Users and Reality

Escrito por: Francisco Javier Roldán Velásquez (@PaisdelSaber)

The actions of the 'Antioquia, Department of Knowledge' Living Lab, are all oriented to the population of the department in its 9 sub-regions, ie to all its 6 million inhabitants in 125 municipalities of the department.

The main principles for how users are involved in your LL. The principles governing the Living Lab 'AntioquiaDeptodelConocimiento' apply to all users and citizens involved in:

1. Cooperation and Community Involvement,

2. Collaborative work,

3. Creativity and Open Innovation,

4. Solidarity and Partnership,

5. Arrangment,

6. Transparency,

7. Confidence,

8. Tolerance,

9. Justice and equity,

10. Promoting enterprise and entrepreneurship,

11. Honesty and Integrity.

Important real-life/work environment(s) and our LL arrangements to achieve “realism”. There are some business, unions, and universities that are involving citizens in the innovation process through real life experimentation.  They are some organizations that play coordination roles between academia, companies, and public agencies and of course, users or citizens, while providing a series of services either directly or through close partnership with other companies. Some of them organize users as a pool of voluntaries while others recruit them on a project basis. There are innovative talent.

Are already seeing cases in Antioquia and Medellin mainly stimulating to the participation of citizens and users, for example, collaborative work between students and businessmen, mainly on the University Alliance - Company - State of Antioquia, building a technological innovation ecosystem, making the integration of technological and social innovation.

Businesses already are benefiting from university research. Such is the case of the Argos Company that has sponsored research with the National University, which will improve the properties of kaolin, which is the main component of white cement, using microorganisms that have the ability to remove iron in the ore, making whitewash and thus achieve international standards, making the industry more competitive. See more.

The conditions are being created for citizens, as users of products and services and they are protagonists of the processes. See what says Henry Chesbrough about open services innovation in Medellin.

From the Country of Knowledge Foundation we are leading an intensive media plan with all radio channels, newspapers, television and social networks to motivate the collective construction of knowledge Territory, where all citizens, who are the reason for all society actors, make this your reality, participating with their opinions, their ideas, their projects. For them in the short term will be held 13 thematic panels in the intensive, productive and efficient use of ICT in different fields (education, health, government, agriculture, tourism, etc) as tools for Open and Collaborative Innovation, with direct and collective participation of citizens. See fields of application. Proof of this is that today already is a reality the culture of entrepreneurship in Medellin and Antioquia, with the participation of private sector and thousands of ongoing projects.

   

For this, the government and companies, for about 5 years, are providing important resources and mechanisms to encourage such participation, with programs such as Entrepreneur Antioquia, the Seed of Entrepreneurship, Young Entrepreneurs, Seed Research, among others. 

How actively and deeply users are involved in our LL activities. Our 'AntioquiaDeptodelConocimientoLL' Living Lab, has no rationale if not exists citizens as users. Citizens are the fundamental and decisive factor in all processes of collective construction of knowledge Territories, which today plays a leading role Collective Intelligence.

Many citizens as users of products and services, are active part of the research processes, entrepreneurship and the generation of complete cycles of products and services in Medellin and Antioquia. The user is the reason of being for the State, the Academy, the Productive Sector and Third Sector (NGOs). The project ‘Medellin Digital Living Lab’ presented in this 5wave of ENoLL, is part of this dynamic: View project: ENoLL5W_CO_MedellinDigitalLL.pdf.

Are LL activities performed for, with or by users? At the moment, already many activities in Medellin y en Antioquia are performed for, with and by users.

Important methods and tools that are utilized by your LL for user involvement. Free wireless connectivity in all municipalities of Antioquia, Telecenters, community access points free Internet, strengthening the entrepreneurship culture, literacy for a culture of open and collaborative innovation, training plans, workshops, training, e-Learning, forums, seminars, conferences, discussions of motivation, media campaigns (radio, television, press), Social Networks (Facebook, Twitter, Sonic, YouTube, Slideshare, etc.) and mobile telephony, among other mechanisms and methods.

See more information in spanish, presented in the 4 wave of ENoLL in 2010.