1. Learning Playbook - Summary

The Learning Playbook captures the lessons learned about adapting the Participatory City approach, and offers practical guidance on how to build participatory ecosystems in new places and contexts.

The playbook aims to:

• highlight essential components needed to develop a framework that supports a participatory platform at the neighbourhood level, while also considering an appreciative approach building upon the strengths and connections that exist in each place. • bring together various tangible learning materials into one comprehensive learning tool that can be referenced as a supportive guide to delivering this kind of approach. • work both on a practical level and a theoretical one, describing the reasoning behind certain methodologies and tools for building participatory, hands-on projects, and the need for engagement in a community at all levels. • focus on how teams can work together to embody the principles of participatory culture, guiding new potential teams across the world.

The Playbook is based upon the groundwork of the Every One Every Day initiative in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham, and further augmented with the learning and insights from the prototypes in Toronto, Halifax and Montreal. This year of adapting the Participatory City approach in Canada has been an incredible learning opportunity, as the approach continues to be developed and improved with each iteration. The three Canadian teams’ reflections have significantly shaped the Learning Playbook and as they consider how best to support future neighbourhood teams launch their own social R&D testing of a participatory platform.