More information
Description
The project “Cidades desenhadas por quem as vive” (Cities designed by those who live them) aims to develop the organisational skills of Rés do Chão''s internal team and its network of partners for greater efficiency in processes, increasing their impact and strengthening their sustainability. The project aims to promote awareness about the importance of civic and democratic awareness, to foster the realisation and appreciation of participatory processes in urban policies through an event to share good practices with private and public institutions and local communities and a communication campaign on participatory processes and urban policies supported by a video and a policy paper.
Summary of project results
For 8 years, Rés do Chão (Ground Floor) has been doing important work in promoting a culture of democracy and civic awareness, mainly in vulnerable neighbourhoods, by empowering different groups to actively participate in the co-construction and improvement of their territories. Despite its long experience and recognised impact on the lives of its beneficiaries, for its sustainability and growth, Rés do Chão (R/C) lacks the organisational skills to scale, replicate and improve its participatory local development work.
Given that its intervention is centred on participatory models, R/C relies on local partners as pivots with strong ties to the territories. The diagnosis revealed the importance of developing R/C''s competences in a number of areas, and that this will be reinforced with the involvement of partners in the capacity-building plan.
The highest priority organisational capacity-building needs identified were: Strategic planning and defining performance and growth objectives; Implementing an Impact Assessment system; Defining a strategic communications and marketing plan; Designing a sales and fundraising strategy; Optimising operations by creating tools to support financial and operations management; Investing in technological equipment.
The partners identified qualification needs in terms of marketing and communication, financial management and impact evaluation.
Furthermore, active citizen participation in local development and architecture-urbanism is still an innovative area in Portugal and very little is practised compared to other European countries. Portugal lacks a ‘participatory tradition’ because is still at the stage of delegating functions to professional politicians, and the next step is missing: the co-creation of urban policies. Meanwhile, in other countries, it has been proven that citizen participation makes it possible to boost urban and interpersonal identity, generating a sense of belonging in communities and guaranteeing ownership of the city by all and for all, making it more humane and inclusive.
As reported by R/C, the following activities were carried out:
(1) Two local talks to share good practices in citizen participation in city design, as part of the co.cidades festival, organised by R/C and Sê Bairrista in the parish of Marvila (Lisbon) on 31 March and 1 April 2023. The first talk - Building the city collectively - had as guests: a community facilitator; an architect and a social researcher. The 2nd talk - Future Scenarios: New paths for citizen participation - invited a well-known social researcher, the director of the Citizenship Department at CMCascais; a community facilitator; and an architect and representative of the Order of Architects. More than 60 people took part in each conversation, including residents, members of academia and civic and public organisations.
(2) Production and dissemination of an article on the role of public bodies in promoting participatory processes in architecture and urbanism, which aimed to gather information on the state of participation in Portugal and its contemporary context. In its development, research was also carried out into the international panorama, allowing for greater geographical and institutional coverage. The article was shared with different institutions, focussing on public bodies working on territorial urban planning.
(3) Training sessions on 3 main themes (96 hours), identified in the initial diagnostic report (Strategy, Operations, Impact Assessment), which were implemented over 12 sessions attended by members of R/C and partner organisations. The themes worked on led to a reorganisation of the association''s internal materials, as well as the structuring of a financial sustainability strategy for the medium and long term.
(4) Based on the knowledge gathered during the training, a methodology and specific tools for evaluating R/C projects were developed in order to integrate these processes into the association''s regular practices. Evaluations of ongoing projects have begun.
(5) Applying the contents of the training, a communication strategy was structured and implemented, taking into account the dissemination of the work in different formats (newsletter, website, videos, publications on social networks, participation in conferences, etc).
(6) During and after the training sessions, a strategic plan was developed for R/C, which is being implemented, and a commercial strategy, which is being tested.
(7) During the training, tools were developed and then used in R/C''s project management and financial management.
The training sessions responded directly to the needs identified as essential for the sustainable development and structured growth of the R/C and its partner associations. The following results with a medium- to long-term impact were developed:
- A communication strategy for R/C and the Locals Approach association to publicise their work as leading associations in the field of community participation and involvement in architectural and urban planning projects;
- R/C''s financial planning tools according to internal medium and long-term objectives, and project management with risk analysis, internal communication plan and relationships between partners.
- R/C''s organisational and fundraising strategy based on direct sales and applications;
- Evaluation tools for R/C projects and the Locals Approach evaluation model, in order to improve work processes, impact indicators, and the recording and dissemination of results achieved.
The specific objectives include a campaign to disseminate the knowledge gathered by R/C on the subject of participatory architecture and urbanism, through the development and presentation of the article, and the strengthening of national and international networks through research contacts that complemented the theoretical research, and the communication of the final results achieved. These processes have enabled R/C to position itself as a professional body within the national architectural labour market and a greater capacity for articulation between the associations that were already partners, and with others within the public and third sector circuit.
The NGOs'' financial sustainability was strengthened through an increase in projects raised and, in the case of R/C, increased income.
The rise in the organisations'' impact was measured mainly by the number of beneficiaries reached, in addition to other indicators specific to the actions of each entity. Although the beneficiaries of the projects developed post-training had not been measured at the time of this report, an increase in the number of projects and consequently an increase in beneficiaries was identified.