The SISCODE project investigates the potentialities and the outputs of co-creation through a design-driven approach for a better inclusion of society in innovation and science, and for building an evidence-based learning framework meant to integrate co-creation with organisational change mechanisms at the different levels of the science, technology and innovation (STI) governance systems.

As an integral part of SISCODE’s investigation, the project implements 10 co-creation journeys taking place in 10 co-creation labs across Europe:

• In three Living Labs: Krakow Technology Park (KTP), Krakow; PA4ALL, Novi Sad; and Thess-AHALL, Thessaloniki;
• In three Fab Labs: Fab Lab Barcelona, Barcelona; Polifactory, Milan; and Underbroen,  Copenhagen;
• In four Science Centres and Museums: Cube design museum, Kerkrade; Pavilhão do Conhecimento – Ciência Viva, Lisbon; Science Gallery Dublin, Dublin; and Traces, Paris.

These high-impact real-life experiments aim at increasing the knowledge on co-creation and testing the effectiveness of design methodologies to better combine co-construction (ideation) and co-production (implementation) of solutions and policies for the integration of society in science and innovation. Bringing together local partners and stakeholders in a co-creation process (from co-design to co-production of prototypes and back to co-design), each co-creation journey tackles a specific societal challenge and creates inspiring, tangible and locally designed solutions and related policies with a strong potential for replication, taking into account the different cultural, institutional and regulatory backgrounds.

The co-creation journey is composed of four phases, supported by two activities that consist in understanding the local context and engaging stakeholder networks. The phases are:

1. Analyse context: to understand the context based on experience or analysing the situation, or re-interpret an existing (problem?). To identify how differences in circumstances of the environment are related to the project/challenge.
2. Reframe problem: to create a structure from what you have learned about the context and stakeholders, but also drawing from personal experiences to gain multiple perspectives about the problem.
3. Envision alternative: elaboration of new ideas based on the previous reflection or conversions and insights into concepts. Clustering and synthesizing concepts into coherent value proposition systems.
4. Develop and prototype: apply the new visions, ensuring that the solutions are purposefully built around peoples’ experiences and can provide real value.

For each phase, a set of activities will be defined with the use of different existing tools, adapted for each context. All along the journey, users will need to plan which activities they want to apply in their context and define what will be the process they want to use for each of them. To support labs in the customization of their journeys and the definition of the tools they will use, a set of tools, collected from the 101 design methods that were synthesized in small cards that can be manipulated and re-appropriated easily.

Throughout their journeys, labs will make use of SISCODE Toolbox, a “meta-design and experiential-learning framework that aims to facilitate the design and implementation of co-creation journeys for the SISCODE laboratories, focusing on a better understanding and prioritization of the particularities of each context”.  As introduced in the Toolbox itself:

The SISCODE Toolbox aims to facilitate the design and implementation of co-creation journeys for the SISCODE laboratories, focussing on better understanding and prioritisation of the particularities of each context. The selection of the existing tools and toolkits will support the development of the design-based process from the problem analysis to the ideation of a solution, the development of a prototype and its experimentation in a real-world context. The main goal of the SISCODE Toolbox is to provide support for the co-creation labs in making sense of existing data, tools and toolkits. (SISCODE Toolbox)

SISCODE co-creation journey will take place until September 2020.