The top teams from PIL 2023 traveled to Berlin to participate in meetings and visits with communities and experts in public innovation. This trip not only allowed them, in many cases, to explore Germany and attend the Creative Bureaucracy Festival, but also to learn firsthand about best practices in innovative policies from around the world.
Alicia Olmos, from the University of Córdoba, Argentina, points out: “I always repeat something I read from Carlos Matus, regarding the fact that the verb 'planning' is not only conjugated in the first person singular, but it must be conjugated in all persons. This implies that others will think about the same thing, plan from other perspectives, and with other interests/needs/visions.. And the possibility of thinking that others will think about that plan differently (even oppositely), and that it might intertwine with my own thinking, is more than inspiring. I'm taking away from this trip ways of understanding planning and the actions needed to make any project viable. Because Intention and the initial situation are not enough; the tools to implement what is planned are also necessary.”.
Naza Smit and Florencia Gay, representatives of RIL, along with Linda Peia from Ashoka, presented the PIL methodology at the festival, which aims to foster collaborative public innovation. During the event, participants from the 2023 edition shared their experiences implementing the program in their communities, highlighting how it strengthened collaboration between the community and local governments.
Gonzalo Nanzer from Dis+Capacidad, Argentina, adds his words: “The whole process of becoming part of Ayni and learning about RIL's work in Argentina It changed my perspective on public innovation. I believe that this bridge between citizens and government, which organizations like Ayni or RIL (Local Innovation Network) provide, is something everyone should know about and take advantage of.”Looking ahead, Gonzalo is enthusiastic after visiting Berlin and states, “The initial goal is to implement the project developed in our town. Having participated in the trip and shared the project with people from other countries gives us extra validation and more energy to continue with the process of bringing the idea to fruition. Following that, and thanks to the connections made in Berlin, Opportunities are opening up to take the initiative to new places, which we will try to take advantage of.”.
The participants met with experts in public innovation, which provided them with new perspectives and essential tools for implementing effective policies in their respective localities.
Veronica Castro, from Mercado Santiago Sostenible, in Mexico, comments: “It was a great 100% experience. I came back full of valuable information, things and activities that I saw and can implement in my community. There's a lot of work being done in systems engineering, but in government we sometimes have doubts and overlook tools that could be useful; this happens to us all over the world. And in civil society organizations, NGOs, we can find tools that add a lot to our resources. Meeting many organized groups of young people who are contributing to caring for the Earth was inspiring.”.
At PIL, we aim to make the collaboration between the community and government agents less tedious, using specific methodologies to enable them to work together for the common good. Ariel González from the Planning Unit of IMPLAN in Los Cabos, Mexico, explains it much better:“This trip made me realize more clearly that collaboration between government and society is a very powerful partnership that increases the likelihood of a project's success., Therefore, I will try to facilitate the means for these collaborations to continue in every project we undertake.”.
The Creative Bureaucracy Festival proved to be an invaluable opportunity to share and celebrate innovation in public policy. Participants in the 2023 Local Innovators Program not only enriched their knowledge and skills but also forged meaningful connections that will contribute to the development of their communities. This type of event underscores the importance of global collaboration in addressing local challenges with creative and effective solutions.
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THIS IS HOW WE EXPERIENCED THE CREATIVE BUREAUCRACY FESTIVAL!
In June 2023, Berlin once again became the epicenter of public innovation with the Creative Bureaucracy Festival. This event brought together representatives from governments and civil organizations from various countries, providing us the opportunity to showcase how, through the Local Innovators Program (PIL), we are collaboratively transforming communities.
The outstanding teams from PIL 2023 traveled to Berlin to participate in meetings and visits with communities and public innovation experts. This trip not only allowed them to, in many cases, visit Germany and attend the Creative Bureaucracy Festival but also to learn firsthand about the best practices in innovative policies from around the world.
Alicia Olmos, from the University of Córdoba, Argentina, highlights: “I always repeat something I read from Carlos Matus, about how the verb 'to plan' is not only conjugated in the first person singular, but it must be conjugated in all persons. This implies that others will think about the same thing, planning from different places and with other interests/needs/visions. And that possibility of knowing that others will think about that plan differently (even oppositely) and that it can intertwine with what I think is truly inspiring. I am taking from this trip new ways of understanding planning and actions to make any project feasible. Because it's not just the intention and the initial situation that matters, but also the tools to implement what is planned.”
Naza Smit and Florencia Gay, representatives of RIL, together with Linda Peia from Ashoka, presented the PIL methodology at the festival, which aims to promote collaborative public innovation. During the event, the participants of the 2023 edition shared their experiences of application in the field, highlighting how the program strengthened collaboration between the community and local governments.
Gonzalo Nanzer from Dis+Capacidad, Argentina, adds his thoughts: “The whole process of being part of Ayni and learning about RIL's work in Argentina changed my perspective on public innovation. I believe that this bridge between citizens and the government that organizations like Ayni or RIL (Local Innovation Network) represent is something everyone should know and take advantage of.” Looking ahead, Gonzalo is enthusiastic after visiting Berlin and affirms that “The initial goal is to put into practice the project developed in our locality. Having participated in the trip and shared the project with people from other countries gives us extra validation and more energy to move forward with the process of materializing the idea. After that and the connections made in Berlin, opportunities open up to take the initiative to new places, which we will try to leverage.”
The participants met with public innovation experts, which provided them with new perspectives and essential tools for implementing effective policies in their respective localities.
Veronica Castro, from Mercado Santiago Sostenible in Mexico, comments: “It was a 100% great experience. I returned full of valuable information, things, and activities that I saw and can implement in my community. There is a lot of work in the field of systems engineering, but in government, we sometimes have doubts and overlook tools that can be useful, and this happens worldwide. In civil associations, NGOs, we can find tools that add a lot. Meeting many organized youth groups contributing to caring for the earth was inspiring.”
From PIL, we aim to make the collaboration between the community and government agents not tedious and through specific methodologies, work together for the common good. Ariel González from IMPLAN Planning Unit in Los Cabos, Mexico, explains it much better: “This trip deepened my awareness that collaboration between government and society is a very powerful partnership for a project to have more chances of success. Therefore, I will try to facilitate the means for these collaborations to continue in every project we undertake.”
The Creative Bureaucracy Festival proved to be an invaluable gathering opportunity to share and celebrate public policy innovation. The participants of the Local Innovators Program 2023 not only enriched their knowledge and skills but also established meaningful connections that will contribute to the development of their communities. This type of event underscores the importance of global collaboration to address local challenges with creative and effective solutions.
