BUS604: Innovation and Sustainability

To move towards more formally constructed co-design procedures, you should define the key actors to lead and own the process (it doesn't necessarily have to be the city government), and the timeframe for the design phase. You then need to select one or more methods, for instance open, on-line 'challenges' where you define a problem and allow self-forming groups to propose several service concepts or structured, intensive, face-to-face co-design formats such as a weekend jam or hackathon. Whatever your method, you need to be sure before you start that you are ready to follow up with the necessary commitments: the resources need to be real, innovative administrative procedures required to support the new ideas will have to be carried out, and results and benefits will need to be measured.

One of the most important steps you can probably take is to make the data held in your administration publicly available, according to the Open Data paradigm. Most public administrations severely underestimate the hidden potential of the information they capture, generate, and manage, allowing the politics of information-as-power to hinder steps towards transparency. As the technology platforms for publishing and accessing Open Data become more widespread and easy to use, and as the evidence of innovative services spreads, it is clear that a city's Open Data policy is an increasingly important enabler of citizen-driven innovation and one of the key commitments your administration should be making.

Box 26

Shared Digital Services

The Haaga-Helia Living Lab designs new mobile and cloud-based solutions, by getting small organizations, companies, and citizens to work together. The new advanced technologies and cloud-based platforms make it possible to create shared digital services in a more cost effective way.

All of these commitments need to be clearly stated from the outset, as they are the necessary pre-conditions for the effective engagement needed to make citizen-driven codesign work. Once you have made your commitments from the public side, you have a right to expect similar commitments from the private side – for instance from the business community – if that has been identified as key for the success of the innovation path. As you move towards the actual process or event, it is equally important that you take additional steps to ensure open governance and fairness, listening to and supporting the participation of the weaker actors with motivation and empowerment to avoid that the co-design and co-decision process is not high-jacked by the stronger players. Remember, only by ensuring open and fair participation will the full creative potential of your territory emerge to address the problem at hand.

Case Story
Service Monitoring In Maputo