A workshop on citizen participation to encourage end-users' needs to be taken into account.

The Nice Côte d'Azur metropolitan area, a laboratory for innovation, awarded the title of «Innovation Ambassador City in Europe» by the European Commission in 2017, For a number of months now, the city has been taking part in the ambitious IRIS (Integrated and Replicable Solutions for Co-Creation in Sustainable Cities) project, which promotes the deployment of innovative solutions and consolidates the area's position as a Smart City.

This collaborative project is based on 42 partners from 9 European cities, to accelerate the energy transition in local areas (including Utrecht, Nice and Gothenburg as Flagship Cities) and improve the lives of local residents while involving them in energy management processes.

It was with this in mind that the A workshop on co-creation and civic engagement was held at the Nice Côte d'Azur metropolitan authority on 22 May., hosted by the Utrecht University of the Arts (HKU). Aware of the importance of the issue, the Nice Côte d'Azur metropolitan area and its partners (CNRS, Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment, Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis and Véolia) have rethought the way they develop their digital services, in particular by using a methodology that incorporates the needs of the end user right from the design phase.

Numerous initiatives have already been launched by the Nice Côte d'Azur metropolitan area, including «Service Bleu». Launched more than three years ago, the aim of this scheme is to deal as quickly as possible with minor disturbances likely to affect public spaces, while relying on the support of citizens. Using this example of Service Bleu, and based on a new methodology developed by HKU, the Metropole and its partners have sought to rethink this solution by involving citizens even more effectively.

The various participants in this workshop were able to try out a different methodology from those used up to now, opening up new prospects for a smart, eco-citizen future!