Service co-design fostering migrants’ integration - The case of easyRights Living Lab

Authors: Maryam Karimi, Maria Vitaller del Olmo, Andy Peruccon and Nicola Morelli

Author keywords:    

  • Co-design
  • integration
  • migrants
  • enabling
  • multilayer
  • service ecosystems

Abstract: Living Labs share certain elements that consist of focusing on the co-creation of innovations in a real-world context, involving multiple stakeholders with the objective of generating sustainable values for all stakeholders and particularly focusing on the endusers. For engaging end-users in the innovation process, a high number of methods and tools exist. The challenge resides in selecting the appropriate means for each of the phases, especially when the challenges address socially vulnerable groups, particularly migrants and their communities. This paper explores the challenges of the creation of the easyRights Living Lab as part of the H2020 easyRights project, aimed at improving the integration of migrant communities in four European cities – namely Birmingham (United Kingdom), Larissa (Greece), Malaga (Spain), and Palermo (Italy). By emphasising the significant role of the co-design approach in the exploration, experimentation, and evaluation phases of the innovative development of local services, the paper explores how it is possible to enable social innovation in a co-creative and participatory framework that fosters inclusivity among a complex ecosystem of stakeholders, directly and indirectly, engaged with migrant communities in Europe. Some results of the easyRights Living Lab in the form of a wikispace show how a co-design, co-creation, co-experimentation, and co-evaluation of the activities can orient towards fostering the integration and inclusion of migrants’ communities.

Beyond participation: exploring citizen stakeholder empowerment in the co-creation of innovation

by Shelly Tsui

Keywords:

  • Co-creation
  • Stakeholder empowerment
  • Living lab
  • Urban energy
  • Public engagement

Abstract: Co-creation faces a number of challenges, mainly in that it does not provide a clear idea of what is empowerment, and how it is enacted through co-creation. This is especially pertinent when collaborating with citizens as without being aware of the issues that come with engaging them, co-creation runs the risk of turning into mere participation i.e., an “empty ritual of participation and having [no] real power needed to affect the outcome of the process (Arnstein, 1969), for example. This could lead to disenchantment in such initiatives, and discourage future participation. If the hope for co-creation is to realize the ideal vision of public engagement by the Commission, and more generally the potential for co-creation to better align innovation and societal interests, then there is a need to conceptualize a form of co-creation that empowers its stakeholders. In the context of involving citizens, this insight is important as co-creation practices reflect ideas of engagement. This in turn can shape participation in not just co-creation projects but broader debates on science, technology, and innovation.

Speaker

Can Open Innovation offer a new perspectives for development of ecosystemic business models?

by Julia Nevmerzhitskaya

Author keywords:    

  • Open innovation
  • Ecosystemic business models
  • Business model development
  • Innovation ecosystem

Abstract. This paper describes initial considerations in a dissertation research on how to co-create ecosystemic business models based on shared resources and value in an open innovation. There are two main research areas that address the topic of ecosystemic business models: open innovation and innovation management, in respect of innovation ecosystems, and business model development, in respect of business ecosystems. This research will be an attempt to bring two areas together by using multi-stakeholder perspective as the bridge between the two. The proposed approach is to use service design as a methodological choice for multi-stakeholder business model development as a core of open innovation.

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The Roles, Functioning and Culture of Urban Innomediaries

by Jimmy Paquet-Cormier

Author keywords:    

  • Collaborative Urban Innovation
  • Urban Innovation
  • Urban Innomediaries
  • City Innovation
  • Collaborative Innovation
  • Urban Transitions
  • Urban Systems
  • Innovation Management
  • Change Management
  • Flexibility
  • Adaptability

Abstract: Urban innomediaries (UI) are orchestrating the collaborative urban innovation transition. In Europe, they aim 1) to support public organisations in their environmental and digital transitions, 2) to orchestrate the market of urban innovation and 3) to foster collaboration between public-private-third-academia-civil actors. In order to study their systemic functions and their governance and management practices, seven European organisations were analysed (four main cases and three partial cases) using a combination qualitative and quantitative questionnaire, interviews, ethnographic and autoetnographic methods. The cases were selected for their reputation as a leader in their network and to maximise the heterogeneity of the cases. Preliminary results propose six dominant management models: the activist, the agile start-up, the territorial strategist, the representative and coach, the national model and the urban labs. In terms of organisational culture and climate, UI are perceived by their employees as a dynamic and playful working environment where they work hard on stimulating projects often without receiving a fair compensation for their work. By reducing its financial dependency on the public sector, the one has demonstrated that scaling up is not always the most viable option in order to diversify funding. Moreover, results show that UI have designed and implemented different types of management practices that combines bottom-up and top-down dynamics in order to adapt to an ever-changing environment. Finally, the research recognises the importance for UI to improve their capabilities regarding organisational learning, impact assessment and knowledge and competences management.

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Urban Living Labs as a smart city approach: how does socio-technical innovation transform urban development?

by Hui Lyu

Keywords:

  • Smart city
  • Urban Living Lab
  • Socio-technical innovation
  • Urban transition

Abstract: Under the demand of urban sustainable development, the smart city movement has been on stage for more than a decade, with its concept changing and evolving during the time, from a technology- centred model to a more balanced social and technological strategy. Meanwhile, Urban Living Labs (ULLs) came up in recent years as an approach that uses emerging technologies to cope with urban challenges. Nowadays, ULLs often have a focus on citizen participation and social value creation. The linkage between these two concepts are noticed but not clearly elaborated. This paper argued that ULLs could contribute to the smart city strategy, but there is a lack of investigation on how ULLs’ approach is linked to the socio-technical innovation process in the smart cities. Aiming to explore the nature linkage between these two concepts, this paper tries to raise an analytical model based on literature review and Delphi method survey data from ULLs experts. It is expected that key indicators could be identified to evaluate the socio-technical innovation approach of ULLs, as well as the smart city transition process driven by ULLs.

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