SMALL keeps going big! From 9 to 12 October, project partners came together for a four-day meeting to share progress, explore challenges and opportunities, and jointly discuss all things inclusive shared mobility. Here is a recap.
From world cafés and cycling tours...
The partner meeting kicked off with an informal networking event where partners from various backgrounds, along with local mobility practitioners, gathered to discuss the SMALL project and urban mobility. The evening provided a conducive environment for networking and sharing ideas.
The first official day of the partner meeting focused on sharing the progress of the pilot projects, reviewing the co-creation journey, and the initial challenges encountered in establishing inclusive shared mobility solutions.
Through an exciting 'world café' format, partners were able to present their pilot projects and engage in valuable discussions. Some key takeaways from this session included:
- The need for a tidy and safe shared mobility system for elderly users.
- Challenges faced by pilots in receiving honest user feedback, due to users' fear of the service shutting down as a result;
- Insights from cities such as Amsterdam, where paratransit usage was compared to public transport and its implications.
Organised by the Capital Region of Denmark, a cycling tour was offered to partners as a way to experience Copenhagen's cycling infrastructure and learn more about their own pilot. The journey covered over 12 kilometres, showcasing Copenhagen's cycling superhighways, the history of public shared bike systems, and iconic cycling bridges.
After the tour, partners formed teams and engaged in challenges designed to provide insights into the perspectives of the project's target user groups. This experimental approach allowed partners to gain a deeper understanding of the mobility needs of different users, resulting in valuable lessons learned for future project developments.
...to co-creation workshops and cross-pilot discussions
The second day featured a workshop on co-creation and planning future user engagement events, led by Ghent University and VU Amsterdam. Partners reflected on their progress in co-creation, identified barriers, and planned engagement activities through a unique card-based approach, which was essential for creating coherent plans as next steps.
The last session resulted in a cross-pilot discussion organised by Rupprecht Consult, which aimed at understanding the local contexts in which new mobility solutions were being developed. The discussion revolved around several key topics, such as the responsibility for supplying special forms of shared mobility, infrastructure needs and challenges, and more. Partners had the opportunity to share insights, challenges, and the need for effective communication and marketing strategies.
Interreg NSR projects come together
But that was not all! Beyond the Partner Meeting, several SMALL partners remained for an exciting joint workshop with theActive Cities project, a fellow Interreg North Sea Region (NSR) project focusing on increasing active mobility in North Sea cities through a combination of urban planning, multimodality and social innovations. Each project presented its mission and allowed partners to discuss the differences and similarities in their approach, and how to collaborate in future activities.
Stay tuned to find out more about SMALL's progress and how we will create a more accessible and inclusive shared mobility landscape for all.