social innovationeXchange

Co-creation GuideRealising Social Innovation together

#Co-creation tweets:

• Co-creation: theend result is richer than thecontributionof

eachindividualpartner

• Withouttrust,sharedvaluesandaviewonabitofprofit,co-

creationisnotpossible.Let’sfindsharedvaluesworldwide

• Foreverysocialchangeyouneedtocreateapublic

• Firstsettherulesofthegamebeforeyoustarttalkingcontent

• Co-creationismoreaboutattitudinalchangethanatoolbox

• Embracethefactthatpartoftheansweristogenuinelygive

someofyourpoweraway

• Co-creation isall about listening, takingcareofeachother,

andthewilltochange

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This guide is tributed to Diogo Vasconcelos (1968 - 2011).

The co-creation guide is a publication by Social Innovation eXchange (SIX), Knowledgeland and Dialogue Café.

www.socialinnovationexchange.org

www.knowledgeland.org

www.dialoguecafe.org

Text Editors: LouisePulford,KineNordstokka,ConnorFriesen,ChrisSigaloff,KimonMoerbeekandLorinevanLoon

Design: MarcelOosterwijk

Illustrations: SpraakmakendeVerbeeldingbyThomasvanDaalen

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Creative CommonsAttribution-ShareAlike 3.0

License.Seethefulltermsofthelicenseat:creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/nl

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Everyday, whether we are working in the third sector, government, business or the media, we are faced by new challenges. Increasingly, these challenges are social. Social Innovation has been defined as the development and implementation of new ideas (products, services and models) to meet social needs. This broad definition embraces innovations in fields as diverse as fair trade, distance learning, hospices, urban farming, waste reduction and restorative justice. Social innovation can come from individuals, groups and associations, the non-profit sector, the market and the state.

Thebasicdifferencebetweensocialinnovationsandotherinnovationscanbefoundinthemotivationbehindthem.Whileinnovations,generallyspeaking,aremotivatedbyprivatefinancialappropriation,socialinnovationsaremotivatedtoproducesocialvalue1.Theneedforsocialinnovationiswidelyacceptedacrossallsectorsandallovertheworld,butacceptanceisnotthesameasaction;formanynewsocialinnovators,theprocessofinitiatingandimplementingsocialinnovationischallenging.However,themorepeopleworktogether,themoreengagementtherewillbebetweencitizensandserviceusers, themoreeffectivenewsolutionswill become - findingeffectivewaystosolvesocialproblems(inhealthcare,communities,localgovernmentetc.)isnolongerajobforgovernmentsalone.Byworkingtogether-byco-creating-socialinnovatorscancreatewide-rangingsolutions thatdrawon the insightsofeveryoneinvolved.

Whether it is throughco-design,co-production,co-collaboration,orco-creation, theideaof‘co-‘-theideaofactingtogether-hasbecomepartofthewayinwhichweliveourlivesandshapeoursociety.Itunderminestop-downthinking,whilenotbeingentirelybottom-up.

Why a co-creation guide?

1http://socialinnovationexchange.org/aboutsixcorepartners

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It brings togetherabroad rangeofperspectives. It changes thewayweapproachownershipofprojectsandresponsibilityforoutcomes.Butwhatdoesco-creationreallymean?Isitjustanotherbuzzword,oraneffectivemechanismtocreatenewsolutions?

Onthe24-25thMay,2011,nearly100participantsgatheredinAmsterdamtodiscusstheadvantagesandpitfallsofco-creationbetweencitizensandorganisationsinthisnew technology-mediated world. A global community including professionals frompublicagencies,NGOs,globalfirmsanduniversitiesjoinedwithtechnologyexperts,policymakers,andserviceuserstoexploretheseissues.

Thisguideisaresultoftheoutcomeofthediscussions.

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Efforts around the world to make co-creation more meaningful and useful are fragmented. There are very few explanations available regarding effective methods of co-creation - what works and what doesn’t? The aim of this guide is to share principles and experiences as well as questions, in order to shed light on the real, practical strengths and opportunities that can come from working in this new way.

Ourpurposewiththis‘guide’isthereforenottodictateasetofanswersoraformulaforsuccessfulco-creation,butrathertotakealookatsomeofthediscussionsthatarehappeningaroundthetopic,toreframethedebatearoundco-creationandcitizenparticipation,andtolookatoldissuesfromnewanglesandwithfreshperspectives.Thisapproach ismorefocusedonasking therightquestions thanfindingdefinitiveanswers,sowearelikelytoendupwithmorequestionsthanwestartedwith—somewillbenewandsomewillbeinspiredbyfoundationalquestions.Theentireco-creation‘guide,’aimstobeusefulasatooltoinspirefurtherthinkinganddebatearoundthisimportantandtimely issue.Wehopethat thisguidewillenableus, together, toco-createnewwaysofworkingwitheachotherandwithinourorganisations.

“Lots of co-creation is happening around the world. What is lacking is a real-time assessment of which of these are working and which aren’t. Instead there is a stream of books and articles saying it is all wonderful- and that is actually not helpful because then people make unnecessary mistakes.”

GeoffMulgan(NESTA)onthechallengesofco-creation

How can we do it?

The Dutch scientist Roel in ‘t Veld conducted profound research on contemporary society en comes to the following analysis that illustrates the social-political dynamics of these times.

I. Representative democracy versus emerging participatory democracy:Representativedemocracyhasbeenahugesuccessandhas,foralongtime,beenastrongbrand.Nevertheless, it isnow indecaydue to the fragmentationofvaluepatternsandaweakeningofideologies.Citizens,ascreativecontributors,arebeingneglected. Participatory democracy is necessary to overcome the weakness ofrepresentativedemocracy.

II. Disciplinary science versus emerging trans-disciplinary design science:The development of the scientific method was revolutionary in itself and manyentrenchedandpervasiveproblemshavebeensolvedthroughascientificapproach.However,manyofourcurrentproblemscannotbesolvedthroughdisciplinaryscience.Therelationshipbetweenscienceandpoliticsdemandsnewdesigninanenvironmentofmedia-politics,wickedproblemsandreflexivity.

III. Top down media versus emerging bottom-up media:Classicalmedia producers are enterpriseswith power; structurally speaking, thereisamutualdependencybetweenpoliticiansandclassicalmedia.Socialmedia,ontheotherhand,ismassself-communication.Noownershipisvisibleonsocialmediaplatformsandconsumersareproducers (‘prosumers’).Therearenoeditors,sono

Why co-creation? Why now?“We live in times of profound change.”

Roelin’tVeld(OpenUniversityofNetherlands/UniversityofTilburg)

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selection. The presence of social media liberates the politician from the classicalmediainprinciple.Communitiesexistinsocialmedia,societyisricherthaneveronsocialmedia.2

EMERGING PARTICIPATORY

DEMOCRACY

EMERGINGTRANSDISCIPLINARY

DESIGN/SCIENCE

EMERGINGBOTTOM-UP

MEDIA

REPRESENTATIVEDEMOCRACY

TOP-DOWNMEDIA

DISCIPLINARYSCIENCE

TENSIONS1ST ORDER2ND ORDER3TH ORDER

2Roelin‘tVeldduringSIXSpringSchoolPresentation24-05-2011

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“Co-creation is an attitude from the initiators. You can have a series of steps and plans, but unless you have an attitude from the person who initiates the action, real co-creation is difficult to achieve. Co-creation necessitates an attitude of learning and listening from the people you are working with. It begins with a personal attitude before it reaches out to the range of different methodologies. Unless you have got the attitude right, the methodologies are going to fail. To move the field of co-creation further is more about attitudinal change than it is about a toolbox. Co-creators must take the role of facilitators, not experts. The experts are often the ones who are closest to the issues.”

GarthJaphet(Hearlines/SoulCity)

#Co-creation tweets

• It’sanillusiontothinkthatwecancompletelydecentralisepower,youwillalwaysneedstatesatwhateverlevel.

• Howwillbottomupinnovationsupplementtop-downgovernment,asweknowit?• Doesco-creationevergetmatchedwithnewmodesofco-accountability?Arewe

onlyhavinghalftheconversation?Theeasiesthalf?• Ifparticipatorydemocracyistocomeabout,weneednewmodelsofgovernance

thatcanovercomeimmensecomplexity.• Howcangovernmentbecomealinkerratherthanadoer?• Pessimism and optimism both have their own truth: empower new visions of

participationswithouthavingthefeelingofbeingnaïve.• Co-creationisanuntappedresource.• Governmentcutsareopportunities.

Principles - What could make co-creation work?The aim of this section is not to offer grand solutions and rigid principles which dictate what you must do to make co-creation work. It is rather to offer some suggestions of tools, perspectives and new questions.

Importantquestionsthatcomeupwhendiscussingco-creation:

Engagement:• Howcanweconvincethedominantplayerstogoastepfurther?• Arecivilservantsinpowertogivepowertothepeople?• Howcanwefindoutifacommunityisreadyforchange/co-creation?

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Do’s and don’ts:• Whatdoweneedtostopdoingtomakeco-creationeffective?• Citizens’engagementininnovationpoliciesisnotuncontroversial.Howdowedeal

withtheargumentsproandcontra?Howdowemakethisworkinourrepresentativedemocracy?

• Whatmakesonlineco-creationworkandwhatwecandotofacilitatemoresuccess?• Howcanwecreatetherightframeworkforco-creation?

Framing:• Isthereanydifferencebetweenco-creation&communityparticipationordialogue?• Whoisco-creationfor?Howcanweenhancediversityintheco-creationprocess?

Sustainability:• Howcanwedesignsocialsustainability?• Howdoweselectqualityandacton/growthework?

Sharing knowledge:• Whatwouldaglobalcontent-sharingstrategylooklike?

Addressing these questions - Leading principles of co-creation Thevaluethatco-creationcanaddandthewaysinwhichitshouldbedesignedvariesfromsituationtosituation.Thereisnotonewinningstrategy.Moreover,todesignonespecificmethodforco-creationwouldruncountertothespiritofco-creation.

So,wehaveharvestedoutcomesofdiscussionsaroundthesequestionsandpresentanumberofworkingprinciplesthathaveemergedfromconcreteexperiences.

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1. We should start with a dialogue that is:• Knowledgedriveninsteadofpositiondriven.• Participatory.• Encouragesalearningattitudeandsharedresponsibility.• Includesadiversity/varietyofvoices.

2. We must be: • Openminded:Co-Creationasattitude(notaprecisemethod).• Tolerantoffailure.• Lessboundby‘therules’.• Focusedonsustainability.• Opentocreatingunexpectedpartnerships.• Trustinginsteadofcontrolling.

3. We can use: • Socialmediaandnewformsofconnectivity.• Althoughsocialmediaisnotacreatorofchangeorofsocialmovements, itcan

amplifythem.• Thepowerofnetworks.• Smallsteps.• Engagepeoplewithstories.• Alltalentavailableandbeinclusive–everyoneshouldfeelempowered.• Differentapproachesatthesametime.• Newtypesofprocessdesign/differentarchitecture.• Sharingandnetworking,bothwithincountriesandinternationally.

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4. Then we can:• Politicizeit.• Sharepower(andco-own).• Bringpeopletogether–offlineandonline.• Feelengaged/proud.• Visualize‘wins’.• Celebratesuccess.

“Obstacles to co-creation are fundamentally divergent interest (co-creation of experts, not of everyone), lack of time (co-creation takes time, and people are short of time), and power structures and hierarchies (it is rare that the people themselves are given real power).”

GeoffMulgan(NESTA)onchallengesofco-creation

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There are many fields where co-creation can start, and many ways that co-creation can arise within those fields. As an inspiration we want to highlight two different areas which demonstrate slightly different approaches and characteristics of co-creation:

1. The Power of People in Communities

Therearefourcharacteristicsthatcanimprovetheabilityofacommunitytochangeandco-create:

• Anangrycommunity.Mostco-creationcomesoutofcrisisandtheneedforchange,butnotalways.Co-creationlooksverydifferentifitisinstigatedbycommunitieswhojustwanttofindanewwayofworkingandwhoarenotangryandfrustratedbyasystem.

• Youalsoneedalearningcommunity.Communitiesneedtobewillingtolearnandtodaretotryagainandagain.

• Youneedaconfidentcommunity.Proudcitizenswhofeelownershipofandidentifywiththeirowncommunitiescanbeapowerfultoolforco-creation.

• Lastly,youalsobenefitfromhavingaresponsiblecommunitywhomakestheefforttocreatethechangethatisneededtodealwiththechallengesitencounters.

Co-creation in two different fields

“Many of the projects had been started in response to a crisis. In all cases a spark is needed to light a flame but success and sustainability will be dependent on their social impact. From a resident’s or citizen’s point of view, success will be seen if they continue to feel part of a movement, if they have a sense of belonging, trust and connectivity to a cause.”

ChrisDurkin(UniversityofNorthampton)

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2. The Power of People in Government

“How can the government become more of a process architect than a governing body? What does civil society need to do to link with the government?”

ChrisSigaloff(Knowledgeland)

Thecentralquestionsindiscussionsaroundthepowerofpeopleingovernmentisnotsomuchaboutbuildinginstitutions,butmoreaboutchangingthewaythatgovernmentsworkatthemoment.Wehavetoletgooftheideathatchangeissomething‘earthquake-like’ thatwill suddenly fix everything by tearing downbad practices.At the end ofchangingthegovernment,thegovernmentwillstillbethere,only itwill lookslightly

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different.Changingthegovernmentisoftenaslowprocessandaprocesswithouta‘steeringwheel’.Politiciansshouldnotcontrol theprocessofchange.Rather, theyshould facilitate theprocessandadopta leadershipstylewhichmakesothers feelconfidenttospeakandact.

Thegovernment is traditionally seen in the roleofOrganiser,however,peoplearevery capable of organising their communities if they are empowered to do so. Inmany states citizens are used to the government taking responsibility for creatingsolutionstomajorissuesandproblems.Communitiesleanbackandonlygetangrywhenthingsgowrong.Citizens need to have a lean-forward relationship with the state.Communitiesshouldaimforanengagementwiththestatethatgoesbeyondlodging complaints. Communities should take a generative approach and suggestimprovements.

Case: Pendrecht University

‘The learning neighbourhood: everybody gets smarter’

Formerly,PendrechtwasatroubledquarterinthecityofRotterdam.Nowitishosttoauniqueinstitution:thePendrechtUniversity.AttheUniversity,residentsofthequarteraretheprofessorsandtheprofessionalsandlocalgovernorsarethestudents.OneofthegroundprinciplesofthePendrechtUniversityistomakeresidentsfeelthattheyare the expert concerning every daymatters and issues in their communities andneighbourhoods.Theyknowwhichissuesneedattentionandwhatwouldbethebestwaytotacklethem.AtPendrechtUniversitytheysharetheirknowledgebyteachingtheprofessionals.www.socialinnovationeurope.eu/node/2052

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Case: Verbeter-de-buurt (Improve the neighourhood)

VerbeterdebuurtisaDutchsocialplatformthatunitescitizensandlocalgovernment,byofferinganeasywaytoimprovetheneighbourhood.Neighboursliterallyputtheirissues(problemsandideasalike)onthemapandthecitycouncilwillbenotified.Theplatformoffersotherneighbourstheoptionstoread,voteandreactonissuespostedbytheirpeers,encouragingdialogue.Ultimatelyleadingtoanimprovedneighbourhood.

www.verbeterdebuurt.nl

Risk management or Blame management?Governments often avoid change because of what we call Risk Management. Risk Management, however, often has more to do with the management of blame. Governments are often reluctant to change their actions because they are reluctant to shoulder the blame for failures. This reluctance can be softened if a party comes in on a project and offers to take the blame if the project goes wrong.

Futuregov(wearefuturegov.com),forinstance,hasofferedtotakeblameinprojects—thisactiondramatically‘de-risks’projectsintheeyesofstakeholderswithinbureaucraticstructures.Removingthethreatofblamefromthegovernmentcanopenupabroadspace formore innovation and co-creation. Institutions are risk averse, but so arepeople.Action,riskandtrustarerelatedtoeachother,sowhenwewanttotransformwordsintoaction,weneedtoworkoutaspacewherepeoplefeelcomfortabletoact.

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Case: Hack The Government

Hack de Overheid organises events bringing civil servants, geeks and designerstogether todiscussandbuildapplicationsbuiltaroundopengovernmentdata. It isactivelysituatedinpushingtheagendathatopengovernmentcanbringbenefitstosociety,notonlymakingthepoliticalprocessmoretransparentbutimprovingpublicservicesandsocialcohesion.

www.hackdeoverheid.nl

“One key to creating more co-creation in the public sector could be to frame co-creation as an opportunity and as an untapped resource for public bodies. It is a resource in terms of intelligence of a problem, ideas for solutions and expertise. How can we mobilise this to the best effect?”

PerrieBallantyne(NESTA)

“We do need new modes of governance, but not without paying attention to three key issues: how we constitute authority, how we decide who gets to act and on what basis and, most importantly, how we hold people with power properly accountable.”

MartinStewart-Weeks(Cisco)

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Case: Soul City

TheSoulCitymodel inSouthAfricahascreatedamassmediaplatformwhichcandeal with multiple issues over time. Soul City now reaches 30m people by usingedutainment to integrate social issues into popular and high-quality entertainmentformats,basedonathoroughresearchprocess.Italsousesmultiplemedia–primetimetelevisiondrama,radiodramaandprintmedia–tocapitalizeoneachmedium’sstrengthandtoreachavarietyofaudiences.

TwoelementsareattheheartofSoulCity’swork:formativeresearchandpartnerships.Formative research iscarriedoutwithbothaudiencesandexperts todevelopandfield-testmaterials to ensure their effectiveness. Partnerships are establishedwithorganisationsactiveintherelevantissues.

www.soulcity.org.za

“The important thing for Government is not to do things which individuals are doing already but to do those things which at present are not done at all.”

JohnM.Keynes(QuoteusedinpresentationbyDiogoVasconcelos,Cisco)

“How do we retool government and governing to accommodate new trends and demands for openness and co-creation without jettisoning enduring values of public work such as accountability, fairness, rigor, process fairness? If we can’t work out how to do both, the debate about changing government will remain mostly aspirational and peripheral.”

MartinStewart-Weeks(Cisco)

#Co-creation tweets

• Ideasforco-creatingpublicservices:startwhereeverythingelsefailed,generateideasfromstories,learnlessonsfromfailure.

• Greatinsight:governmentsdon’tavoidrisks,theyavoidblame.That’salsowereexternalconsultantscomein:-)

• BrunoLatour’sThePhantomPublic:“foranysocialchange,youhavetomakethepublictheagentofthatchange.”

• Thequestionisalso:howdoyousupportemergingpractices?It’shappeningnow,whatdowe(govt,org,people)dotosupportit.

• Funnyhowpeopleareverykeentosayhowco-creation*should*workbutveryreluctanttosaywhattheywill*do*personally.

• In that spirit, here’swhat Iwill do: involve at least one person froma differentdisciplineinmynextproject.

• Anewprocessarchitectureforco-creationasacentraltoolofgovtanddemocracy.Canonlybedoneempirically-learnbydesign.

• Ideasforco-creatingpublicservices:a“budgetforsillythings”,runaprojectwithroleplay(citizensareservants&viceversa)

• Makeallianceswithseniorgovmanagers.• Allianceswithseniorpeopleareoverrated,it’sthemiddlemanagersyouneedto

workon:-)

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Co-creation is a social process – it means different things to different people in different sectors of society, but there is a lot we can learn from each other about how to engage citizens. Co-creating requires a dialogue and a real desire to learn.

Butit’snotaboutlearningfromalistoftools.It’saboutamind-set.Wehavetotrulywanttoco-create,andweneedtocreateasafeenvironmentinwhichtodothis.

Theworldweliveinischangingandthenatureofwhatitmeanstobeacitizenisalsobeginningtochange.TherecenteruptionofcivilunrestinNorthAfricaandtheMiddleEast is just the beginning of a newgeneration of citizen activists. Simultaneously,crowdsourcingideasandcrowdfundingnewprojectsishappeningallovertheworld.Whethertopdownorbottomup,engagingwithdifferentgroupsofpeopleisimportant,butrequiresustorethinkourassumptions.Co-creationisnotjustanotherbuzzword,butinordertocreatelongtermvalueforallinvolved,theconceptcertainlyneedsmoreattention.Inordertoco-createeffectively;weneedtoanswerthequestion–Arewereadyforco-creation?

Are we ready?

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SIX organisers:

Social Innovation eXchange (SIX) SIX is a global community of over 3000 individuals and organisations – includingNGOs,globalfirms,publicagenciesandacademics-committedtopromotingsocialinnovation.Ouraim is to improve themethodswithwhichoursocietiesfindbettersolutionstochallengessuchasclimatechange,inequalityandhealthcare.A series of varied events is one of the keywaysSIXachievesitobjectives–somefocusonspecificregionsandthemes,othersbringtogetherpeoplefromdifferentcornersoftheworldtoconverseviaTelePresence.SIX’slandmark events are its Spring andSummer schools.Theseeventsaremoreintenseandusefulthanothersinrelatedfields.Wetakeonecurrentglobalchallenge,peopleofvaryingagesandexperiences,allowplentyoftimeforopenspacelearningandcollaboration,andkeeptraditnal‘speeches’and‘lectures’toaminimum.SIX’smostrecentprojecthasbeentodevelopastrategyfortheEuropeanUniontosupportsocialinnovation,includinginageing,throughreformstocurrentfundingforresearch,regionaldevelopment,businessandemployment.

Knowledgeland (KL)Knowledgeland contributes to a smarter Dutch society. We believe that the bestguarantee for futureprosperityandwelfare,nowand in the future, is tostrengthenourknowledgesociety.Wehelptorealisethisgoalbydevelopinganddeliveringkeyinterventions. Knowledgeland is an independent think tank. We are continuouslysearchingforwaystosparkthesocialinnovationsneededtoimprovetheknowledge

SIX Spring School 2011

social innovationeXchange

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society.We start by defining challenges for the knowledge society and creativelyfindingpossibleanswerstothem.Knowledgelandalsodevelopsanddeliversprojects,programmesandplatformstohelpotherssolvetheissuesathand.

Altogether, Knowledgeland develops and realises a broad rangeof interventions to make societies smarter. We often initiate themourselves,butwearealsofrequentlycommissionedbythegovernmentand public organisations which share our ambition and which arein need of our expertise. This yields investigations, recommendations, projects,programmes, networks, meetings, training and re-organisation. Knowledgelandis active in six fields: education, government, cultural heritage, copyright, creativeeconomyandsocialmedia.Westrivetoinnovatethesefields,oftenincollaborationwithpartnersandnetworks.

Dialogue Café DialogueCafé is a global non-profit initiative that enablesface-to-faceconversationsbetweendiversegroupsofpeoplefromaroundtheworldsothattheycanshareexperiences,learnfromeachotherandworktogethertomaketheworldabetterplace.Thisistheworld’sfirstpublicvideoconferencingnetworkspecificallyfor civil society - for social, educational and cultural organizations.Wehave threeDialogueCafésalreadyupandrunninginAmsterdam,LisbonandRiodeJaneiro.

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Photo:DavidSim