Citizen-Driven Innovation

Read this guidebook, which explores smart cities through a lens that promotes citizens as the driving force of urban innovation. It presents different models of smart cities that show how citizen-centric methods can mobilize resources to respond innovatively to challenges in governance. The living lab approach encourages agile development and the rapid prototyping of ideas in a decentralized and user-centric manner. How can mayors and public administrators create partnerships that drive value in their communities through citizen-driven innovation? How can sustainability be integrated into municipal strategies and solutions? How can city leaders join forces to learn and network globally?

Joining Forces - Chapter 5

2. Listen and Learn

Of course you learn most not by telling your story but by listening to others: how different cities assess their problems and potentials and what they are doing. Listening is important, since it allows you to step into the on-going dynamics of other initiatives and from there diagnose your own projects and strategies. You will probably see good practices you may want to take home with you, but in parallel, you should not underestimate the complexities of transferring experiences. For any positive initiative you see, you will need to understand the context it arose out of, identify those aspects that you think are most relevant, and see what kind of adaptations might be required in order to bring similar benefits to your city.

For the transfer of good practice, there are many variables to take into consideration, ranging from cultural differences to different technology baselines, different legal and regulatory environments, and so on. In the end, to guarantee an effective exchange it is best to engage your whole partnership, promoting exchanges between peers and exploring the various aspects of adaptation from the different stakeholder perspectives.

Box 32

The Art of Knowledge Exchange

Knowledge exchange, or peer-to-peer learning, is a powerful way to share, replicate, and scale up what works in innovation. Development practitioners want to learn from the practical experience of others who have gone through, or are going through, similar challenges. They want to be connected to each other and have ready access to practical knowledge and solutions. When done right, knowledge exchange can build the capacity, confidence, and conviction of individuals and groups to act.

Case Story

A Global Water Hackathon

Description	Context	Challenges
In October 2011 the World Bank organized a global Water Hackathon,60 a marathon competition of brainstorming and computer programming. This event gathered over 500 local software developers and technical communities in 10 cities around the world to work simultaneously in building prototype solutions to water sector challenges. Water Hackathon was designed with four objectives: (i) creation of a network of atypical partners to find solutions to water-related challenges, (ii) preparation of a list of challenges facing the water sector, (iii) development of new applications designed to address challenges, and (iv) adoption of applications and code developed in Bank projects.	Today more people in the world have access to a mobile phone than to a toilet. The lack of safe drinking water and adequate sanitation is the world's single largest cause of illnesses, responsible for two million deaths a year. Water is also the primary medium through which climate change will impact people, economies, and ecosystems. Digital technologies and tools offer new platforms for outreach, transparency, and participation that can help to achieve water security.	Removing barriers for collaboration between water professionals and local technologists was considered essential. Event preparation was preceded by an iterative consultation, definition, and refinement of development challenges in the water sector judged amenable to technology solutions. Challenges were then reframed in a way that allowed computer programmers to understand and address them directly. An iterative process approach brought existing and nascent innovations to the surface and strengthened the ties between innovators and the water community.

Actions	Results	Impacts	Scaling Up
The World Bank Water Hackathon adopted a process inspired by the Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) model.61 to the requirements of the water community, using its own brand. Incentives were designed to leverage appropriate applications specific to the communitv and prioritizing: (i) locally identified problems; (ii) deep subject matter expert involvement throughout the process; iii. local community building by leveraging existing networks and recognized local champions; iv. targeting incentives towards technical entrepreneurs; (v) positioning of problem statement owners as clients with a degree of follow-up commitment; and (vi) investment in post-event measures, such as naming of water ambassadors.	More than 60 prototype solutions were built in response to the 113 water sector challenges defined. More than 500 software designers were mobilized in 10 technology communities worldwide from Nairobi to London to Lima to Bangalore. Winning teams were rewarded with business incubation support and offered further opportunities to engage with their water counterparts. In some cases, this led to financing of new startups and the recruitment of local developers to various advisory positions in governments.	Through partnership with tech organizations, universities, and community leaders, the World Bank was able to draw global attention to development water problems.62 The openness of the approach attracted considerable attention from within the water community and also from print and online media, including blogs and social networks, which traditionally do not feature water content. "This was the new Egypt at work," said one participant in Cairo. This approach also required a change in mindset for the World Bank, calling for greater openness, experimentation, and tolerance of failure.	Hackathons are inherently local events, but the global network allows collaboration across sectors and time zones. Partnership with a local tech community is critical, as they are best equipped to host a hackathon that is fun and open, while global networks help raise the profile of the hackathon to a broader audience. The World Bank has since organized a global Sanitation Hackathon (2013) as well as supporting other more local events in the context of several projects.