How can we better understand user-centricity, its reach and its importance? By asking people directly! UserCentriCities is developing a new way to address user-centricity, that is to say: making e-government services work better for people.
A bit of context
The first task of UCCs is to frame the user-centricity principles laid out in the Tallinn Declaration and translate them into operational recommendations for local authorities. The first co-creation session of the project (4 February, 2021) fostered discussion between cities and regions around these principles.
Now, a first draft is available on a public online collaborative platform, to retrieve feedback from as many cities and regions as possible (link here). The goal is to detail and to sharpen this document, based on everyone’s input, and publish it by the end of April 2021.
Why local workshops?
While the pandemic hit everyone across the globe, UCCs decided to turn it into an opportunity and host more workshops, meaning having more participants! Murcia and Emilia-Romagna region will host workshops with their citizens and municipalities to dive deeper into the understanding of user-centricity, as it is experienced by the users themselves.
During the one-hour discussion, topics around usability, accessibility, safety, among others, will be discussed. Citizens will be invited to take the floor and give their insights on the different topics. It only makes sense that UCCs puts the users at the centre of the discussion!
How can I get involved?
If you are a city or a region, feel free to directly add your inputs on the collaborative platform (link here). If you need more information or are interested in joining the UCCs adventure, contact us at usercentricities@lisboncouncil.net.
If you are a citizen living in Murcia or a municipality located in the Emilia-Romagna region, go on your city’s or regional government's website to get further information about the workshops! If you cannot find it, leave us a message at usercentricities@lisboncouncil.net and we will help you find it! Besides, we are pleased to tell you that UCCs team is currently translating the document in many languages to reach as many users as possible: Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Feel free to comment in the language you feel the most comfortable in!
What are the next steps?
The final version of the translation of the Tallinn Declaration will be published on UCCs website by the end of April, where it will be accessible to all. Following, and based on that, a review on the state of user-centricity around Europe, a benchmark, will be produced to analyse and compare user-centricity in digital services provided by cities in Europe.
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