Current Projects

Evolv1 is Canada’s first commercial net-positive multitenant office building. The core research objectives of this interdisciplinary and multi-sector project are:

1. Explore how a Culture of Sustainability (CoS) develops over time and can be fostered.
2. Understand how the use of and experience in evolv1 changes over time and how this relates to wellbeing and organizational success.
3. Develop and evaluate a state-of-the art building management and feedback system.
4. Assess the impact and value of evolv1 on and for the local community.

EVOLV1: Closing the performance gap in high-performance green buildings by cultivating a culture of sustainability 

Co-Leads: Manuel Riemer, Joel Marcus, Simon Coulombe, Paul Parker, Noam Miller, Sean Geobey 

Project Manager: Brittany Spadafore 
 
Rationale and Objectives 
The building sector accounts for 40% of global energy use and 38% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and while green-certified buildings attempt to reduce the impacts of the building sector, these buildings tend to miss their emission and energy-use performance targets due to the “performance gap” (Fedoruk et al., 2015). The performance gap occurs when occupant interaction with the building is not sufficiently considered. This project leverages evolv1, Canada’s first commercial net-positive multi-tenant green office building, owned and operated by the Cora Group, to explore how a CoS develops and is fostered over time. The goal of this project is to develop, test, and commercialize a transferable evidence-based engagement strategy for the development of a culture of sustainability in green office buildings that can close the performance gap and help realize the full potential of green buildings, contribute to organizational success and support occupant wellbeing.  
 
What are we doing? 
Using evolv1 as a living lab, our team at VERiS is using a longitudinal mixed-method case study design to study the development of a CoS and its impacts on the performance of evolv1 and its occupants. Yearly surveys, a national comparison survey, focus groups, interviews with key informants, photovoice, workshops, behavioural observations, participant observations, as well as physical elements, such as sensor data, building data and waste audits are have been conducted to measure CoS, wellbeing outcomes and building performance over time.  
 
Current and Past Partners 

Private Sector Partners: 

Blackwell 
BOMA 
BorealisAI 
City of Waterloo 
Cora Group 
Eleven-X 
EY Canada 
Integral Group 
McKenzie-Mohr Consulting 
National Research Council 
Recollective 
Red Cedar PM Services Inc. 
REFOCUS 
Scius Innovations Inc. 
St. Paul’s Greenhouse 
Sustainable Societies Consulting Group 
Sustainable Waterloo Region 
TextNow 
The Accelerator Centre 
 
Institutional Partners: 
Wilfrid Laurier University 
University of Waterloo 
York University 
 
Funders 
Ontario Research Fund – Research Excellence (ORF-RE) 
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) - Partnership Development Grant (PEG) 
Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) – John Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) 
 
Publications 
Geobey, S. (2022). Reckoning with Reality : Reflections on a Place-Based Social Innovation Lab. Sustainability, 14(3958), 1–18. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/su14073958

Abel, E., Reimer-Watts, K., Riemer, M., Coulombe, S. (2022). The crossroads of sustainability and wellbeing: Investigating factors impacting employee wellbeing in a green office building [Manuscript in preparation]. Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University. 

Reimer-Watts, K., Abel, E., Coulombe, S. et al. Co-creating cultures of sustainability and co-imagining the teaching green building: the use of a participatory Photovoice process in a HPGB context. Sustain Earth 5, 2 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42055-022-00047-y

Dreyer, B. C., Riemer, M., Spadafore, B., Marcus, J., Fernandes, D., Taylor, A., ... & Dennett, A. (2021). Fostering cultures of sustainability in a multi-unit office building: a theory of change. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1569. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.624311
 
Under Development 
Spadafore, B., Riemer, M. (2022). Reducing meat consumption and the social setting [Manuscript in preparation]. Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University.  

Theriault-Loubier, G., Riemer, M., Spadafore, B., Geobey, S. (2022). The Complexity of Culture in Green Buildings; Syntax, Forms, Patterns and Context [Manuscript in preparation]. School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, University of Waterloo. 

Three additional papers related to Culture of Sustainability. 

Presentations 
Palaschuk, P. (2019, November). Exploring a new role of organizational culture in reducing carbon footprints. Presented at Behaviour, Energy & Climate Change 2019 Conference, Sacramento, CA. 

Riemer, M. (2019, November). Transitioning to highly sustainable office buildings: The role of occupants and managers. Presented at Behaviour, Energy & Climate Change 2019 Conference, Sacramento, CA. 

Reimer-Watts, K. (2019, June). The use of participatory arts-based symbolism to support a culture of sustainability. Paper presented at the 2019 Biennial Conference of the Society for Community, Research, and Action, Chicago, USA. 

Riemer, M., Harre, N., Pellman, J., & Trott, C. (2019, June). Community Psychology and cultures of sustainability. Roundtable presented at the 2019 Biennial Conference of the Society for Community, Research, and Action, Chicago, USA. 

Riemer, M., Harre, N., Trott, C., & Reimer-Watts, K. (2019, June). Creating Cultures of Sustainability Through Community and Organizational Partnerships. Case Study presented at the 2019 Biennial Conference of the Society for Community, Research, and Action, Chicago, USA. 

Riemer, M., Whitney, S., Dreyer, B., Coulombe, S., & Marcus, J. (2019, June). Creating a culture of sustainability in Canada’s first net-positive and carbon neutral multitenant office building.  Paper presented at the 2019 Biennial Conference of the Society for Community, Research, and Action, Chicago, USA. 

Spadafore, B. (2019, June). Reducing Meat Consumption: A group exploration into understanding what it takes to reduce the amount of meat you consume. Paper presented at the 2019 Biennial Conference of the Society for Community, Research, and Action, Chicago, USA. 

Parker, P. (2019, May) Collaboration for Change Zero Carbon or Low Carbon Buildings Presented at Canadian Society for Ecological Economics CANSEE  2019: Engaging Economies of Change Conference. Waterloo, ON. 

Whitney, S., Markvart, T., & Riemer, M. (2019, May) Creating Cultures of Sustainability within Green Office Buildings. Presented at Canadian Society for Ecological Economics CANSEE 2019: Engaging Economies of Change Conference. Waterloo, ON. 

Title: A Partnership for Addressing Equity and Justice within Municipal Climate Action Planning

Co-Leads: Manuel Riemer and Randy Sa’d

Funding: SSHRC Connection Grant, VERiS, City of Kitchener

Rationale and Objectives

Municipalities and other local authorities play a critical role in achieving the targets of the 2016 Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Many have already developed comprehensive corporate and/or community climate action plans (CAP) that lay out specific steps for reducing Greenhouse Gases (GHG) across sectors. There can be unintended consequences of these climate actions prioritized by municipalities on our societal and ecological systems, however, especially within already marginalized communities. Existing inequities may actually be made worse rather than reduced. In addition, the potential for impactful co-benefits of climate action (e.g. community ownership of local regenerative energy projects) is often not being realized. Now, municipalities, their stakeholders and partners are taking steps towards addressing sustainability justice more systematically, including rethinking approaches to strategic planning and creating opportunities to develop more sustainable and equitable communities. It is our goal to support them in identifying, testing, and scaling innovative approaches and tools.

What are we doing?

VERiS and its affiliated Flourishing Enterprise Institute (FEI) have initiated a partnership designed to address equity and accessibility gaps within municipal climate action planning through collaboration among four key stakeholder groups: Municipal actors, equity-seeking groups, academics, and (social) innovators. The initial group of partners established recently received a highly ranked Connection Grant from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

For the purpose of developing a strong and diverse partnership within Canada and internally VERiS will be hosting a series of three virtual 90-minute workshops featuring keynote presentations, panel discussions, and breakout discussions this fall. Participants will have the opportunity to provide input and feedback, and engage with other partners by leveraging an online engagement platform.

The workshops seek to:

1. Exchange knowledge, identify gaps and barriers to the integration of sustainability justice into municipal climate action plans and establish how to tap into the strengths of existing organizational networks
2. Explore how innovative and more holistic management approaches and tools can be applied to change the way city planning is generally practiced, creating the potential for a more fundamental shift towards more integrated, holistic and inclusive thinking
3. Assess the potential and lay the foundation for a joint longitudinal multi-case and multi-national research program focused on exemplary case studies and innovative approaches

These workshops will identity a potential shared research focus, create a general approach for a joint research program, and generate the structure for a learning community designed to facilitate ongoing exchange, co-learning, and collaboration. Ultimately, this exchange is intended to set the foundation for the launch of a long-term applied research program led and supported by a diverse collective of committed partners.

Current and Past Partners

Municipal Actors

• Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention
• Canadian Urban Sustainability Practitioners
• City of Kitchener
• City of Thunder Bay
• City of Toronto
• Clean Air Partnership
• Climate Action Waterloo Region
• District of Ucluelet
• Dufferin County
• ICLEI
• REEP Green Solutions
• Region of Peel
• Regional Municipality of Durham
• Sustainable Waterloo Region

Equity Seeking Groups

• ABC Network of Waterloo Region
• Agirre Lehendakaria Center
• Canadian Centre on Disability Studies Inc. o/a Eviance
• David Suzuki Foundation
• Future Ancestors Services Inc.
• Kinbridge Community Association
• North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre
• Progress Toronto
• Sustainability Through an Inclusive Lens
• The Integrated Community Development Group

Academics

• Balsillie School of International Affairs
• Colgate University
• Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
• Georgian College
• Humber College
• Macalester College, Department of Environmental Studies
• McMaster University
• OCAD University
• Ryerson University
• Tufts University
• University of Auckland, School of Psychology
• University of Groningen
• University of Toronto
• University of Waterloo
• Viessmann Centre for Research and Engagement in Sustainability
• Wilfrid Laurier University

Innovators

• Centre for Sustainable Organizations
• Co-operative Enterprises
• EIT Climate-KIC
• Flourishing Enterprise Institute
• FlourishX
• Green Beacon
• International WELL Building Institute
• Kennedy Consulting
• Local2Global Solutions
• McConnell Foundation
• r3.0 
• Shareable.net
• The Roots Collaborative
• Transformation by Design

Title: Measuring and Monitoring City and Municipal Level GHG Emissions and Mitigation Effectiveness (NZap)

PI: Amelia Clark, University of Waterloo

VERiS Co-Investigator(s) - Manuel Riemer

Funding: Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Rationale and Objectives

The project mobilizes a multi-disciplinary collaborative of 11 universities, 9 national organizations and 10 municipalities to advance measurement and monitoring tools needed to reduce GHG emissions at the local level and a national monitoring system for community scale contributions. A link between municipal and federal emissions reductions efforts will remain absent without the undertaking of this project. The urgency for this collaboration is reflected in the nearly 50% leveraged contributions.   
Practitioners and researchers are combined in working groups and sounding boards to:
1. Determine the current state of GHG emission reduction targets, measurement, monitoring and planning in Canadian municipalities.
2. Advance standardized measurement systems and tools that can also be used to identify mitigation opportunities and further social equity.
3. Enhance municipal emissions monitoring and disclosure tools.
4. Enhance community-wide emissions measuring and monitoring and ensure equitable, diverse and inclusive engagement.
5. Mobilize knowledge resources and tools to diverse audiences using accessible and inclusive formats.

What are we doing?

The main goal of this project is to support Canadian municipalities to monitor, measure and achieve their greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation goals. The ultimate aim is to ensure emissions reduction projects, policies and programs are aligned with Canada's national reduction commitments. The proposed project will study and create improved measurement, analysis and monitoring systems for both municipal and community-wide GHG emissions to advance the quantification of GHG emissions, enable the application of methods to identify mitigation opportunities and evaluate their effectiveness. This will augment national reporting processes and align with international practice.   
 The project's objectives are essentially:  
1. Determine the current state of GHG emission reduction targets, measurement, monitoring and planning in Canadian municipalities;  
2. Advance standardized measurement systems and tools that can also be used to identify mitigation opportunities and further social equity;  
3. Enhance municipal emissions monitoring and disclosure tools;  
4. Enhance community-wide emissions measuring and monitoring and ensure equitable, diverse and inclusive engagement; and  
5. Mobilize knowledge resources and tools to diverse audiences using accessible and inclusive formats, and evaluate uptake.    
For each of the objectives, a dedicated technical working group composed of academics, national municipal networks, and municipal representatives will help to shape the research and refine guides and tools and other outputs/deliverables. Four sounding boards made up of people from national organizations, universities, and municipalities will ensure the knowledge resources embed the latest thinking and are grounded in practice. Project objectives will be paired with a set of performance indicators within a performance measurement framework and logic model to be finalized in the inception phase of the project. 

Title: Decolonizing and Transforming the Engagement of Indigenous and Black Peoples within Municipal Planning in Kitchener

PI: Cheryl TeeLucksingh, Toronto Metropolitan University

Co-Applicants - Migel Sioui, Manuel Riemer

Funding: SSHRC Connection Grant

Rationale and Objectives

The goal for this project is to set the foundation for a long-term collaborative process designed to reconcile Kitchener’s colonial past, establish a foundation of trust between the City and community, and create the possibility of an equitable and inclusive future for all. Reconciling the past and developing better approaches to building the future represents a complex challenge that requires collaboration and drawing on the diverse knowledges that exist within our communities. 
The aim of this project was to host a virtual workshop series (2 three-hour workshops) to understand better decolonization and settler colonial relations in municipal planning among multiple stakeholders (academics, municipal actors, Indigenous and Black community organizations, and innovation actors). The goal of the workshop series was to learn and co-create with knowledge holders and build knowledge about strategies to decolonize in municipal engagement using the City of Kitchener as a test location.  
In this project we seeked to engage with all partners through the proposed braided approach, which integrates the strengths of Indigenous, Black and other forms of knowledge, and shift mental models (worldviews) and cultural myths through a decolonization process. Decolonization as part of broader systems change is key to introducing new knowledge and new innovations into the organizational structure and practices of municipalities. The project is informed by postcolonial theory, Indigenous and Black geographies, and Indigenous Knowledge (IK) to redress the invisibility of Indigenous and Black legacies within urban and municipal spaces. 

What are we doing?
Enabling reconciliation and a long-term process of decolonization requires establishing trust and mutual understanding. For this purpose, we had the following workshop objectives: 
1. Developing strong relationships between African, Black, Caribbean (ABC), and Indigenous communities and City of Kitchener staff through dialogue, exchange, and shared learning. 
2. Introducing the participants to the Indigenous approach of Two-Eyed Seeing as a way of collaboratively leveraging two or more perspectives and/or types of knowledge (e.g., Indigenous, Black, and Western knowledge). 
3. Examining the criteria for new community and City of Kitchener relationships that differ from the past by applying learnings from the Two-Eyed Seeing approach and other knowledge to be shared at the workshops to create new frameworks for engagement. 

The first workshop featured Indigenous speaker and facilitator Mary Anne Caibaiosai, an Anishnaabe elder and veteran water walker. She shared her knowledge of and experience with the Two-Eyed seeing approach and actively engaged the participants in leveraging the approach to support building new and stronger relationships between participants.  
The second workshop allowed the participants to apply the insights from the first workshop to collaboratively develop a new framework for engagement. Through a facilitated process the participants identified key dimensions and principles of this framework.  
After a lengthy period of planning, we conducted two workshops in early 2023. Currently, we are in the final phase of the knowledge mobilization activities.  

Title: Enabling Resilience by Adapting Municipal Strategic Management Practices in Response to Complexity

PI: Sean Geobey, University of Waterloo

Co-Applicants: Manuel Riemer, Peter Jones

Collaborator: Randy Sa’d

Funding: SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant

Rationale and Objectives

Global challenges such as the climate crisis, inflation, COVID-19, state conflicts and human migration have reached the 'doorsteps' of Canadian municipalities. These challenges, which are emerging at an accelerating rate with growing complexity have exposed the insufficiency of traditional municipal strategic management and planning approaches. As municipal governments aim to develop long-term resilience, equity, and sustainability, it is necessary to recognize conventional management practices were not designed for the complexity of the challenges emerging. Consequently, municipal leaders require more sophisticated, evidence-based strategic management knowledge, tools and methods as well as the capabilities to apply these effectively. Currently, there is a significant gap in the availability of tested approaches designed to enable senior leaders to translate abstract systemic models into concrete practical ways of adapting strategic management practices at a localized, organizational level. The goal of this proposal is to study the second phase of a promising approach, Enterprise Evolution  
(EE), currently being implemented by the City of Kitchener. Building upon the successful SSHRC-funded collaborative investigation of Phase 1, the partnership, composed of our research team, the City of Kitchener, and a co-developer of EE (REFOCUS), is especially interested in studying the co-production and capacity building process at the core of Phase 2. Our objectives are to: 
1. Gain critical insight into the process and organizational dynamics of EE's co-production approach with the City of Kitchener as a form of social learning; 
2. Investigate the experience of key actors (City leaders, staff, consultants) involved in implementing the EE approach relative to stated intentions and expectations, including adaptions they developed in the face of challenges;  
3. Identify key success factors in the organizational development and systems change process, with a specific focus on the dynamic interaction of EE's guiding theory of change, the co-production approach, the City's specific context, and key actors; 
4. Develop clear recommendations for developing the next iteration of the approach to be applied through the scaling of EE to other municipalities. 

What are we doing?

Given our interest in investigating complex organizational change processes and the dynamics of co-production in the context of this case study, we are drawing from three relevant theoretical orientations: processual approach, system theory, and co-production theory. Together, these theories provide a sophisticated lens to extract general success factors and processes as well as unique contextual factors critical in generating transferable knowledge from a case study. This project employs an applied research and developmental evaluation approach using a mixed-method action case study as the research design.  
Specific methods include key informant interviews with municipal leaders and staff and REFOCUS facilitators involved in the co-production transformation process of Phase 2, journaling, document review, and a municipal peer exchange meeting. Our partnership is drawing from a broad range of already engaged relevant regional, national and global networks, to mobilize knowledge co-developed to the thousands of municipal members globally that they collectively serve. 
At this stage, data collection is complete and we are in the knowledge mobilization phase.

Title: Expanding a Knowledge Network for Flourishing Organizations

PI: Manuel Riemer, Wilfrid Laurier University

Co-Applicants: Peter Jones, Sean Geobey

Collaborator: Mark McElroy, Antony Upward, Nicole Norris, Pourya Salehi, Exmond DeCruz, Bill Baue, Randy Sa'd

Project Leads: Randy Sa’dand Tim Posselt

Funding: SSHRC Connection Grant and Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA), and Conestoga College

Rationale and Objectives

From the COVID-19 pandemic to social unrest and the climate emergency, senior leaders are finding themselves responding to polycrises due to accelerating change and a widening range of complex, interconnected challenges. To this date, however, there are only limited generally accepted tools and theories for managing effective responses to high levels of complexity. In response, a diverse and connected community of innovation-focused researchers and management professionals have combined scientific knowledge with innovative management approaches grounded in systems-thinking to develop Systemic Management Innovations (SMIs). SMIs include new knowledge, methods and tools designed to match the increasing complexity leaders face and support achieving a sustainable and just future.  
 
In 2019, a core group of these researchers, innovators and management professionals founded the Flourishing Enterprise Institute (FEI), and in doing so, transitioned from an informal community of practice to an established research and innovation institute. The FEI is dedicated to catalyzing the development and mobilization of Systemic Management Innovations (SMIs) by facilitating transdisciplinary applied research in the field and widely disseminating new knowledge. With a growing recognition among private, public, and non-profit organizational leaders for the need to adapt management practices towards systemic approaches, the development of the FEI has come to a critical juncture. The opportunity has emerged for the FEI to shift from a niche community of professionals collectively focused on developing the next generation of management innovation, to one with a broad appeal and the potential to penetrate the mainstream. By focusing on widely and more effectively mobilizing knowledge to new audiences, the FEI has the potential to capture this opportunity and with it, generate a far greater impact.  

What are we doing?

Our team has designed a comprehensive outreach strategy with the following specific objectives:  

1. Strengthen and expand our network by connecting with new audiences of researchers, innovators and practitioners, and further establishing the FEI by implementing membership and recognition structures, soliciting new partners, affiliates and fellows, and securing additional network nodes (e.g., in Sweden, Germany and Mexico).
2. Create knowledge-focused content (e.g., case studies, scoping reviews, knowledge and policy briefs, practical tools) by synthesizing existing research that is valuable to our network and the field of SMIs, and profiling research conducted by the FEI as well as network members.  
3. Expand outreach and build community through increased programming across a range of complementary forms of media designed to more effectively engage new and more diverse audiences (community meetings, website development, conference presentations, webinars, social media posts, blogs, videos, etc.). 

Title: Enabling Sustainable Management through Systemic Innovation

PI: Vlad Toma, Conestoga Collage

Co-Applicants: Tim Posselt and Randy Sa’d (FEI)

Collaborator: Manuel Riemer (VERiS)

Funding: Conestoga New and Emerging Researcher Grant (CNERG)


Rationale and Objectives

Our society is grappling with numerous interconnected challenges such as climate change, income inequality, and global health crises, reflecting our unsustainable lifestyle. This has led to increasing catastrophic events and future planning uncertainty. Conventional management methods, designed for simpler times, are ill-equipped to handle this complexity.

Emerging disruptive tools and methods, known as Systemic Management Innovations (SMIs), apply systems thinking to strategic management. Unlike conventional short-term, financially focused practices, SMIs enable leaders to understand their organization and environment as complex systems. This approach supports the development of management practices that integrate all success factors, adapt rapidly in decision-making, and share power equitably with stakeholders. These practices are better equipped to handle societal issues and contribute to a more sustainable world.

Organizations, facing similar challenges, can benefit from SMIs through the Enterprise Evolution Program developed by REFOCUS and the Flourishing Enterprise Institute. This program helps organizations identify, select, and tailor SMIs to their unique needs. REFOCUS has been working with the City of Kitchener for the past three years to apply SMIs and develop a strategic plan. This experience has revealed a market opportunity for REFOCUS to enhance the Enterprise Evolution Program and its marketing, leading to the proposed CNERG+ project with the following objectives.

1. Developing an Enhanced Enterprise Evolution Concept, including the formulation of coherent program principles, characteristics and objectives based on experience gained serving clients over the past three years, findings from the related and extensive academic research conducted on these client engagements, and other literature.
2. Compiling a Comprehensive Repository of SMIs, including developing of a formalized framework for categorizing SMIs, identifying and profiling relevant SMIs, and securing the support of innovators to represent their innovations as SMIs.
3. Developing an Updated Service Offering, including an introductory webinar/seminar, training and coaching options, and co-productive program facilitation.
4. Mobilization of Results and Promotional Activities, including the publication of project results (Enterprise evolution concept white paper, website, brochure, video, etc.), creating opportunities for mobilizing results through networks of SMIs and NGOs, etc., and presenting results at conferences, webinars, blog posts, etc.

What are we doing?

The project employs a Design Science-based research methodology, a problem-solving approach that combines scientific principles with creative design methods to develop innovative solutions. This methodology is not confined to creating information systems but can be applied across various domains to create new artifacts, systems, or processes. The project follows three iterative stages:

1. Problem Identification and Definition: This stage involves identifying a specific problem or need and defining it clearly by understanding the context, stakeholders, and their requirements.
2. Design and Development: This stage brings forward a solution or artifact to address the identified problem. It involves applying scientific principles, existing knowledge, and creative design techniques to develop the solution.
3. Evaluation and Communication: This stage assesses the effectiveness and utility of the designed artifact through evaluation methods. Once validated, the results are communicated to relevant stakeholders, promoting knowledge dissemination and potential further iterations for improvement.

Title: Design Impact on Social Power: A Study of Open Innovation Platforms and Marginalized Resident Groups

PI: Timon Sengewald (ACM SIGMIS Member) – FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany

Co-Applicants: Tim Posselt – FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany, Manuel Riemer – Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada

Funding: Association of Information Systems SIGMIS

Rationale and Objectives

This research proposal focuses on the transformation of cities into “smart cities” over the past two decades. Municipalities are leveraging digital technologies to enhance services, foster citizen participation in decision-making, and improve urban life. However, questions arise about the equitable distribution of these benefits, with concerns that certain groups may be disadvantaged, while others, such as private companies, may gain more influence.

The proposal also explores the introduction of open innovation platforms in some municipalities, aiming to increase cooperation within the city. These platforms, exemplified by the Amsterdam Smart City initiative, facilitate collaboration among citizens to address mutual challenges. However, the research also acknowledges potential shortcomings and risks, such as the marginalization of certain resident groups and the shift in power balance among residents. The proposed research aims to investigate these issues further.

1. How do key dimensions of social power relate to the system design features of an
open innovation platform? 
2. How can intentional considerations of social power be utilized to reduce power differentials among social groups by actively promoting social inclusion of traditionally marginalized voices?

What are we doing?

We will use a single case study design to answer the research questions.
Phase 1 we will do a literature review to develop a framework of how different
dimensions of power relate to digital technologies used in open innovation platforms.
Phase 2 this framework will be used to conduct an analysis of social power within one
specific exemplary open innovation platform.
Phase 3 concludes with qualitative interviews with users from four potentially marginalized groups within the selected online platform from Phase 2 as well as experts representing these groups: For the qualitative part of the study, we plan to interview people belonging or advocating of four
different marginalized groups:

1. Seniors,
2. People experiencing homelessness,
3. People with disabilities and
4. Immigrants and refugees.

While there are other marginalized groups to be considered, some of which differ among countries, we have selected these four because they tend to be present in all countries.