Connecting cities Building successes

URBACT Local Support Group (ULSG) is paying off handsomely for Torino. Thanks to active ULSG measures, the Chamber of Commerce of Torino has announced it will fund a 100,000 € investment to create a web platform that will promote local markets and test innovative new market services.

Engaging the different stakeholders involved in URBACT projects, whatever their nature, is a key success factor to successful implementation and buy-in from interested parties. That’s one of the guiding principles in the URBACT way.

Torino, one of the partners in the URBACT Markets Project which aims to harness the power of markets to regenerate city centres, create employment and leverage local supply chains, is obviously perfecting the art of inclusion to its maximum with a process they call the Torino Method.

The Torino Method

Firstly, URBACT project leaders identify the people and organizations with an interest in the issue at hand, those that have a role in markets, or people with ideas for the particular aspect of market management at issue. The result is a stakeholder meeting for between 5 and 8 people, with 2 to 3 of these usually facilitators.
Stakeholders range from the Chamber of Commerce, shoppers, local administration’s service providers, residents, regional commerce representatives and market traders, amongst others.

The stakeholder meeting follows a set process: facilitators use a flipchart to note down concrete ideas as they develop throughout the meeting, with the first point at hand giving an overview of the particular topic being discussed as it was in the past. The stakeholders move on to talk about the present, paying special attention to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the current state of the situation and how important these might be. Again, these are all documented on a flip chart as they crop up. The next step is usually the most creative as stakeholders brainstorm the future of the issue, generating ideas that could help improve the situation.

Above all, the process aims for simplicity and buy-in on central issues. These are summed up in a short document highlighting the date and time of the meeting, the participants, an analysis of the current situation with strengths and weaknesses, and ideas for the future.  These minutes are being collected by Torino’s URBACT External Expert and they will be presented at a plenary meetings stakeholders during the course of the URBACT Project, with the participation of politicians responsible for commerce, trade and markets and also members of the press.

Read more:

• URBACT Markets – website

Steven Guest
URBACT Markets Communication Officer