Designing for and with territories: innovative and interdisciplinary strategies for sharing knowledge

In a time marked by environmental, digital and social transformations, not only Design has to respond to possible future scenarios emerging within territorial models, not strategically organised yet. The lack of active synergies between the territorial actors is caused, among other things, by the lack of knowledge of what exists beyond each reality and by the absence of a highly attractive physical-territorial reference developing activities from below. In addition, the digital current of Society 5.0 has further made the scenario complex, opening the door to digital humanism (P. Khanna, 2014), then moving on to the city (Smart City) and finally to territories (Smart Land), making them subject to the virtualization of relationships and the connected/complex pair. In this context, Design is one of the disciplines that can attempt to dictate design reaction times, remaining in line with the ongoing digital evolution, integrating into interdisciplinary teams that generate indispensable added value. To explore the issues mentioned, the paper describes the "NOTLab - network of living laboratories for materials" project: a territorial network characterized by training and research centres, traditional and innovative companies, laboratories, and associations. Their goal is to develop a knowledge-oriented community. An interdisciplinary collaborative model where everyone is involved and has direct responsibilities for some aspects (services, activities) of the system. The real subjects of the network are people, guardians of meaning, tradition and innovation, as bearers of tacit and immaterial knowledge, in a knowledge-sharing system. Finally, NOTLab is an open model, based on Learning by making, capable of self-generation through the knowledge that each active actor can provide. In this way - and through design-driven, co-design, strategic, and participatory methods - NOTLab becomes a human container of knowledge and skills.