D7.2 Risk Management and Quality Assurance Plan

This report aims at establishing a consistent set of internal working procedures, processes and best practice guidelines and set quality standards for the project outcomes (Quality Assurance Plan). It also aims to identify and anticipate risks that may arise in the implementation of the project as well as specify risk management procedures and responsibilities (Risk Management Plan).

D7.1 Project Management Guide

This report aims at establishing guidelines on the general and financial management of the project.

D5.3 Creation of the project’s webpage and social networks

This report refers to IcARUS’ webpage and social networks.

D5.2 Strategic Dissemination and Communication plan

The objective of this report is to provide a detailed overview on the dissemination and communication strategy that will be implemented during the IcARUS project.

D5.1 Visual Identity

This report presents the visual identity of the IcARUS project, which will be used for all forms of communication and promotional purposes.

D1.2 Guidelines to the Design Thinking implementation in IcARUS tasks

This present report aims at providing concrete guidelines for the integration and implementation of the Design Thinking approach within IcARUS tasks that involve end-users. In particular, these guidelines shall inform the organisation and setting of the subsequent workshops and training sessions the IcARUS project envisions.

D1.1 Methodology for the Adoption of Design Thinking in Urban Security and Crime Prevention Initiatives

This report focuses on the adoption of the Design Thinking approach related to urban security and crime prevention. It aims at providing the theoretical ground on where to build the innovative methodology addressing urban security and crime prevention initiatives. The spotlight in this report is upon the theoretical path to follow for devising effective solutions: the aim of this proposed framework is not to provide practical assistance for urban security instruments.

Understanding the needs and expectation of the project’s six partner cities: a research conducted by the University of Leeds

One of the most ambitious undertakings of the IcARUS project is to conduct a state of the art review of research and innovation in the field of urban security over the last 30 years in Europe. The University of Leeds (UK) is in charge of this activity. Professor Adam Crawford and Dr Christine A. Weirich have written a detailed report on their progress so far. Here are the main points.

Identifying the partner cities’ main characteristics

An essential step in the preparation of the state of the art consists in identifying the characteristics, needs and expectations of the project’s core partner cities, Lisbon, Nice, Riga, Rotterdam, Stuttgart and Turin.  Together with local stakeholders, they will co-produce innovative urban security tools tailored to their specific contexts in the course of the project.

The research team set up by Adam Crawford, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Leeds and a long-time partner and expert for Efus, has thus conducted one-to-one meetings with representatives of the six cities, reviewed the documentation they sent, and compiled the results of a self-reporting questionnaire.

Main similarities among all six cities

All six cities are committed to working on urban security issues through local multi-stakeholder partnerships. All are keen to learn and share innovative practices and research and innovation in the field of urban security coming from other European cities as well as through the IcARUS project. They are also willing to implement the insights they will have gained through the project in their own local policies and activities.

Another common trait is that they are interested in conducting research to inform their new programmes or initiatives. Lastly, all six cities have specific needs that correspond to IcARUS’ four focus areas – juvenile delinquency, radicalisation, public spaces, trafficking and organised crime – and are interested in developing new strategies and practices in at least one of these.

Main differences

The first obvious difference is that the partner cities are located in six European countries, each with their own laws on crime prevention and urban security, and each with their specific governance model articulating the relationship and areas of competence between the national, regional and local levels. Another important difference between the six countries is the approach to urban security, with some more focused on policing, others on social and community issues, and still others on crime prevention. A third aspect is the organisation of law enforcement agencies and the competences and resources of national police forces vs. local ones.

Looking at local differences, an obvious distinction is the position and role of each city within their country and Europe. Indeed, two are capital cities (Lisbon and Riga) and one is a major European port (Rotterdam), which entails specific security challenges.

Lastly, two other interesting areas of difference is on the one hand the nature and scope of the local prevention partnerships (e.g., with other public institutions or civil society organisations), and on the other the amount and quality of crime and security data available at the city level.

Next Steps 

The next phase of the University of Leeds’ research and preparation work for the state of the art will involve data collection and the analysis of all the information collected since the end of last year.

• Read the full version of Professor Adam Crawford’s and Dr Christine A. Weirich’s contribution

Thinking out of the box: How the Design Thinking innovative approach shapes the project

Innovation is IcARUS’ raison d’être not only in what it will achieve – an innovative rethink of local urban security policies – but also in how it will achieve that. The partners have thus spent the past five months elaborating the project’s approaches through intense collaborative work. One key element is the Design Thinking methodology, an innovative process for designing human-centred solutions to complex problems. Design Thinking shapes the way the project will co-construct concrete and forward thinking solutions to urban security challenges, notably in the framework of the workshops to be held further down the line.

IcARUS seeks innovation. Not only does this project aim at original solutions, but it also looks at innovation in the process of designing these solutions. For the project’s consortium, this is a true journey from start to finish. Indeed, rather than following traditional approaches, the project’s methodology, titled Design Thinking, brings innovation in the way partners interact and co-create in order to deliver the project’s outcomes. Design Thinking is a methodology used by some of the world’s leading innovative brands and is taught at prestigious universities. Through the application of this human-centred methodology to urban security approaches, IcARUS seeks to enhance multi-stakeholder cooperation and create solutions that meet the collective needs of citizens.  The IcARUS partners have been focusing on this methodology from the beginning of the project, delving into the theory and exploring ways to adopt it.

Shaping future training sessions and workshops

Now that the methodology is set, they can progress to a more practical stage. Among the latest developments, Design Thinking will shape all the workshops that are planned for the near future and the years ahead.  The consortium partners have received guidelines on how to conduct and participate in workshops with the Design Thinking method. In particular, the method will ensure that all involved stakeholders express their views, that solutions are co-created, and that the sessions are successfully managed in terms of practical needs. Thus the exercises that will be proposed to workshop participants, or the values to be shared among the facilitators reflect the Design Thinking main concepts and foster successful exchanges of ideas in order to co-create possible solutions to problems.

Co-creation is indeed the term and the concept that leads IcARUS in the months and years to come. This means that the whole consortium of academic partners and partners representing local authorities and urban security practitioners will start discussing issues, problems to be addressed, and will try to find innovative solutions together. This is indeed the time of doing, and the entire consortium has been given the necessary tools to start practicing with and experiencing the methodology. The IcARUS partners will participate in comprehensive training sessions on the Design Thinking method. They will have an opportunity to go beyond the theory and apply it, develop appropriate skills, and bring into play all the main concepts IcARUS revolves around.

Embracing discrepancy and difference

All this, from the defining of the methodology to the practical guidance for workshops, highly benefits the pool of partners, especially now that the consortium is ready to enter a more practical stage where contributions from each and every participant are greatly welcomed and valued. The diversity of actors within the consortium should and will most certainly favour the generation of innovative ideas, as much as stimulate divergence, contrast and disagreement. The next steps consist in fact in acquiring specific skills for embracing discrepancy and difference while thriving in it. This is indeed one of the main reasons why it is relevant for the consortium to start experiencing the methodology via practical sessions.

Crucially, the time spent these past few months in defining precisely how we’ll use the Design Thinking approach in our work will also benefit the wider community of stakeholders. IcARUS aims at innovation and its method encourages to see things from different viewpoints. The switch in perspectives is the concept which this approach hinges on: partners are inspired to analyse problems from a different angle. In doing so, it will be easier to deliver innovative solutions, especially in the long run. Such original results achieved via this challenging, yet exciting methodology will benefit urban security actors, urban designers, members of municipal administrations, law enforcement agencies, and otherstakeholders, including civil society actors.

Turin: Juvenile Delinquency is a priority

The city of Turin, represented by the Department of Technological Investigations of the local police, is particularly keen to explore juvenile delinquency through IcARUS, as it considers that it can escalate into more serious crime if left to fester.

At a time when Turin is increasing the resources it allocates to urban security and safety, the IcARUS project provides the city with a valuable opportunity to expand its expertise in this area and improve the way it implements its security policies and strategies. Indeed, IcARUS explores two important pillars, research and innovation, which the municipality considers fundamental to successfully implement urban security policies and strengthen its capacity to mitigate emerging security risks or threats, ensure the safety of residents and securing its urban spaces from threats such as organised crime or terrorist attacks.

Tackling juvenile delinquency

As a partner in IcARUS, the city of Turin, and in particular the Department of Technological Investigations of the local police, is working closely with Efus and all other European partners on its chosen focus priority area, which is juvenile delinquency. It is looking to research, map out and eventually design policies that will effectively curb the growing phenomena of juvenile delinquency. Why? Because juvenile delinquency can fuel other urban security threats, notably radicalisation. The city thus considers key to prevent youngsters from behaviours that, if left unanswered, could escalate into more serious crime. Through IcARUS, the city is keen to tackle juvenile crimes such as stalking, bullying, robbery or theft under the threat of violence, which are too often underreported.  

The municipality is confident that the IcARUS consortium will produce comprehensive evidence-based research and design innovative technological tools tailored to the needs and context of each partner city. These in turn will be useful to other European cities faced with similar security challenges.