Collaboration Workshop between Municipality and Entrepreneurs
PROCESS FACILITATION
Gothenburg, Sweden | 2012
Ringön is an industrial area in the former river harbour of Gothenburg. It is host to a thriving economy of small companies and entrepreneurs, facing the needs for redevelopment and better integration in the city. The area is set under pressure by the housing market, but both the municipality and the entrepreneurs see a future for living and working that gradually merge, without erasing the strong nautical and entrepreneurial identity. The municipality commissioned SPcitI to organize a workshop to facilitate dialogue and collaboration between the different stakeholders. Students of the Chalmers University were also invited to contribute the workshop.
The main focus was to discover the added values of the project for all involved parties in the area, allowing the common obstacles set by top down planning to be openly addressed looking for a middle-ground where everyone could have a clear and proactive role. The challenge has been to outline ways to facilitate impact entrepreneurship by creating the right legal and financial conditions for the local entrepreneurs to act and invest in the area. Our guest Ellen de Kroon, expert in real estate regeneration business models, has added a relevant contribution to the depth and feasibility of the discussion.
The concrete outcomes of this workshop are a road map, the set-up of a steering group to reflect on long term planning issues and a meeting point, an arts festival, and the improvement of the pocket parks along the riverside as a first step for a complete refurbishment of all public spaces.
Client:
