DSISCALE

The project

DSISCALE aims to support policymakers, funders and, most importantly, practitioners to scale digital social innovation (DSI) and collective awareness platforms (CAPs) in Europe and to make the most of the opportunities in using tools such as open data open hardware to address some of Europe’s biggest social challenges. Building on existing support initiatives such as www.digitalsocial.eu, it will do this by developing Europe wide innovation clusters focusing on collaboration and peer learning between funders, policymakers and practitioners on methods for scaling DSI, developing the DSI index for measuring the macro level system conditions for DSI and a series of ‘DSI futures’ which will explore future scenarios for DSI in Europe and map the emerging digital technologies that are enabling new forms of digital social innovation.

Specifically, DSISCALE will create and facilitate an online community hub for DSI in Europe by continuing the work of www.digitalsocial.eu and develop an index for measuring capacity for DSI. These key DSISCALE objectives will be achieved by bringing together resources and knowledge across different fields, technologies and disciplines, including ICT and social sciences, digital democracy the maker movement and innovation policy from across the national and European networks.

Our Contribution

Fab Lab Barcelona carried out a range of activities using digital social innovation practices, leading the project on the topic of ‘Skills and Learning’. This included the ‘Dream Big Challenge’ which encourages students to find digital solutions to big challenges – examples being FixEd, a platform which supports educational institutions to teach twenty-first century and STEM skills; Code Club, a global network of school clubs equipping young people with programming skills; Apps for Good, through which young people across the world build their own DSI solutions to social challenges and hundreds of fab labs and makerspaces across Europe supporting people of all ages to thrive in a digital world. In collaboration with partners such as Amsterdam Smart City, the University of Dundee and the Smart Citizen Kit developed by Fab Lab Barcelona, workshops, interventions and interactive data mapping tools were deployed at events such as Makerfaire Barcelona and Poblenou Open Night to engage citizens in the principles of DSI through the lens of ‘Skills and Learning’.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 780473.