THIVIC, Madrid CIty Council's Social Innovation Laboratory (ESMD0008)

Commitment ID

ESMD0008

Commitment Title

THIVIC, Madrid CIty Council's Social Innovation Laboratory

Problem

Large cities face complex problems that must be tackled from new perspectives and with the collaboration of new stakeholders. Social innovation allows for the promotion of initiatives that contribute more effectively to the solution of the problems that the municipal administration and the city of Madrid face, in collaboration with other public administrations, other social agents, and the private sector.

Status quo

On 22nd June 2022, Madrid's Social Council, which is the highest collegiate body for consultation and municipal participation, agreed to set up a Social Innovation Hub in Madrid City Council to generate meeting spaces for experts, citizens, and City Council professionals to seek solutions to public problems. In this context, an initial pilot project was launched in 2022 to define public problems that could be tackled within the competencies of the City Council, and, with the participation of different types of agents, a process of definition, analysis and prioritisation of problems was carried out.

In 2023, a second pilot experience based on design thinking and people-centered design was launched in which one of the previously selected problems was explored in depth: unwanted loneliness among young people. These experiences have prompted the requirement to design and implement on a stable and regular basis a set of activities to continue the experiences already tested, extending the time frame and scope. - On the other hand, the assessor of the Third Open Government Plan recommended scaling up this pilot initiative, progressively involving other areas of municipal services. It would also be a transversal action that affects all public services provided by Madrid City Council.

Action

THIVIC is Madrid's social innovation laboratory. Its name is a combination of the English words Think and civic. It aims to:

• Create spaces for experts, citizens, and City Council professionals to meet in order to seek solutions to public problems.
• Serve as a focal point and meeting point for social agents seeking answers to the new social challenges facing the municipal administration.
• Promote intrapreneurship and public innovation, encouraging the creativity of Madrid City Council's public employees.

How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem described above?

It contributes to meeting the requirements identified by:

• Creating regular meeting spaces, both face-to-face and online, between agents external to Madrid City Council (experts, citizens, public or private institutions) and professionals from the City Council in order to seek agile solutions to public problems and develop new ideas to satisfy social requirements.
• Promoting the social innovation ecosystem, mapping both locally and in other regional, national, and international spheres. Creating a repository or bank of good practices with the aim of generating synergies and promoting peer learning and organising conferences on social innovation.
• Promoting creativity and intrapreneurship through the training of city council professionals in the innovative design of public services, disseminating the basic concepts of public innovation, design thinking and people-centred design methodologies, as well as experiences and good practices in this area and developing learning resources that can be used as a reference by city council staff. The aim is therefore to facilitate cultural change and generate a predisposition to design public services in a collaborative way and using open innovation techniques among the city council's public employees.

What long-term goal as identified in your Open Government Strategy does this commitment relate to?

It promotes, strengthens and improves the quality of participation in public management, allowing citizens to participate in public decision-making, with the aim of achieving better results and higher democratic quality.
It raises awareness among society and public employees regarding the values of Open Government, favouring the collaborative design of public policies and innovation, facilitating cultural change and generating a predisposition to design public services in a collaborative manner and using open innovation techniques among the public employees of the city council.

Primary Policy Area

Civic Space

Primary Sector

Public Services (general)

What OGP value is this commitment relevant to?