2022 Award "Best Practice in Citizen Participation"
16th Edition
Escuela de Participación e Innovación Ciudadana de Alcobendas (É.P.I.C.A.) - School of Citizen Participation and Innovation of Alcobendas
The School of Citizen Participation and Innovation of Alcobendas (É.P.I.C.A.) was born from the Department of Citizen Participation and Cooperation in May 2020, in a scenario that led to its digital launch, as a commitment to participation, the relationship with citizens and collaboration.
The most important objectives of the School are:
- Offer a participatory space for continuous training.
- Promote collaborative knowledge, involving citizens, associations and groups in its generation.
- Promote social exchanges through the transmission of knowledge among citizens, with the commitment to socially responsible innovation.
- Encourage a community, critical and participatory sense of empowerment and co-responsibility of citizens.
ÉPICA facilitates training experiences for citizens, groups, associations and institutions, offering a training space with criteria and characteristics such as: group work and collaborative learning, promotion of participation, inclusion, variety of formats and duration of the courses, their free nature, non-expiry, etc.
ÉPICA is postulated as an engine of innovation, aspiring to build a model that converts information and knowledge into participation and commitment to transforming action in the city.
The School has been developed in two phases: a first as Digital EPIC (May 2020), with the publication of pilot training pills of institutional initiative, and the subsequent call for courses with citizen, associative and municipal involvement; and a second phase, with the launch of ÉPICA Presencial (April 2022).
In total, 17 training experiences have been developed with contents of participation, associationism, cooperation, sustainability, awareness, personal enrichment, etc., which have been well received, with a total of 406 students today.
The contents and courses can be programmed by the Department for Participation itself, by other areas, requested by citizens or offered by associations and municipal entities, in a continuous participatory planning coordinated with the Subdirectorate.
Therefore, there is the involvement of different social and institutional agents, both in the proposal of training actions and in their design and development. Of those offered, several have been created by associations and NGDOs, other municipal areas and residents of the municipality, who have selflessly offered their knowledge and participated in the development of content.
In this way, in addition to the students, there are different roles of participants:
- Generator of ideas, who proposes and devises training experiences.
- Collaborator, who proposes the action and collaborates in its development.
- Citizen Participation: development of courses and contents, design, assembly, evaluation, etc.
With a spirit of updating and continuous improvement, the evaluation of ÉPICA is carried out permanently, through questionnaires for students, periodic general reviews and direct assessment of the participants in the generation of training actions.
As a next step, when further filming of ÉPICA allows it, it is planned to hold, in a citizen review and co-creation phase, annual Forums to evaluate and incorporate improvements in the School in a participatory way.
More information:
https://www.alcobendas.org/es/participacion/epica
This proposal has been accepted because:
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