The deliverable D6.5: Report on community participation and playground results was submitted by Space Engagers (SE), Colaborative (COL), Officinae Verdi (OV), Písek (MP), Smolyan (SMO), Sestao (SB), Võru, and Alba Iulia (AIM) with contributions from NTNU and ISOCARP Institute in June 2023. The executive summary of the deliverable is available below and the full deliverable is at the end for download:
“One of the core objectives of the +CityxChange project is to activate local stakeholder knowledge and resources towards the creation of Distributed Positive Energy Blocks (DPEBs) and the broader market in all five Follower cities: Alba Iulia, Písek, Sestao, Smolyan and Võru. The focus of this Report is on describing the activities that have ensured replication of the Demonstration Projects that have been carried out in the Lighthouse cities in this regard. This includes implemented citizen and stakeholder engagement measures, innovation playgrounds, and development of business and investment models.
CommunityxChange principles are expressed in six Frameworks. The Bold City Vision is a Framework that helps cities identify and address key opportunities and actions on their way towards becoming smarter and more sustainable. A Citizen Participation Playbook is a catalogue of practices to empower communities to contribute to the Positive Energy transition. A Learning Framework for Next Generation Smart Citizens is an infrastructure for intergenerational learning initiatives and learning events with youth participation in Distributed Positive Energy Blocks (DPEBs) at its core. A Framework for Positive Energy Champions supports a network of individuals who foster positive energy communities by incorporating positive energy concepts into their daily routines and help their fellow citizens to do so too. A Framework for Innovation Labs supports the implementation of dedicated centres for digital innovation within a city, and enhancement of existing centres, where they exist. As described in D3.6, Framework for DPEB Innovation Labs, (p 8): “It comprises a Programme and virtual and physical locations, or a network of locations, where implementation of the +CityxChange Innovation Playground can become manifest” with objectives to :
- “Initiate new collaborative operating structures.
- Cultivate an Open Innovation 2.0 ecosystem for entrepreneurs and start-ups.
- Support competition and innovation in the creation and replication of DPEBs.
- Enable a permeable culture of collaboration and co-creation in the city”
and includes orchestration of the Innovation Playground. The Framework for Innovation Playgrounds supports the development of an area of a city where different virtual and physical places and activities related to innovation are brought together into a coherent whole to facilitate collaboration, empower citizens, and find new ways of addressing challenges that matter to people.
These Frameworks, as well as learnings from the application and adaptation of the frameworks in the LHCs, were used in a targeted way towards the implementation of PEBs and the related transition processes with citizens and other stakeholders, and this Report describes how that implementation happened in Alba Iulia, Písek, Sestao, Smolyan and Võru. The Report begins in each city by reporting on community participation, within the broader CommunityxChange approach, and then moves to considering the implementation of the Framework for Innovation Playgrounds locally in the five distinct cities. Implemented Business and Investment models are reported for all five cities.
In describing the overall application of CommunityxChange principles, as set out in CommunityxChange results, it is intended that this Report could be used by other cities in a targeted way towards the implementation of PEBs and the related transition processes with citizens and other stakeholders. Results of community participation and engagement in implementing Bold City Vision, Citizen participation platforms, Learning Framework for Next Generation Smart Citizens, Framework for Positive Energy Champions and Framework for Innovation Labs demonstrate the level and quality of engagement and participation in each city. Description of implementation of Innovation Playgrounds in five Follower Cities, and testing of business and investment models, also records the spatial and socio-economic framework developed for each city in the period from April 2020 to April 2023.”
