Co-creation community

The INDIMO Co-creation Community (CCC) has been strongly involved in the co-creation of the main outcome of the project: the INDIMO Toolbox. Members of the CCC consist of the four main INDIMO target groups, including user representatives, policy makers, operators, decision makers from academia and industry as well as software and hardware developers. This composition of the CCC ensured the development of highly valuable and usable tools that will play a role in creating more inclusive and better accessible digital mobility solutions. Through a collaboration process consisting of co-creation workshops, consultations and interviews, the INDIMO Tools were developed, assessed and disseminated. Furthermore, INDIMO established a partnership with the European Transport and Mobility Forum, which intends to connect stakeholders to discuss and advocate for user-centric approaches and cross-modal cooperation in transport of passengers and freight. Via this platform, the preparation of workshops, surveys and discussions on sustainable mobility solutions took place while opinions were collected and networks initiated.

During the 1st Co-creation Workshop which took place in October 2020, the deployment of digital mobility and logistic services was discussed. After a presentation of the lessons learned in the INDIMO pilot projects, participants got the opportunity to review the themes of the four projects. By doing so, the most important barriers and drivers concerning the design, planning, deployment and operation of personalized accessible and inclusive digital mobility and logistics services were identified.

In May 2021, the 2^nd Co-creation Workshop on the validation of the Universal Design Manual (UDM) was held. Within this workshop, the practicability and feasibility of solutions and recommendations included in the UDM draft were examined. To achieve this, interactive sessions were held on how specific user needs, requirements of operators and policy makers as well as technical feasibility can be addressed and what solutions are available. Participants were encouraged to explore mobility from the perspective of different transport users while going on fictional journeys related to the INDIMO pilot projects. Following this, they discussed possible solutions to the needs and barriers previously identified.

The 3^rd Co-creation Workshop was held in September 2021 and was aimed at the INDIMO Policy Evaluation Tool (later renamed to Service Evaluation Tool)d. The objective of the workshop was to discuss the content and structure of this self-assessment tool and gather participants’ input. Furthermore, it was discussed how the application of the tool will help assess existing or proposed digital mobility or logistics services as well as mobility policies of a local or regional authority.

In June 2022, within the 4^th Co-creation Workshop, the Service Evaluation Tool was finalized. The workshop was hosted in the facilities of one of the CCC members: the Metropolitan City of Bologna. In this context, the structure, themes and recommendations of the tool were analyzed. Meanwhile, participants documented their opinion regarding the relevance and applicability of each question included in the self-assessment.

The final and 5^th Co-creation Workshop on the transferability of the INDIMO Tools to a wider European context took place in October 2022. Participants were introduced to the fictional city of Omidin, which has the aim of improving tourism by implementing an inclusive digital mobility service, capable of showing accessible walking paths. Participants were asked to brainstorm how the INDIMO Toolbox could be used to achieve this as well as end-user participation and stakeholder engagement.

Overall, the help of the INDIMO CCC was essential in establishing the INDIMO Toolbox. Throughout the co-creation approach there was a consensus among experts and practitioners about the importance of co-creation itself as well as end-user involvement, particularly of vulnerable to exclusion groups, for a successful development and deployment of digital mobility and logistic services. Finally, it was found that users must have the opportunity to give feedback on the provided service to ensure continuous optimization.