Innovation-in-Europes-Cities_Bloomberg-Mayors-Challenge1

WinnersKirklees425,517Population (2012)0.95%Population growth per annum(2001-2012)€23,160GDP per capita (2013)1.26%Annual GDP growth (2003-2013)Winning proposalEnglishOfficial languageIndirectlyelected mayor(one-year term)Metropolitan governanceComoodle: a municipal platformto collaboratively share public andprivate resourcesComoodle is a comprehensive platform designedto disrupt the traditional economy in Kirklees,United Kingdom by allowing private, municipaland NGO assets and skills to be shared. Thescheme is an extension of a wider sharedeconomy movement. It includes various privatesector and community-based initiatives, andrepositions the local authority as a facilitatorrather than simply as a provider of services.Collaborative consumption is imagined as a wayof making better use of municipal resources, andencouraging citizens and businesses to solvelocal problems, reducing demand on increasinglylimited tax resources.The UK government wants to become a leader inthe sharing economy and has recently launcheda review to better understand how to be part ofa booming market. The annual global sharingeconomy is expected to grow from €12 billionin 2014 to €300 billion by 2025. Initiatives likeAirbnb, Uber and Hailo have caused controversybecause of their disruptive impact on traditionaloperating systems. Governments have tried toupdate policy to either legalise or ban sharingservices while several countries have left it to thecourts to decide. Unlike French and German cities,UK local governments have generally chosen notto oppose ride and house-sharing services, allowingopportunities for the sharing economy to grow.VisionKirklees is a metropolitan borough in the northof England made up of three towns and severalvillages. The city council intends to be oneof the first urban areas in the UK to build acomprehensive public sharing platform. Accordingto Kirklees’ Innovation Hub Project Officer DuggsCarre, “We are, as an authority, quite ambitious.”Being a winner alongside major European citiesconfirms that smaller towns have an innovationrole to play, too. Kirklees believes that a singlemunicipal platform will not only help to sharesurplus public and private resources, but will alsobuild a sense of community. For the platform tosucceed, it “needs to be everybody sharing andputting some equity in,” says Cath Bottomley, Headof Area Working and Safety, Kirklees Council.ImpactFor Kirklees, Comoodle will encourage citizensto use public assets like tools or buildings tolook after and improve public spaces or providecommunity support services that are increasinglyoutside budget capacity. Carre says, “We knewwe were trying to do something quite brave anddifferent. It’s quite difficult to know what impactit’s ultimately going to have.” A collaborativeconsumption platform at a municipal level mayhelp citizens and businesses to tap into the benefitsof agglomeration more easily, whilst simultaneouslytesting an economic model that may limit the needto accumulate. Carre believes that the disruptivequalities of Comoodle will ultimately benefittraditional businesses by increasing demand fortheir services.ImplementationIt will take three years to have full city coveragefor Comoodle. Kirklees will provide a criticalmass of physical resources, while citizens, NGOsand businesses will also need to contribute these,plus their time and/or skills. A time-bank allowsopportunities for trade through virtual paymentin instances where services or assets cannot beprocured or provided for free. While user trustand reputation will limit abuse, Kirklees is alsoengaging with new partners to overcome insuranceand regulatory issues. However, the team struggledmost with a non-technical aspect of implementation:branding. Kirklees outsourced the branding to anagency that came up with the name and helpedspeed up the process. Carre says the name thecouncil came up with, ‘Kirklees Shares’ “wasn’ta strong enough brand to sell to the public orultimately internationally which is where we wantthis to go.”TransferabilityThe Mayor of Kirklees has already spokento organisations like Airbnb, who are keen tounderstand how a public sharing platform mightinfluence the collaborative economy. Kirkleeshas developed a non-UK prototype, aimed atdemonstrating its global potential, and plans toengage with several European cities in the nearfuture to investigate how to effectively exportComoodle. There is potential to scale up Comoodlefor neighbouring cities, creating a significantopportunity for collaborative consumption in theregion and beyond. If successful this would notonly disrupt traditional business models but alsopositively impact how cities work.38