectedly, the reliance on online and digital tools has not had any significant disruptive effects on communication within the living lab. The living lab would likely have organised one or two face-to-face meetings during this period, but members of the Tukums living lab already routinely communicated via telephone or email because the practice and research partners are based in different places (Tukums and Riga respectively). Furthermore, the living lab had already managed to organise the planned stakeholder engagement events prior to the pandemic.

Nonetheless, the pandemic has had an indirect impact on the main project of the living lab. For instance, the need to work remotely had exposed some ambiguities in the employment contracts of people working at cultural institutions. Likewise, COVID-19 has underlined the growing importance of digital culture, which should be considered when drafting the cultural strategy.

Overall, the response to COVID-19 has shown the ability of cultural institutions and food businesses in Tukums – and in Latvia more broadly – to adapt to unexpected changes. Not everything has gone smoothly and some of the social and economic consequences are still to come, but the pandemic clearly illustrates that change is possible. The members of the living lab can only hope that this will lead to a more optimistic outlook and a willingness to work towards making Tukums a major tourist destination with a vibrant cultural life.

The main goal of the Tukums Living Lab is to develop a planning document that would facilitate the governance of cultural life in the municipality in a manner that is both resource-efficient and maintains the rich cultural and historical heritage of the region.

The Envisioning phase has been productive as it has allowed the Living Lab team to co-create a vision for the future of cultural life in collaboration with professionals in the cultural sector, the eventual users of cultural services and representatives of Tukums municipality – though much remains to be done.

More specifically, due to the fact that the Living Lab team is involved in a project whose timeframe is by and large determined by the workflow of Tukums municipality, the Envisioning phase can be divided into two phases, the second of which is yet to come.

The first phase involved meetings and brainstorming sessions with the practice and research partners. This resulted in an aim to develop a comprehensive approach to cultural life that respects the diversity of urban and rural contexts across Tukums municipality as much as possible. It was deemed crucial that different perspectives and practical considerations are brought to bear upon the planning of cultural life in the region.

The plan was articulated in focus groups and open discussions between researchers and several municipal government representatives, which generally went well due to the good working relationship established during previous projects.

The second phase will involve empirical work to provide a secure foundation upon which an appropriate document can be prepared for submission to the municipal council. This phase will combine a more detailed assessment of the current situation and a SWOT analysis of cultural life in the region (incl. in relation to food and the use of e-services). 

Interviews and working group meetings with industry professionals will be organised, and other methods from the ROBUST toolkit will be employed as needed.

The overall purpose is to develop an understanding of cultural life in the region that reflects the diversity of actors and organisations that are involved in it, so that their needs and insights could be utilised in the preparation of the strategy. The list of the stakeholders involved was the result of stakeholder mapping by Tukums municipality representatives.

Meeting of the Tukums Living Lab, 17 April 2019. Photo by Talis Tisenkopfs

Moving Foreward

The plan is to present the results of this work on 5 September 2019. This plan, however, means that the Envisioning phase of the project will be much longer than previously anticipated.

This also means that there will be an overlap with the Experimentation phase, which was planned to involve needs assessment and priorities setting in working group meetings and public events. This overlap will, however, provide an opportunity to use different methods with a wide variety of stakeholders.

Looking back at the plans we articulated at the beginning of 2019, several issues have emerged that we have to contend with in the Living Lab. Firstly, a concrete timetable to develop the strategy (which, incidentally, is now officially referred to as a “development plan”, rather than a strategy) was approved by the municipality. As indicated above, this requires extending the envisioning phase.

Secondly, and more importantly, a national administrative-territorial reform will likely be implemented in 2020-2021. This means that the administrative boundaries of the municipality will be redrawn and include parts of other, currently neighbouring municipalities.

Crucially, this means that a greater range of cultural institutions would be managed by Tukums. This leaves the Living Lab and Tukums municipality in a rather peculiar predicament.

The plan is to develop and approve the strategy (or “development plan”) by the end of 2020. However, shortly after the strategy is approved, it would have to be revised to incorporate the needs of other territories in the newly-created administrative unit. Consequently, our practice partners intend to develop a strategy that could potentially be adjusted to suit the new administrative arrangement, thereby the Living Lab has the potential to facilitate new forms of governance at a wider territorial scale.