Output / Publication
Co-Creation for Sustainable Urban Innovation
A Practical Guide for Collaborative Partnerships Between Cities and Civil Society
The future of cities emerges through dialogue between public administration, policymakers, and urban society. Civil society groups, initiatives, and networks contribute valuable knowledge, creative solutions, and innovative capacity, including in the technological dimensions of sustainable urban development.
However, their role is often underestimated. Technocratic smart city strategies that focus primarily on infrastructure, data platforms, and digitalization as internal administrative processes tend to make limited use of these societal potentials.
The Co-Creation Canvas provides a structured framework and introduces four formats designed to enable genuine participation and knowledge transfer at the intersection of local government, civil society, sustainability, and digital transformation within local contexts.
Four Formats for Co-Creative Urban Development
- Smart Citizen Council: Randomly selected citizen panels develop recommendations on digitalization issues and feed their insights directly into urban policy and administration
- Smart City Fellowship: Technology-savvy experts from civil society work project-based within public administration collaboratively developing digital solutions oriented towards the common good.
- Civic Tech Partnership: Long-term collaborations between administration and civil society jointly develop and operate digital tools as part of public infrastructure.
- Co-Creation Fund: Micro-funding activates local agency and creative capacity strengthening transparency and trust in municipal governance.
