The Centre for Digital Citizens (CDC) takes an inclusive, participatory approach to the design and evaluation of new technologies and services that support ‘smart; ‘data-rich' living in urban, rural and coastal communities.
We work with citizens and partners to co-design sustainable ‘Digital Social Innovations’ that ensure technologies applications support diverse communities and have long-lasting social value and impact beyond the life of the Centre.
How can technology support non-age biased learning, growth and engagement opportunities across the entire life course?
How will future citizens remain digitally connected with each other, with public services and with the socio-political issues of the day?
The framework will use design-led ‘initiation mechanisms’ such as participatory design workshops, hackathons, community events, citizen labs, open innovation and co-production platform experiments to support the co-creation of research activities.
Driving our programme to address these challenges is our ‘Engaged Citizen Commissioning Framework’. This framework will support citizens’ active engagement in the co-creation of research and critical inquiry.
Our Innovation Fellows, postdoctoral researchers, will engage in a 24-month social innovation programme within the Centre for Digital Citizens. They will pilot Digital Social Innovation projects as part of highly interdisciplinary, multi-stakeholder teams.
The outcome of these pilots will be the development of further collaborative bids, venture capital pitches, spin-outs and/or social enterprises. In this way the Centre will act as a catalyst for future innovation-focused Digital Economy activity.
