Organisation
Organisations involved in co-creation should take into account the specific organisational needs of this approach. Information must flow in two directions and decision-making must support organisation members involved in the process.
The key to success in a smart and sustainable co-creation process lies in project management that supports this process. In this project management, we can abandon traditional hierarchy and set objectives together. Each consortium member’s role is to question what has been done before and suggest new ways to achieve the overall project objectives, both in the design and implementation phases. It is also important to continuously measure the achievement of objectives and, where appropriate, to have a reward system for their achievement.
The city must decide how the co-creation process and the traditional planning process will go hand in hand, when new plans or plan amendments are needed. A co-creative process must anticipate and identify planning needs well in advance. It should be noted, however, that co-creation can also focus on the development of sustainable and smart solutions or service solutions for the area that are not related to land use planning in any way.
Resources
Those involved in the co-creation process must have the authority and the will to participate and succeed as a consortium in the project, given by their organisation. It is crucial to have the right attitude. Co-creation requires time, virtual and physical spaces and platforms. The process also benefits from its wide network of members. The allocation of resources from each organisation to the process should take into account the productivity gains to be achieved, which will be realised in other ways than by saving on co-creation resources.
Competences
Co-creation requires skills in several areas: strong multidisciplinary expertise, organisational skills, people management and communication, and interaction. Good interpersonal skills foster trust among consortium members, data collection skills support the development of new solutions, and an analytical approach encourages constructive criticism and creativity in presenting alternative solutions. On the technical side, knowledge of regulations and contracts are prerequisites for a successful process.
Co-creation offers a wide range of working methods that need to be mastered from both facilitation and participation perspectives. A number of suitable methods are described here. Organising co-creation also requires a clear vision of the city and its starting points and systems. This topic is discussed below, see chapter 5.
