Refresh is a small restaurant in Brussels proposing dishes cooked out of unsold products. Within its activities, it is organising training for “ambassadors” of anti-waste practices throughout the city. This project is a pilot experimentation to assess the tools and methods which can be developed in order to fully equip such ambassadors.
Coordination of the project living lab of the RABAD within the frame of ULB-led “Choud’Bruxelles”
The RABAD is a partner in a project led by the QALINCA unit of ULB. Thanks a funding from the Innoviris programme, this project is identifying problems and experimenting solutions in addressing the logistics of Short Food Supply Chains in the Region of Brussels-Capital. The RABAD will be the first living lab of this project: following the ENoLL methodology it will be a platform for co-creation bringing together stakeholders of the SFSC in the region and beyond.
EMBALLALMATA: Encore moins d’emballages chez Almata !
Thanks to a funding from the Regional ministry for the Environment, Brussels environment, Resilia Solutions is supporting Almata, an organic shop opened in September 2014, to reduce the packages it proposes through new product development as well as through interaction with its clients: through a series of communication, auction and experimentations with the clients, solutions will be co-created and tested out.
Expertise to the REFILL network
Partner: Strategic Design Scenarios
In many European cities one of the positive side-effects of the financial-economic crisis is the growth of innovative forms of solidarity and commitment at local level. Pioneering and bottom-up civic initiatives instigate transition in our society and co-create solutions for social challenges in an urban context, often perceived as a laboratory. Governments are no longer the only actor to solve complex challenges faced in cities.
Therefore, temporary use is a powerful tool to make our cities “future fit”. Since the concept of temporary use is interacting with many other urban dynamics it creates the right environment for social innovation to develop. The network outlines the concept of temporary use as: the use of vacant buildings and land by urban pioneers, entrepreneurs and bottom-up initiatives, often resulting in facing various societal challenges and in creating possibilities for social innovation to develop in cities.
The cities involved in this network already experimented with the concept of temporary use of vacant places for several years. Through REFILL all partners aim to capitalise on this communal expertise by focusing on 3 main objectives:
- Exchange and evaluation of local supporting instruments
- Ensuring long lasting effects of temporality
- Build a more flexible, collaborative public administration
Support to the co-construction of a Strategy on Sustainable Food and Urban Agriculture in the Brussels capital region
Partner: Strategic Design Scenarios and Ecores
Together with Ecores, SDS was commissioned to carry out a participatory and co-construction process for the design of a new strategy on sustainable food and urban agriculture in the Brussels capital region. This work builds on that of consultations throughout the Employment-Environment Alliance, and various previous studies and research. Through a launching event and 6 co-construction workshops, SDS and Ecores are designing tools, methodologies (visioning and backstaging, participatory and co-creation methods, work in groups) and implementing them in order to build a strategy that fits the reality and needs of those first concerned by it. More information
Capitalisation process – Social innovation in cities
Partner: Strategic Design Scenarios
URBACT II (2007-2013) is a European exchange programme promoting sustainable and integrated urban development in line with the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy. It enables European cities to work together and to develop effective and sustainable solutions to major key urban challenges. Each project brings together 6 to 12 cities or other partners during two to three years and focuses on a specific urban issue.
SDS carried out a study looking through experiences from cities taking part in URBACT programme and outside, which are exemplary in developing and promoting the use of social innovation in their governance. The project in particular seeks to provide readily available concrete information to support other cities which wish to follow similar approaches. The project used various online tools and methods such as an online questionnaire, online chat sessions and a blog. It also developed offline methodologies such as presentations, keynotes, speeches, roundtables to world cafes, living exhibitions, co-construction in groups of two and three. More information
Workshop on “The sustainable city”
Partner: CODUCO
As part of its “Day of Sustainable Development”, this workshop was a mix of a lecture on the concepts and concrete examples relate to “sustainable city”; interaction and discussion; as well as a role game on “what sustainable city are you”.
Benchmarking study of existing systems for the disposal of tap water in restaurants
Partner: CODUCO
Within the scope of the implementation of the Plan for the management of water, the Region wished to offer tap water in Brussels’ restaurants. The study analysed approaches undertaken in a selection of EU countries (UK, France, Spain, Czech Republic and the Netherlands) as well as those already existing in Belgium in order to propose recommendations for the most suitable approach to be undertaken in Brussels.
“Sustainable table” toolkit
Thanks to a funding from the regional “Sustainable food” call for projects, the commune has launched the preparation, piloting and distribution of a kit for inhabitants to organize an evening event around the theme of sustainable food. The kit encompasses a methodological guide, 8 brochures on sustainable food, some kitchenware and tools, as well as the right to benefit from a coaching in cooking. More information
Sustainable food activities
The association organizes various activities in order to promote a healthy life of the neighbourhood’s inhabitants. It especially focuses on people with minimum income (social income or unemployment benefit). In 2015, it has organized a series of activities around the theme of sustainable food: presentations, workshops, visits to farms, museums, shops… Marcelline made a presentation on the principles of sustainable food. She has also taken part in a series of activities in order to get insights into the food practices and questionings of the participants.