Digitalization for a successful village and community life

Sandpit – What is it?

With the help of a Sandpit workshop, people-centered, excellent ideas and services are developed over several days by idea generators with expertise from diverse personal and professional backgrounds and of various ages, supported by a team of experts. The focus is on the collaborative, creative process of these individuals. The Sandpit process provides space for entirely new ideas and the opportunity to develop and implement them.

In this particular Sandpit workshop, 30 people from diverse backgrounds and professional experiences explored the topic of "successful village life and digitalization" over three days. The following five experts facilitated this process:

Alex Polleres

Head of the Institute for Data, Process, and Knowledge Management at the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU Vienna), where he has been a full professor in the field of "Data and Knowledge Engineering" since September 2013. He is also a faculty member of the Complexity Science Hub Vienna and was a visiting professor at Stanford University in the USA in 2018.

Jan Adam

Doctoral candidate at the Chair of Public and Nonprofit Management at the University of Potsdam. He is pursuing his doctorate on the management of digital transformation in public administration. His research focuses particularly on the role of top female managers in the public sector, such as department heads or division managers, and their influence on the outcome of digitization projects.

Gerald Swarat

Historian and Germanist, he heads the Berlin office of the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE. He is the author of the book "Smart Country - From Smart City to Digital Region" and founder of Co:Lab Think Tank & Collaboration Platform for Society & Digitization.

Raphaela Kaisler

She holds a doctorate in psychology and studied molecular biology and science communication at the University of Vienna and Dublin City University. She leads the "Citizen Participation in Research" team at the Open Innovation in Science Center of the Ludwig Boltzmann Society.

Susanne Gill

A graduate geographer and project manager for various projects at the Rhineland-Palatinate Development Agency, she has been exploring for some time what a society of tomorrow might look like and what needs such a society might have in the future.

…but what were the actual results of this process?

The Developed Project Ideas

Following three intensive workshop days, five concrete project ideas emerged to promote successful village and community life through digitalization:

• MIT! combines ride-sharing and all forms of public transportation in a single application. It displays users' individual transportation in real time, for example, where someone is currently driving (only with user consent). The system is adaptive and recognizes the driver's standard routes over time (e.g., commutes). This allows potential passengers to easily request a ride with a single click. In the future, calendar entries will also be automatically linked to the app, for both passengers and drivers. In addition to this digital application, a physical mobility hub was planned for each community, consolidating strategic considerations regarding a "transportation center." This will create transportation hubs within the communities, serving as departure points for buses, and providing convenient access to doctors, grocery stores, and other essential services.

• ZAUMKUMMA functions as a platform solution for the concerns and interests of community members. It easily connects people who are looking for contact within a community, perhaps newcomers, and who share common interests. For example, people who enjoy knitting or running together can find each other. To reach those less comfortable with technology, "village buddies" are employed to provide assistance with using the digital solution. Within this platform, "village ambassadors" are individuals who represent various associations online and serve as initial points of contact, potentially facilitating access to new members.

• SPACEAPP focuses on providing information within a region/community and on digitizing neighborhood support. The information itself comes not from the municipality, but from the citizens. Information regarding requests for assistance can also be displayed in the digital solution in the form of "Need help with…". This channel can be used independently by the municipality, associations, and civil society. By being active in this digital network, citizens earn "neighborhood points." These can then be exchanged for other services or used in a community "OpenSpace." Additionally, a direct information channel from the municipality/district/state is planned to keep residents informed about important administrative information.

   

• NENA – THE NEIGHBORHOOD NETWORK is a platform where citizens can contribute their ideas and take ownership of their projects. Project proposals and concerns can be submitted here, which can then be supported, adopted, or implemented by citizens themselves, businesses, associations, or the municipality. This strengthens and actively promotes community spirit.

   

• The FRANZ – a futuristic, visionary idea that describes the future of smart village and community life. It prioritizes people's needs and combines physical spaces with digital assistance. Using voice control, it organizes, for example, lunch in the coworking space, individual mobility solutions, and finds new social contacts through interest matching.

What are the next steps?

The resulting project ideas were presented at an information event in September. The E³UDRES² Hackathon at the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences, focusing on "Smart & Sustainable Regions," further explored the topic of NENA – the neighborhood network.

Within the framework of the Digital Innovation Hub East (DIH-OST), funded by the State of Lower Austria, all project ideas will be revisited, developed in greater depth, and further refined as prototypes with interested municipalities.

The final outcome is currently still in the technological realm. However, the fact that this initiative has set the ball rolling is a first step in the right direction for our shared digital journey.

Further information

Office of the Lower Austrian Provincial Government Office for Technology and Digitalization
Landhausplatz 1, Haus 14 3109 St. Pölten
E-Mail: digitalisierung@noel.gv.at
Tel.: 02742/9005 - 16764
Fax: 02742/9005 - 16330

https://www.noe.gv.at/noe/Digitalisierung/Der_Sandpit_Workshop.html