Objectives

The aim of the pilot in Houten, Netherlands, has been to improve matchmaking between unemployed citizens who are at distance from the labour market and employers who are willing to employ these vulnerable job seekers. This is in order to increase citizen participation in the community of Houten – as part of the local program of participation and inclusion.

Learnings

• Co-creation contributes to the understanding of public service representatives regarding the complexity of the current social system: “Despite all my good intentions, I discovered that in the end I was fulfilling our agenda not the agenda of the citizens. In fact, I did not even know what their agenda was! I missed the broader perspective and the person as a whole.”
• At the same time, many local policies are still ‘top down’ oriented. Realizing the above goals takes time: “The idea of co-creation is contrary to ‘forcing people to meet certain deadlines’. By putting the emphasis on deadlines you undermine the opportunity for an equal partnership with citizens.”
• Application of ICT (systems, apps, block chain) offers opportunities to reduce system complexities.