WP3: Networks and mediation in territorial innovation

Starting month: month 10
End month: month 36

Objectives

WP3 will encompass an interdisciplinary approach bringing and articulating scientific contributions from diverse fields of the Human and Social Sciences in order to investigate the role of network and mediation strategies in territorial innovation, covering conceptual, social and technological aspects.

The main aim of WP3 is, therefore, to develop knowledge about the role of networks and mediation to foster effective scenarios for territorial innovation in the fields of Tourism and Health and Well-being.

This framework will be used to research how people can take advantage of existing and expanded networks, mediation practices and resources to get further empowerment in order to better explore opportunities existing in the territory and create new ones, aiming at improving job creation dynamics and their quality of life.

The roles of leadership and participation orchestration will be addressed in order to provide clues and recommendations for the effective creation and consolidation of networking and mediation strategies.

Description of work

Task 3.1 Networks and mediation strategies in territorial innovation

Nowadays populations use several means and strategies in order to organize themselves and communicate, acting and developing practices in the context of an enlarged public sphere (Jackson & Valentine, 2014), that is being nurtured by the active participation of citizens in informal contexts and scenarios.

The main aim of this task is to research and critically analyze the role and importance of networks and mediation, namely in what concerns informal participatory dynamics and communication strategies, considering the different agents and stakeholders involved in the empowerment and civic engagement of populations aiming to better understand its potential impact on territorial innovation.

This research will be made through the comprehensive study of informal and non-formal contexts of civic participation and engagement relevant both at international level and also in the Centro region territory.

This task will include the following steps: (i) diagnosing the role and potential of informal networks and communication/mediation strategies for regional innovation in relevant international/regional cases in low-density territories; (ii) proposal of an integrated analysis framework for networking and communication/mediation strategies in territorial innovation for the Centro region, taking into account the international/regional state of the art.

Task 3.2 The role of digital media and emerging technologies in territorial innovation

The aim of this task is (i) to understand the role that technologies may have in the process of territorial innovation, namely its potential role in expanding and reconfiguring existing networks and in the creation of new ways to mediate communication and interaction between populations, practices and resources (Gorman & McLean, 2009), and (ii) to conceptualize a technological layer to be added to the conceptual framework developed in the previous tasks 2.2 and 3.1 that culminates in a proposal of a comprehensive territorial innovation (digital) platform. This layer will necessarily encompass functional components/modules and its technical implementation, based on current and emerging technologies, such as social media, geolocation services, virtual and augmented reality, IoT (Internet of Things) technologies and devices.

The methodological approach for the development of this task will be based on the study of a set relevant infocommunicational affordances in specific use-cases in the fields of Tourism and Health and Well Being that will contribute to a more complete modeling of the territorial innovation platform.

This task will include the following steps: (i) benchmarking the role of digital media and emerging technologies in territorial innovation; (ii) modelling the technological layer of a territorial innovation platform.

Task 3.3. Prototyping and validation of a mediation pilot platform for territorial innovation

The aim of this task is to provide evidence that will help validate the conceptual and technological model of networking and mediation strategies for territorial innovation (developed in WP3.1 and WP3.2) materialized in a pilot mediation platform for territorial innovation.

This validation will be carried through a laboratorial evaluation supported by a prototype to be developed following the specification of on-purpose use-cases in the fields of Tourism and Health and Well Being.

This task will include the following steps: (i) specification and development of a pilot platform; (ii) operation of the pilot platform in the tests to be developed.

Note: In the context of this project, the concept of community is defined in the following way: A group of people who share affinities and, voluntarily, develop joint actions, in a physical and/or virtual environment, in the context of a territory and produce, repurpose and share information relevant to the development of that territory.

Resultados

All deliverables are available for reference on the Workpackages and Results page.

Fernando Ramos

WP Coordinator

Carlos Rodrigues

WP Member

Margarida Almeida

WP Member

Rui Augusto da Costa

WP Member

Rui Vieira

WP Member

Daniel Carvalho

WP Member

André Castello Branco

WP Member

Paula Silva

WP Collaborator

Denis Reno

WP Collaborator

Team

Filipe Teles

WP Member

Fernando Nogueira

WP Member

Luís Pedro

WP Member

Carlos Costa

WP Member

Oksana Tymoshchuk

WP Member

Eliza Oliveira

WP Member

Maria João Antunes

WP Collaborator

Dina Ramos

WP Collaborator

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