Crowdsourcing the 2016 Olympic Legacy
Following the civic unrest that affected the World Cup the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, needed to find a proactive way to involve citizens in the preparation and planning of the Olympic Games, with the aim of delivering legacy projects to meet the needs of the population.
Working with Casa Digital, a leading Rio based digital agency, and in a bold change to the way in which government consultations are usually formed, the RIO government launched ‘The Agora Rio’. Named after the citizen gatherings in Ancient Greece and the birthplace of modern democracy, this Crowdicity based open innovation forum was opened to all of Rio’s citizens. This gave them the opportunity to put forward their views and ideas of what the city needed to ensure the long term benefits of hosting the Olympic Games.
In ancient Greece, people gathered to discuss city policies and in public squares, called Agoras. In the modern world, the internet is our Agora square and the river is the channel of the Rio City Hall to discuss how to make the city better! Our first challenge is to think together and discuss the legacy of the Games Rio 2016!
Crowdicity was requested by the Mayor of Rio after seeing the success of our work with the United Nations. His goal for the ‘Agora Rio’ was to create a continuous channel for debate and interaction, to maximise the participation of citizens in the policy-making process around the Olympic Legacy.
The Mayor’s first question was simple: “What should the legacy of the Olympics be to our city?” Feedback was encouraged on existing policy plans, and new ideas came in from all over the city, covering a number of important issues, including changes to infrastructure, roads, public transport and the Olympic village itself.
Ideas were submitted, reviewed, refined and rated by the community and shortlisted using the Crowdicity platform. 25 transformational ideas were distilled down and selected based on merit and popularity and placed into a working document. This was then formally reviewed by the Mayor and his leadership team in order to weave these ideas into practical policy delivery.
With the success of this Olympic legacy programme, Crowdicity has continued to be used in further citizen engagement projects in Rio and around the world.
