LabGov — Laboratory for the Governance of the Commons � Michel Bauwens and Christian Iaione
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Christian Iaione
This really depends on the local context. In my opinion, people are what matters the most, and the best entry point is always to find the people or group who believe in change, and in doing things better by pushing the boundaries of institutional innovation. You need people with around-the-clock commitment beyond their official duty both to the community, the institution and to excellence. You always have to take into account that public officials are likely to be very cautious, since changing one thing tends to impact other things. Innovation is not the result of revolution, but it’s quiet, not necessarily slow, but difficult and involves a continuous negotiation process. This is something that you have to ‘figure out on the ground’. If you manage to implement change with the public administration rather than using political drivers, your change is much more likely to be permanent. There are some good examples about how public collaboration and commons-oriented local governance schemes are taking place. Florence is one example where collaboration has been seeded in several institutions and projects that the city is already running. The new mayor and new commissioners have already shown interest in expanding the reach of a collaborative approach within the city government. Moreover, a growing community of innovators is working in Italy to foster collaborative practices, sharing economy and social innovation. One example is the Sharing School that was held from 23 to 26 of January 2015 in Matera, the 2019 European Capital of Culture.
Michel Bauwens
What else are you working on? What are your long-term goals?
Christian Iaione
We are talking about a cultural shift. The new governance model proposed is a new way for us to relate to almost everything, from economy to society as a whole and to other people, in other words: our vision of the world changes. Whether this cultural paradigm takes expression in sharing a car, or caring about where