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Lab-Vecinal: Neighborhood Innovation Lab

Neighborhood-based collaborative ideation space, where neighborhood organizations and local government build initiatives to address community challenges.

Municipality

MX
Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas,

Category / Sub-Category / Topic

Government and Governance, Citizen participation

Type of investment needed

Grant

Associated SDGs

The challenge

Despite the existence of 500 structures to coordinate citizen participation in Tuxtla, active community involvement and the resolution of local problems has not yet been achieved. This is mainly due to poor coordination among actors, lack of a unified strategic vision and the fragmentation of the initiatives that end up being implemented.

The project

The neighborhood innovation laboratory is a space for collective ideation, exchange of learning, linking neighborhood organizations and articulation with the local government of Tuxtla Gutiérrez. Its operation is based on three work axes:

  1. Neighborhood solutions laboratory: through a call for proposals, a space will be provided where neighbors will be able to present ideas to address the challenges of their neighborhoods and colonies. After a collective selection process, the ideas will be strengthened through a space for collaborative ideation and prototyping, together with experts from local government, academia, civil organizations and neighbors. The result will be a public policy proposal or project, with a higher probability of impact to improve the quality of life of neighborhoods and neighborhoods.
  2. Community of Neighborhood Solutions: is a biannual forum that opens the door to the exchange, registration and communication of experiences among neighbors, to promote constant learning, the generation of community and participation networks. The forum venues will be designated by the teams that are developing active initiatives in the territory, thus strengthening self-management, leadership and joint learning.
  3. Toolbox: is a compendium of resources for strengthening the management capacities of neighborhood organizations and local government. It will include manuals, processes and information on how to carry out procedures, together with constant training on specific topics that favor social participation.

Know more...

Tuxtla Gutiérrez is the capital city of the state of Chiapas. It has a population of more than 600,000 inhabitants, and is home to more than 650 neighborhoods and colonias. In these population centers operate almost 500 social participation structures linked to issues related to improvements in services, infrastructure, civil protection and security, facing challenges to transform their territory.

The participation system faces great challenges to generate articulations, be efficient and motivate neighborhood participation. This translates into the implementation of public policy solutions and community projects that do not necessarily respond to collective aspirations.

Currently there are four secretariats of the Tuxtla Gutiérrez City Hall that have, due to their operational characteristics, some committee or representation in each neighborhood to address needs in the areas of Public Works (Infrastructure), Citizen Protection (Public Safety), Civil Protection and Social Participation. Although these organizations focus on addressing specific needs of the citizens, they do not have a space to promote ideas or proposals for solutions to common problems, generating a void in citizen participation.

The importance of the initiative is based on the following findings obtained during the territorial validation process. It has been detected that there is a need for: i) a greater opening of local government participation channels, ii) training on various topics such as participation management, effective leadership and decision making, iii) strategies for following up on the agreements established in the participation spaces, iv) coordination among local government agencies, and v) formal linkage of neighborhood and civil organizations with local government.

  • Installation of the Neighborhood Innovation Laboratory: a launching event will be held where the main guidelines will be presented, the surveillance council will be sworn in and its internal regulations will be designed.
  • Design of the Municipal Plan for Citizen Participation: the surveillance council together with the management of the Neighborhood Innovation Lab and ICIPLAM's technical team will convene working groups of neighborhood organizations, civil society and academia to build the Municipal Plan for Citizen Participation, which will be submitted to the local government for approval.
  • Collective ideation (call, proposals and prototyping): the first call will be made to present collective solutions, with the following route: i) issuance of call, ii) receipt of proposals, iii) filtering of technical feasibility by the oversight council, iv) collective voting (selection of 10 ideas), v) call for volunteers (civil organizations, neighbors, members of local government secretariats, academia), vi) ideation tables, vii) prototyping actions, viii) learning tables, ix) drafting of projects and/or public policies.
  • Community of neighborhood solutions (exchange of experiences and toolbox): a network of neighborhood organizations will be formed to share challenges and experiences in the design of possible solutions. At the same time, a virtual and physical toolbox will be made available containing consultation materials on various topics of interest to citizens, in order to encourage social participation.
  • Report of results: a physical and electronic document will be prepared collectively containing the systematization of the process, reporting on the experiences, challenges and opportunities for improvement in the implementation of the neighborhood innovation initiatives implemented. It will be published annually on the project platform and disseminated through different media and social networks.

Direct Results:

  • 1 annual call to integrate 10 selected ideas into the collective ideation process.
  • 20 collective ideation tables between members of the local government, neighborhood structures, civil organizations, academia and volunteers convened.
  • 10 prototypes activated in the neighborhoods and colonies.
  • 10 public policy proposals and/or projects collected by the local government, with a status traceability, in charge of the Oversight Council.
  • 6 exchanges of experiences of the neighborhood solutions community.
  • 1 annual report of results where all the experiences of neighborhood organizations in the territory are recorded.
  • 1 toolbox resource library
  • 10 self-managed neighborhood projects strengthened through the resources obtained from the toolbox. 
  • 1 Online platform

Expected impact:

  • Generate 5 collaboration agreements between local government secretariats and neighborhood organizations, within one year.
  • Achieve that 1 out of 5 projects developed by the local government emerge or go through a collective ideation process, within 12 months.
  • To link 50 neighborhood organizations with each other and with the local government, forming part of an ecosystem in constant training and exchange of challenges and experiences, in one year.
  • Form 10 new neighborhood organizations in 12 months, as a result of the impact of the Neighborhood Innovation Lab.
  • Liga Lab Ideas que Unen.
  • Secretaria de Desarrollo Social y Educación.
  • Instituto de Elecciones y Participación Ciudadana.
  • Laboratorio de Estrategias para el Cambio Social de la Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas.
  • Líderes barriales.
  • Instituto de Elecciones y Participación Ciudadana.
  • Alejandro Mendoza Castañeda, Director General of ICIPLAM (alejandro.mendoza@iciplam.tuxtla.gob.mx) - México
  • Sonia Laura Hernández León, Social Development Coordinator of ICIPLAM (soniala@hotmail.com/sonia.laurahl@iciplam.tuxtla.gob.mx) - México
  • Joseliny Omar Díaz Torres, Director of Laboratorio Ciudadano A.C. (torres.joseliny@gmail.com) - México

Investment

(*): In kind/pro bonus

(**): Financing

Goods and inputs
Funds
Needed
Covered
Solicited

1 Equipo de cómputo (*) (**)

u$s 750.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 750.00

10 fondos semilla para prototipado (*) (**)

u$s 7500.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 7500.00

Materiales didácticos para talleres (Hojas, papelógrafos, post its, plumones, cinta adhesiva, folders) (*) (**)

u$s 500.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 500.00

Material de impresión para eventos (lonas, banners, programas, kits de participantes) (*) (**)

u$s 1250.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 1250.00

Kit de herramientas para caja de herramientas fisicas (Palas, picos, carretas, podadora, cavador) (*) (**)

u$s 2500.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 2500.00

Impresiones de material didáctico para caja de herramientas (*) (**)

u$s 250.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 250.00

Impresión y encuadernado de documento Reporte (*) (**)

u$s 1500.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 1500.00

Combustible (visitas a barrios y colonias) (*) (**)

u$s 1000.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 1000.00

Oficina y espacios para reunión (*) (**)

u$s 1200.00

u$s 1200.00

u$s 0.00

Services
Funds
Needed
Covered
Solicited

Dominio para alojar la plataforma web de la Red de Innovación Vecinal (*) (**)

u$s 250.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 250.00

Diseño y mantenimiento de la plataforma web (*) (**)

u$s 1000.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 1000.00

Servicio de bocadillos y café (20 reuniones y sesiones de trabajo) (*) (**)

u$s 1000.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 1000.00

Servicios (acceso a internet, luz, impresiones, mobiliario) (*) (**)

u$s 600.00

u$s 600.00

u$s 0.00

Human resources
Funds
Needed
Covered
Solicited

Honorarios para gerente de proyectos a 100% durante un año (*) (**)

u$s 8900.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 8900.00

Honorario para Diseñadora editorial y creadora de contenidos a 50% (*) (**)

u$s 2500.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 2500.00

Honorario para talleristas 20 sesiones de taller por proyecto y sistematización de resultados (*) (**)

u$s 2000.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 2000.00

Honorario para coordinación de medios a 25% (*) (**)

u$s 1250.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 1250.00

Honorarios de personal institucional (25%) (*) (**)

u$s 6000.00

u$s 6000.00

u$s 0.00

Honorario de expertos (*) (**)

u$s 5000.00

u$s 5000.00

u$s 0.00

Others
Funds
Needed
Covered
Solicited

Gastos administrativos (*) (**)

u$s 2370.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 2370.00

TOTAL AMOUNTS:

u$s 47320.00

u$s 12800.00

u$s 34520.00

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