Like! is a €4.2M Interreg Vb project that I set up for Gemeente Groningen and 9 other European partners in 2016. Like’s aim is to develop ‘local innovation cultures’ to enable organizations to accelerate their ability to innovate and to develop and deploy new e-services and better e-government. By stimulating the demand for innovation in the public sector, Like will help cities and governments to deliver innovative solutions that will improve public service delivery.
Like! Is not a technology project: Like! focuses on the need to develop the relevant change management skills to create and deliver truly innovative local services that involve citizens in government and society.
Why is (local) innovation important?
Local, regional, national and transnational governments and organisations face a wide range of constantly increasing, constantly changing expectations for the delivery of new, innovative and appropriate services from citizens, businesses and governments.
There has been an explosion in the range of channels that can be used for communications and service delivery – including social media, and the development of mobile computing. The adoption of open data, the rapid development of new electronic services, and the development of new ways of working are just some of the many drivers of change.
In this changing environment, governments are expected to become more innovative, more accessible, and more accountable through the development of online tools and services.
The Like! approach to developing ‘innovation cultures’
The problem organizations face in responding to this isn’t technological – it is one of capacity – of the ability of people to innovate and to scale solutions that meet peoples needs.
Like! Project addresses this problem by focusing on the development of local digital innovation cultures. These local innovation cultures will enable the development and delivery of the next generation of innovative services by creating a forward-looking learning and delivery context, which will provide partners with the tools they need to successfully innovate.
Like! will focus on developing local capacity to lead change, and on the developing the ability to use open and iterative processes to develop appropriate solutions that learn from partners and citizens. To deliver this, Like has developed the LIKE Cycle – a model to support innovation and capacity development in service delivery.
Developing an innovation culture is critical if organizations realistically want to be able to develop and deliver innovative services that meet users’ expectations, and if they are to develop and deliver services that effectively support wider economic growth, development, and local innovation.
What Like has learned so far:
Read the case study on local digital innovation cultures.
Find out about the LIKE Cycle – a new model to support innovation and capacity development in service delivery.
Want to know more about the Like project?
Read the LIKE case study on dere-street. Read more about LIKE’s findings on creating Digital Innovation Cultures, Smarter Services, and Digital DNA for Cities and Neighbourhoods.
Follow Like! here https://northsearegion.eu/like/ and here LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/like-project-building-a-local-digital-innovation-culture/.
Can I help you set up an innovation project?
You can find out more about other collaborative innovation projects I’ve set up. Or get in touch with me and let’s collaborate!