Identification
Video tool
SCIENCE SHOPS
Video tool
Type of tool: Workshop
Phase: Identification
COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTION CANVAS
How to know your community better
The Challenge
We all know that people are different. They have different interests, skills and time available. However, even the most busy person needs to have a chance to participate in the project. To design a proper engagement strategy, we need to understand the participants and know how they prefer to contribute to the project.
How can you get to know your participating citizens in just a single activity?
The Tool
The Community Contribution Canvas is an amusing activity that you can easily implement to gather information about your participants during a co-creation workshop or large event. Not only will it allow you to know how and to what extent they want to participate in the project, but you will also know the skills and knowledge they have and that you can leverage to develop the project activities.
Download the toolbox
We share with you some resources that can be useful to carry out this activity.
Discover the tool in action!
Read the case study and understand how this tool has been used in a real citizen science project.
My contribution would be...
CitieS-Health Barcelona Pilot and others projects
What
This is an activity that is usually done at the start of the project and could be run during a workshop or event. It enables to negotiate and establish the levels of contribution across participating citizens. These generally vary with respect to: level of participation (be informed, participate in workshops, contribute to dissemination, host a sensor); time available to dedicate to the pilot; resources that can be brought into the pilot (e.g. physical spaces, network); relevant skills (e.g. data analysis, programming, communication). The tool offers different levels of contribution to the pilot across these four dimensions.
Why
Collectively understand and establish the level of commitment of each participant to the pilot.
Gain a better understanding of the skills and resources of your community.
How
Prepare the materials. You will need to print the canvas on a large paper and hang it on a wall. You will also need post-its and pens to gather participants' inputs. You can download several versions of the canvas in the section below, Get the Toolbox.
Explain how the canvas works. The canvas shows a radar with four variables that represent different types of contribution that one can bring to the project: Participation, Skills and Dedication and Resources. The more one positions her/himself in the center of the radar, the more active s/he wants to be.
Participants fill in the canvas. Participants position themselves onto the canvas by estimating and self-assessing the skills, resources, frequency of participation and time that each can bring into the pilot.
Analyse the outcomes. As a result of this activity, you will have a better understanding on how and who to engage in your pilot, as well as if you can count on others resources and skills made available by your community.