Exploring the Potential of Citizen-led Digital R&D

The Citilab Model?
Ramon Sangüesa

miércoles 30 de septiembre de 2009

• What is Citilab?
• Why?
• Positive and negative experiences
• What we are learning
• Next steps


What is Citilab?


Keep ambiguity and uncertainty open


What is it? (now)

• An institutional form adressed to citizens
and that helps them generate innovations
• ... from a technological culture standpoint
• ... open
• and in transformation: it is a project


Why?


Technocultures

we are moving from a society based on the ﬂow of
material technical innovations (as it has hitherto
been the industrial society) to one that rests on an
abstract ﬂow of technical innovations as well as on
the organization of isntitutions based on the
increased knowledge about ... how to increase
knowledge
Salvador Giner

it seems that the very nature of the present social
transformation, vague and seemingly anonymous,
and especially the change in the nature of the
qualitative technical factors that cause it
(Telematics, computer and artificial intelligence)
require new approaches

Salvador Giner


I+T+AI it seems that the very nature of the present social
transformation, vague and seemingly anonymous,
and especially the change in the nature of the
qualitative technical factors that cause it
(Telematics, computer and artificial intelligence)
require new approaches

Salvador Giner


I


I
Computation


I
Computation
Recollection


I
Computation
Recollection
Communication


I
Computation
Recollection
Communication
Coordination


I
Computation
Recollection
Communication
Coordination
Evaluation


I
Computation
Recollection
Communication
Coordination
Evaluation
Design


I
Computation
Recollection
Communication
Coordination
Evaluation
Design
Automation


I
Computation
Recollection
Communication
Coordination
Evaluation
Design
Automation
Computational
Thinking


T


IA


Convergence


Expansion

“[...] i in the 1990s, biology,
electronics, and informatics seem to
be converging and interacting in
their applications, in their materials
and, more fundamentally, in their
conceptual approach “

Manuel Castells, The Rise of the Network Society


“Essence of design

Engineering, medicine, business, architecture and painting
are concerned not with the necessary but with the
contingent - not with how things are but with how they might
be - in short, with design.

Natural science has found a way to exclude the normative
and to concern itself solely with how things are …
”

H.A. Simon
“The Sciences of the Artiﬁcial”


I+T+AI
new cultural processes
new social processes
a new R+D?


I+D
3 < 4 < 1 000 000 000
• Triple Helix

• Open Innovation

• Living Labs

• Triple Helix + C

• 2.0

• P2P

• Contribution
Culture

I+T+AI
R+D

C

Citizens can do (digital) R+D?


What approach to
choose?
• ICT Literacy
• Media Literacy
• Technological Culture
•


Four hypothesis to
start from


Hypothesis I
Citizens, through mastery not
only of technologies but of the
tehcnological ways of solving
problems and the methods of
design culture -speciﬁcally of
digital technology- can spark
social processes of innovation.


Hypothesis II
The problem solving abilities
that stem of digital technology
practice, when integrated, can
be translated as design methods
to various areas of citizens’
lives, well beyond the creation
of digital objects and digital
systems.


Hypothesis III
The generic framework of
procedural epistemology
(computational thinking) is
useful for the
implementation of such
processes.


Hypothesis IV
Institutional frameworks of the
industrial society are not
adequate for this type of
processes.

We must create new institutions
that help citizens become in the
digital culture


Proof method: steps
• Design an artifact (Citilab) to validate the
hypothesis

• The artifact is a (digital) citizens’ lab

• It should trigger outreach and activate
innovation from citizens

• It is a machine, an operating system and a
network

• It has to evaluated as it grows


How?

Designing Citilab


Appropriate
Connect Create


Expose onself

Appropriate
Connect Create


Meet
Find
Expose onself Try
Learn

Appropriate
Connect Create


Meet
Find
Expose onself Try
Learn

Appropriate Progamming
Create Filming
Connect Editing
Designing
Building
Innovating
Projecting


Meet
Find
Expose onself Try
Learn

Create Filming
Connect Editing
Express onself Designing
Building
Innovating
Projecting


Meet
Find
Expose onself Try
Learn

Create Filming
Connect Editing
Express onself Designing
Building
Teaching to others
Innovating
Showing to others
Projecting
Communicate
Sharing


Context and Scopes

• Population in • Inside/Outside tech
formal learning
ages
• Seniors

• Kids
• Informal learning
• Hackers
• Informal
• Media Activists
education
• Researchers


Speciﬁcations for a
design
• Environment to reach and interconnect

• Institutions: school, university, city administration

• Businesses

• Innovative groups

• PLAIN CITIZENS

• A space for all, tailored and common formats

• Resources for all

• Connection space, meeting point

• Start form what is the current reality

Requirements

• Flexibility
• Adaptability
• Reconﬁguration


Design: processes
• Reception
• People+projects
• Seed
• Knowledge
• Evolve
• Let them try!
• Reseed
• Reflect,act, and propose new projects

31


Seeding

An activity is
- a course
- a meeting
- a living lab
- a research project
- another proposal

it is a seed…


Seeding/Evolve

A seed…
… becomes a project


Group evolution

A seed…
… that gathers a group …


Procesos

A seed…
that develops knowledge


Procesos

A seed…
that develops knowledge

...which is communicated and
spawns
more seeds


Some actual Citilab examples

36


Seniorlab


Tecnolab


Inventatv


Canal Dona


Lego
Mindstorms


Scratch


Smalltalk

43


Arduino

44


Work? Cowork
Ofﬁce? Street

Photo> Peter Chislett


New Urbanism:UrbanLabs
Technocitizenship and Socioinnovation

46


Businesses
WTC
Invenio
Bayt
Utani
Sindicatos
Incubadora

47


Ongoing R+D

48


Ongoing R+D
• People and technology.
Ethnographies

48


Ongoing R+D
Ethnographies
• Paths and barriers to
appropiation

48


Ongoing R+D
Ethnographies
appropiation
• Age and Gender

48


Ongoing R+D
Ethnographies
appropiation
• Age and Gender
• Concepts and methods of
design and innovation

48


Ongoing R+D
Ethnographies
appropiation
• Age and Gender
• User-driven design

48


Ongoing R+D
Ethnographies
appropiation
• Age and Gender
• Living Labs

48


Ongoing R+D
Ethnographies
appropiation
• Age and Gender
• Living Labs
• Models for new types of
innovation

48


Ongoing R+D
Ethnographies
appropiation
• Age and Gender
• Living Labs
innovation
• Measuring the impact of social
innovation

48


Ongoing R+D
Ethnographies
appropiation
• Age and Gender
• Living Labs
innovation
innovation
• Organizing Innovation

48


Ongoing R+D
Ethnographies
appropiation
• Age and Gender
• Living Labs
innovation
innovation
• Cities and new urbanisms

48


Ongoing R+D
Ethnographies
appropiation
• Age and Gender
• Living Labs
innovation
innovation
• Perceived City

48


Ongoing R+D
Ethnographies
appropiation
• Age and Gender
• Living Labs
innovation
innovation
• Perceived City
• Collaborative Urbanism

48


Ongoing R+D
• People and technology. • Media
Ethnographies
appropiation
• Age and Gender
• Living Labs
innovation
innovation
• Perceived City

48


Ongoing R+D
Ethnographies • Social Media
appropiation
• Age and Gender
• Living Labs
innovation
innovation
• Perceived City

48


Ongoing R+D
• Paths and barriers to • Identity
appropiation
• Age and Gender
• Living Labs
innovation
innovation
• Perceived City

48


Ongoing R+D
appropiation
• Visual antrhopology
• Age and Gender
• Living Labs
innovation
innovation
• Perceived City

48


Ongoing R+D
appropiation
• Age and Gender
• Tecnología
• Living Labs
innovation
innovation
• Perceived City

48


Ongoing R+D
appropiation
• Age and Gender
• Tecnología
design and innovation • Colaborativa platforms
• Living Labs
innovation
innovation
• Perceived City

48


Ongoing R+D
appropiation
• Age and Gender
• Tecnología
• User-driven design • S/book
• Living Labs
innovation
innovation
• Perceived City

48


Ongoing R+D
appropiation
• Age and Gender
• Tecnología
• Living Labs
innovation • Education
innovation
• Perceived City

48


Ongoing R+D
appropiation
• Age and Gender
• Tecnología
• Living Labs
• Measuring the impact of social • Learning how to program
innovation
• Perceived City

48


Ongoing R+D
appropiation
• Age and Gender
• Tecnología
• Living Labs
innovation
• 2.0 Methods in the
classroom
• Perceived City

48


Ongoing R+D
appropiation
• Age and Gender
• Tecnología
• Living Labs
innovation
• 2.0 Methods in the
classroom
• Computing without
• Perceived City computers

48


Reality Check
+ and -


The people
• The real innovative attitude
• People still expecting to be
trained before risking into
action
• Education levels and age do
matter very much
• Continuity
• Outreach problems
• Enthusiasm and gratitude
• Superprofessionals


Staff


Organization

• Difﬁculties in assuming lack of structure as
a standard state
• Difﬁculties in putting process in place
• Contradictions between structures
processes, and decision making


Infrastructure


Communication
• A difﬁcult message to disseminate here and
now
• Divulgation is crucial
• Difﬁculties for escaping the trap of
institutional communication
• Slowness in articulating online effective
communication


Collaborators, external

• Culture of subsidizing
• A culture of strict customer and provider
relationships, with little tendency towards
exploring further
• The citizen as something far away


Learning so far
• Contradictions to be exploited
• We have design an environment to foster innovation from and with
users ... without having discussed this idea with users ;-)

• When appropriation starts it still slow in innovating

• The city comes to Citilab but Citilab has to go out to the
city even more

• Addressing individuals AND collectives, connecting them

• Network building

• Governance of an extended system

Next
• Reviewing organization
• Improving divulgation of core
concepts and methods
• New centers: Citilabbing
• Connecting with similar
institutions worldwide
• Sharing and coproduction


Exploring the Potential of Citizen-led Digital R&D

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