Civic Design Tools for Participation

What you'll learn
Apply Civic Design methodologies to solve urban and social challenges while fostering Collective Intelligence.
Design and implement civic projects that improve urban life through active citizen engagement.
Develop participation strategies that genuinely involve communities in decision-making and transformation processes.
Establish and apply criteria to evaluate social, economic, and environmental impact of civic initiatives.
Requirements
No formal prerequisites: the course is designed for mixed backgrounds and you'll learn by doing.
Bring curiosity, openness to uncertainty, and a real-world case (even a small one) to apply the work.
You only need a computer, stable internet, and a willingness to collaborate and document your learning.
Description
This course contains the use of artificial intelligenceWhat you'll learnMaster the Civic Design Method: Learn the 4-phase Circular Process (Situate, Socialize, Co-design, Implement) to structure effective urban and social projects.Activate Collective Intelligence: Move beyond traditional "participation washing" and surveys to facilitate genuine co-creation and distributed governance.Use Professional Tools: Master the Civic Design Toolkit, including the Collective Intelligence Canvas, the Co-Design Canvas, and the Civic Scope Matrix.Become a Civic Designer: Understand the role of the "connector" and "facilitator" who operates between public institutions, private sectors, and local communities.Design Hybrid ("Phygital") Ecosystems: Learn how to integrate physical spaces with digital layers to ensure inclusivity, transparency, and broader reach.Unlock the Power of the Commons: Shift your focus from "Public vs. Private" to the "Commons" (Procomunes), empowering communities to care for shared resources.Transparency Note: AI & Original ContentThis course has been developed with the support of Artificial Intelligence. Please note that while the materials are an AI-assisted translation of the original Spanish version, all content, methodologies, and frameworks are the original intellectual property of International Expert Domenico Di Siena. This edition allows English-speaking professionals to access the author's authentic Civic Design method directly.Course DescriptionAre you tired of "Participation Washing"?You know the feeling: endless meetings, walls covered in post-its, and "listening sessions" that lead nowhere. Traditional urban planning and social innovation often fail because they treat citizens as passive consumers rather than active producers of their territory.It's time to change the approach. Welcome to Civic Design.This course is not just a theoretical exploration; it is a "Battle Manual" for architects, urban planners, public servants, and social innovators who want to make a real impact.Civic Design is an emerging professional discipline that bridges the gap between the rigid structures of institutions and the fluid, organic energy of citizens. It focuses on designing processes, not just solutions, to activate the Collective Intelligence of a territory.In this course, you will learn:The Mindset: Why we need to move from "Participation" (voting on predefined options) to "Collective Intelligence" (co-creating new solutions).The Methodology: A deep dive into the Circular Process, a non-linear framework that adapts to the complexity of real-world projects:Situate: Understand the context and identify the real problem (not the symptom).Socialize: Connect with actors and build trust before designing.Co-Design: Use the Co-Design Canvas to facilitate collaborative workshops that generate actionable proposals.Implement: Prototype and build with the community to ensure sustainability.The Toolkit: Practical training on how to use the Civic Scope Matrix to map actors and prioritize actions, and the Collective Intelligence Canvas to plan your resources and strategy.The Future of Cities: Explore concepts like the Glocal dimension (global connectivity + local action), Digital Urbanism, and the Hybridization of physical and digital spaces to create resilient communities.Who is the Instructor?I am Domenico Di Siena, a Civic Designer with over 20 years of experience. I have consulted for the United Nations, the Inter-American Development Bank, and city governments from Paris to Buenos Aires. I created this methodology because I realized that the problem isn't a lack of will, it's a lack of tools. This course gives you those tools.Join the movement. Stop designing for the people and start designing with them.Who this course is for:Architects and Urban Planners who want to expand their practice beyond physical design into social process design.Public Servants and Technicians looking for new ways to engage with citizens and manage public policies effectively.Social Innovators and Activists seeking professional tools to structure their projects and increase their impact.Students of design, sociology, or political science interested in the intersection of territory, technology, and society.RequirementsNo prior experience in urban planning is required.An open mind and a willingness to challenge traditional "top-down" hierarchies.A desire to work collaboratively and embrace complexity.
Who this course is for
For public sector professionals and civic practitioners who need practical ways to design participation that leads to real decisions and action.
For designers, researchers, and community builders who want to apply design to governance, commons, and collective intelligence in real places.
For people creating civic spaces and digital tools who want to connect hybrid (online/offline) engagement with trust, inclusion, and collaboration.
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