Looper project - FAQ

The Looper Living Lab is where the Looper Model is put into action. It is an experimental zone where new ideas can be tried, and new ways of co-creation can be tested. Inside the lab, there can be any number of loops for different problems, from purely technical issues, to wider social challenges.

A learning loop is about building the community-based knowledge and creative thinking, which can turn problems into solutions. Each learning loop has three main stages:

• Problem identification: identify the issue, set up citizen monitoring, visualise and analyse;
• Co-design: create options and decide which should go forward;
• Action and feedback: make real improvements (physical or social) and monitor impact.

Three levels of learning loops emerged in the LOOPER project:

• Management loop

  This 'functional' learning loop works with detailed information on practical or technical problems and solutions. It can use both online and offline platforms (for example to locate the streetlight and get it fixed).

• Community loop

  Here the citizens are 'in the loop', via local empowerement, social enterprise and self-reliance. We work with 'deep engagement' methods such as active outreach and community visioning as well as with networks and communities of interest (to debate the wider issues of public security).

• Governance loop

  Local government and other bodies can enhance their organisational learning and 'strategic policy intelligence' (i.e. capacity for thinking ahead). This loop helps overcome the 'trust gap' and enables government and public services to 'do more with less' (with better policies on public safety).

The Looper Living Lab is an overall structure and program of action. Inside the Lab, we can have any number of loops, for different kinds of problems, from the purely technical to the wider social. For the Lab as a whole, we aim to learn from what goes on inside, in order to improve.

Each Lab generally includes six main components (i.e. a '6P model'):

• Place: define the place (a local neighbourhood, district, landscape, or other area on the ground), where the lab is to be based.
• People: gather the people to be involved (networks, organisations, groups or communities). We need ways to mobilise their energy and commitment, to mediate conflict, and find ways to turn problems into opportunities.
• Priorities: work with the people in the place, to explore their priorities (problems, issues, challenges, risks, hopes or fears, ideas or opportunities). This includes both negatives and the positives which can inspire and motivate.
• Policies: set the scope of problems and possible solutions towards the policies (local, regional, national) for that area, and aim to engage with the policy process, which can be long and complex.
• Platform: develop a system for the exchange of information, learning, debate, analysis and insight. Such online platforms see new and exciting technology every day, but the real purpose of the platform is about improving human interactions.
• Process: look for the overall insights, from the whole experiment from start to finish, in order to improve and transfer the learning to other places, or other applications such as public services.

To run the Lab, we work with the community to select the 'interventions' to work on (e.g. air quality, greenspace) and plan the phases of work:

• Problem and opportunity phase sets the scope and gathers data.
• Co-design and evaluation phase creates design options and decides which to go forward.
• Implementation and feedback phase makes interventions (physical or social) and measures the results of the experiment.

The LOOPER project was an experimental development and took a total of 3 years (plus an extension due to the COVID-19 effects). The timescale included:

• 6 months: project inception phase, including setting up, writing the guidance, forming the partnerships.
• 18 months: the main learning loop with interventions, as described above.
• 9 months: a second loop was done in part, up to the co-design stage.

Building on the Looper experience, and using the new guidelines, templates and platforms, it would be possible to reduce the timescale for these learning loops by 50%. This depends on the community and policy contect: if the community is aligned and mobilized, and if local government can supply the permissions and budgets for interventions, then each stage can progress with all speed.

Each Lab is different in terms of problems, opportunities, co-design and interventions: the Looper Model can be adapted to suit almost any set of local issues. These are the main issues from the experience of the Looper living labs in Brussels, Manchester, and Verona.

• Air quality: to analyse the problem, citizens can use hand-held monitors, compare their data with official measurements, and analyse with mapping and visualization. For the co-design of responses, there are some local actions (planting trees, sealing of buildings) and social innovations (public health info, travel adaptation). But major progress would require city-wide policies for industry and transport. This points to a 'strategic' learning loop: getting information into the hands of the community enables and empowers them to argue their case.
• Road safety and parking: the community can map the problem with technical data and other media, and compare with official data. For the co-design of actions, the options include technical responses (e.g. traffic calming), policy responses (e.g. regulation, enforcement), or social responses (e.g. a 'walking bus' or helping kids to cross the road). There are also strategic issues raised by parking by outsiders, in the context of gentrification. Here, a strategic learning loop should help to empower the community, meadiate conflict and guide policy.
• Noise pollution: this may be a local issue, which calles for local data and participative debate. The co-design process will look at social innovation for collaboration between neighbours or different parts of the community. It may also be an issue coming from outside the community, from roads, industry, sports or leisure. This might call for physical solutions (barriers, traffic calming, which can be expensive), and/or policy solutions (e.g. regulation, enforcement).
• Crime and security: this involves several kinds of problems and responses: perceived insecurity, harassment, and anti-social behaviour which calls for social mediation and/or enforcement; property and personal crime which needs physical action and/or law enforcement; organized crime/terrorism needs higher-level intelligence and enforcement (generally outside the Looper scope). In each case, the technical data (e.g. crime incidents) needs to go alongside social deliberation and co-design for possible solutions.
• Greenspace: this often shows problems of anti-social behaviour, conflict between users, or local pollution, for which data can be gathered and mapped. Greenspace also brings many creative opportunities, not only for physical works, but including nature conservation, education, health, local food, cultural events and festivals. For community participation in co-design of the built environment, greenspace is a good place to start.

The Lab in each city will make direct contributions to solving practical problems like air quality, noise, traffic safety, scurity and greenspace. It should also help local empowerment by community learning and capacity building. And it should help with local governance by policy learning and strategic policy intelligence. It will also help to advance the state of the art, with knowledge transfer and scaling up to other cities. It will do mapping and analysis of the learning loops at all levels, with new insights on barriers and opportunities ('multi-loop learning'). Overall, this will contribute to 'urban innovation', both for technical problems and social opportunities, for policy-makers and providers, for analysts and researchers, and most of all for citizens and communities.