Institute
CivicLab has launched — InnoK's participation laboratory
Alongside urban development and methodology, the third perspective has arrived: participation. CivicLab asks how residents can be made meaningful participants in shaping shared matters and preparing decisions in their own environment.
The InnoK Knowledge Management Institute works with three laboratories. UrbanLab develops urban systems, LivingLab carries the methodology and research — and now the picture is complete: CivicLab, the laboratory of participation, has launched.
01 Why was a separate participation lab needed?
Working on district projects, we hit the same wall again and again: professionally flawless plans failed because residents did not understand why they had come about, and did not feel they were their own. The lesson: the solution is not better communication, but rather that communities must be involved as early as possible — while the decision is still on the drawing board.
02 What does CivicLab do?
We do not run opinion polls, and we do not hold residents' forums where people voice their complaints and then go home. We build processes that end in an implemented decision — with randomly selected participants who genuinely represent the district, moderated deliberative debate and expert background materials. Our main tool is the community meeting.
InnoK's three labs
UrbanLab — urban development and urban governance · LivingLab — methodology, research, knowledge base · CivicLab — community participation and resident involvement. The same institute, three complementary perspectives.
03 Where are we now?
CivicLab has already carried real processes through in the 18th district: a comprehensive baseline study, a preparation day, and so far several concluded community meetings — among them the 2nd meeting, which put 15 proposals to the local government. We publish the documentation of all our processes publicly.
Would you like to involve residents in a decision?
We design participation processes for local governments, institutions and civil society organisations.