Designing for Social Innovation: Apps as a Tool for CoCreation

Abstract

A shared understanding of active participation of many urban actors is necessary for a socially sustainable urban environment. This study explores how various urban stakeholders including government agencies, city collectives, citizens, academic institutions, and businesses co-create by leveraging their unique skills and exchanging work and knowledge via an online platform in order to foster social innovation at urban scale. The present research hypothesizes that establishing a participatory mobile application enabling city inhabitants to actively engage and assume shared responsibilities in urban processes can strengthen the sense of belonging of citizens. The design research methodology employed in this study is rooted in the context of co-creation and participatory design. The study is structured around the hypothetical development of the Give a Hand mobile application, a participatory platform designed to make education, health, culture, and art services more accessible for everyone. By enabling participation and co-creation among city inhabitants, the platform aims to optimize public service delivery, saving both time and resources as well as to achieve more inclusive urban environments. More importantly, this platform facilitates urban value creation through mechanisms of volunteering and donations, contributing to the enhancement of the public services. This conceptual framework also helps us understand how designers serve as social innovation facilitators by developing community-driven, inclusive platforms for public service delivery and engagement. The practical implications of this study provides a sustainable network, fostering a stronger sense of belonging among the citizens. By incorporating social networking features, the app facilitates communication, collaboration, and the creation of new community networks, thereby enhancing active participation and contributing to the overall social fabric of the city. The results show that digital platforms can serve as scalable instruments for participatory governance when they are created using the concepts of social innovation and co-creation. The conceptual mobile app provides a flexible and transparent framework for cooperation between corporations, colleges, citizens, and public agencies