Col·laboratori

“And you, what do you want to do?” This is the first question that the Citilab wants to make to any person, organization or institution it makes contact with. The interest in the wishes of others and the search for points in common are structured through Col·laboratori. This project aims to boost the presence and work of citizen innovation laboratories through the 3H method (heads, hearts & hands on). In this way, Citilab aims to help citizens become involved in the innovative resolution of their problems.

The Living lab method believes that agents who can catalyze open innovation processes should be connected with the players in the public administration system. This is to overcome the existing relations model, and build alliances with different agents with innovative potential of the city. Classic models define innovation systems between the administration, business and research, and leave out social agents in general and citizens in particular. Here we propose to do the exact opposite. Using a quadruple helix model that includes citizen players giving them a much more central position

Citilab as a citizen laboratory has experience in citizen participation of innovation projects since 2007. This has provided a wide range of projects, with citizen participation in co-creation processes of social innovation. Participative experiences represent an experimental model to use, try out, perfect or develop methods and tools that enable co-creation under a living laboratory mentality.

This methodology is applied both in internal and external fields. Firstly, a reception and hosting protocol to Citilab is constructed, based on dialogue. This is used to learn more about citizens, who they are, what they want and what they need, apart from informing them what Citilab can offer. Secondly, requests for support or collaboration are handled from agents of the territory, both from the town of Cornellà and the Baix Llobregat Area, along with the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. To make this possible, visits, consultancy meetings and/or collaboration in projects are arranged, with a view to constructing collaborations in all these territories.

The objectives of Col·laboratori are::

• Develop collaborative innovation culture, inside and outside Citilab
• Decide on new frameworks of organization, governance and relations with citizens
• Attend to the needs, wishes and problems of the community
• Boost co-responsibility and the creation of consensus

Within Citilab, Col·laboratori undertakes projects such asOpensurf, SUCOM and SUES with the aim of working and providing tools to citizens to foster their talent and ideas.

The project also works to develop the construction of citizen laboratories in Baix Llobregat, the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona and Catalonia in general.

At regional level, Citilab col·collaborates with the Collaborative and Social Innovation Network (XISC) in order to boost the collaborative economy in Baix Llobregat.

Another participant in the regional project is the Projecte d’Especialització i Competitivitat Territorial (PECT) (Territorial Competitiveness and Specialization Project) of Baix Llobregat, to work on training local innovation agents, with the aim of strengthening citizen laboratories of the region.

At metropolitan level, in conjunction with the AMB AreaLab, a network of metropolitan citizen laboratories has been developed, which gives support to new innovation policies, in the 36 municipalities of the area.

Col·laboratori is a project open to all citizens of Cornellà del Llobregat, the Baix Llobregat area and the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona.