Collaborative working methods during the process

Identification of needs and actors

Needs and current state mapping

Setting targets

Identifying opportunities for action

Project planning

Period of use and lifecycle

Recommended methods for different stages of the process.  X= is well suited x= is quite suitable

Examples of different co-creation methods for developing a sustainable and smart city:

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Workshops and design sprints

• Timing: suitable for use at all planning stages, including target setting, brainstorming, impact assessment, pilot testing, data gathering, etc.
• Implementation: in-person and remote workshops are widely used methods of co-creation. There are many ways to use it. When setting sustainability goals, the workshop can be used, among other things, to formulate different future paths and scenarios and to create a shared, written and visualised vision based on them. The backcasting method involves first creating a shared vision and then considering the path or measures to achieve that vision. The optimal number of workshop participants is usually around 20–30, but larger groups are also possible. As for the duration, a 2–3 hour workshops can cover about two tasks. Learning cafés, i.e. working in rotating work groups, are suitable for exploring various themes. Open cafés, where people can freely explore selected topics, can also be useful when time is limited and you want participants to be able to influence the topics they want to discuss. Stakeholder workshops should be considered, as in most cases, bringing together different stakeholders and people with different backgrounds will also provide a broader view and perhaps richer ideas.
• Other: the workshops should be carefully designed and clearly demonstrate the benefits to the participants, not just a place to collect information. Advance assignments can be used to increase motivation for the workshop topic and post-assignments can be used to further clarify the results. Presentations should also be used to bridge the gap between starting levels of knowledge. When planning workshops, it is also worthwhile to explore service design methods, including the intensive five-step Design Sprint (mapping and brainstorming, sketching and prototyping, and testing).

Big Room

• Timing: particularly suitable for use in target setting and planning work.
• Implementation: a multidisciplinary, intensive way of working where designers and clients (and builders) work together in the same working space to achieve common goals repeatedly over a period of time (e.g. Wednesdays 9:00–16:00 for one year). Big Room planning makes information exchange and decision-making more efficient and agile, and schedule management easier, and constant interaction facilitates brainstorming and innovation.
• Other: Big Room planning also increases trust and fosters a commitment to collaboration. Can be used as a working method in numerous alliances in construction projects, railway projects, etc. However, a key aspect of co-creation is taking into account other parties outside the Big Room in communications, for example through weekly newsletters.

Joint discussions

• Timing: suitable for use at all stages.
• Implementation: informal (vs. interview) joint discussions/round table discussions with a common agenda with the aim of building consensus, informing, and discussing or testing options/planning solutions, amongst other objectives. For example, an evaluation team composed of representatives of different stakeholders, which meets periodically to review the results of the intermediate stages of the project or the success of the project process (joint monitoring and evaluation).
• Other: can add a lot of value to large-scale projects (e.g. a consultative authorisation process).

Various panels, including residents’ panels, developer forums

• Timing: suitable for use at all stages, with the specific aim of working over the long term throughout the project.
• Implementation: a residents’ panel or a developer forum made up of different actors can be set up early on in the project and be involved throughout the project lifecycle. It can also serve as an auditor but also, in a simpler way, produce co-creation solutions and information for each phase.
• Other: an under-utilised method that can add a lot of value in large-scale projects.

Virtual models and CAVE work

• Timing: particularly suitable for use in the target setting phase (vision) and for the brainstorming of options.
• Implementation: virtual models can be used to collaborate with stakeholders on the target state and vision and to illustrate the vision to all stakeholders. Collaboration can take place with different stakeholder groups at different times (e.g. children, the elderly, entrepreneurs, trustees, etc.). The vision can be created, for example, through CAVE methods over a virtual model of the current state, where new functionalities/layers/textual comments describing the vision are introduced with regard to the current state. The virtual model can also be used to illustrate planning options, including different sustainability scenarios and impact chains. Virtual models can be used from a computer or in CAVE work, for example.
• Other: Virtual models are not only a design tool but also, at their best, a way of co-creation, directly visualising solutions/goals/options.

Interviews

• Timing: can be used at all stages, particularly suitable for data collection, brainstorming, testing, evaluation of pilots, etc.
• Implementation: e.g. thematically (transport operators, traders, etc.), mixing different stakeholders/actors can bring significant added value to the brainstorming of solutions. Individual interviews or, for example, interviews via Teams, optimal group size 4–6 persons, duration about 1–1.5 hours, thematic interviews with 3–5 broad questions depending on the topic, questions should be sent to the interviewees in advance to give them time for preparation.
• Other: also useful for peer review, e.g. when seeking lessons learned and practices in an area where there is no activity or settlement yet, interviews can be conducted in a similar area.

Gamification

• Timing: particularly suitable for use in the brainstorming phase, but also for commenting on and testing a proposed solution.
• Implementation: through gamification, sustainability or intelligence solutions, for example, can be collected from a wide range of stakeholders. The most common are planning games, where the resident/actor plans a specific area within certain constraints (e.g. the location of different activities). The game can also illustrate to planners, developers, operators and residents how to move around within a given area or building, and ask for feedback on, for example, traffic solutions or the impact on the urban landscape.
• Other: the advantage of gamification is that it also engages young people in brainstorming. Gamification can provide a more complete picture of the elements of the plan by allowing you to explore and test the project area.

Going into the field / participatory observation

• Timing: particularly suitable for use in the data collection and brainstorming phase and for impact assessment.
• Implementation: for example, finding out local people’s needs related to a particular theme through a short questionnaire or simply by observing the activities of users in the area.
• Other: going into the field and talking to people in the area, for example to brainstorm sustainability solutions with different user profiles, is a good co-creation method, including in a group.

Surveys

• Timing: suitable for use at all stages, especially in the early stage when setting common sustainability and other planning objectives for the area, for collecting information on needs and current conditions, but also for the brainstorming phase, e.g. targeted at a specific group of respondents. The evaluation of the plan/pilot can also be carried out by means of a questionnaire.
• Implementation: Expert and resident surveys should be developed as separate surveys, e.g. for setting sustainability targets. A useful means of co-creation when you want to get information and insight from a wide range of people. There are several online survey formats available and many of them are free of charge. However, in large resident surveys, it is useful to offer the respondents the opportunity to express their views in paper form (e.g. a postal survey or conducting a survey through the library). The use of map surveys is also becoming more common and relevant, especially when collecting information on issues such as the use of the area or the location of new activities. Mini-surveys contain around three questions and can be used to gather information from a large number of people quickly. Even in large-scale surveys, around 10 questions are sufficient to maintain a high response rate.

• Other: A quantitative and periodically conducted evaluation survey can be used to efficiently collect development data (evaluation data) on the achievement of sustainability objectives, among other things, from a large number of people.
• Other: In mass data collection, the data is collected from residents and other actors. Data is collected around a theme for a specific time and in a specific area and the data collectors are engaged in a common activity (e.g. reward for participation).
• Other: The advantage of surveys and mass data collection is that the possibility to participate in the planning process with a small input, for example by telephone, can help reach a large number of people.

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