From HIDDEN-CITY TOUR to ITER-ACTION
Master of Product Service System Design - Politecnico of Milan
a
This project, directed by Anna Meroni and Ezio Manzini, aims to create a new service by improving collaborative encounters of an existing service.
The new service was created in 3 steps by:
1. a thorough analysis of the actual service (touchpoints, stakeholders and relations) to understand "how it works";
2. a study of Participant Involvement and Interaction Quality in collaborative encounters (PI and IQ Map) to decide which is the aspect to improve;
3. an underline of strenght and weakness of the actual service to identify areas in which to operate;
4. an analisys of the benefits of the new service to check that all the aspects wanted have been included.
a
1.0 - SERVICE PROFILE
"Hidden City Tours" is a social enterprise based in Barcelona and supported by city foundations and social services. The service started on the 10th of October of 2013 and recently got popularity through different communication channels.
The main aim is to give job to homeless people as a guide of the gothic center of Barcelona led by their different point of view.
In order to find the right person, Hidden City Tours sends the request of the number of people and the profile it is looking for to some foundations of homeless people. The foundations provide a list of people interested on it and the social services test them on their social responsibility. Consequently the people selected are sent to the historian who teach them the specific knowledge needed to guide the tour. After the training they are ready to meet the tourists and enjoy the journey.
In order to find the right person, Hidden City Tours sends the request of the number of people and the profile it is looking for to some foundations of homeless people. The foundations provide a list of people interested on it and the social services test them on their social responsibility. Consequently the people selected are sent to the historian who teach them the specific knowledge needed to guide the tour. After the training they are ready to meet the tourists and enjoy the journey.
Tourists are attracted by this kind of journey since it is a unique opportunity both to see Barcelona and to support a service focus on the reintegration of homeless people in the society. The homeless people have the occasion to learn a profession, to get a stable job, to have a salary and a temporary accommodation, something impossible in another situation.
a
1.1 SERVICE ENABLING SYSTEM
Hidden City Tours is a service that offers walking tours around the gothic center of Barcelona. The trips are leaded by homeless people who, starting from Plaça Nova to the Ramblas, explain the main Roman and Medieval buildings.
The social enterprise is still experimental and the enabling systems components are simple:
- A digital platform that provides the calendar of activities and the necessary informations to contact the
- A digital platform that provides the calendar of activities and the necessary informations to contact the
organization and settle an appointment; (From the user point of view)
- The support of specialized structures (Foundations and Social Services) that work with homeless people;
- The knowledge of an historian specialized in the Barcelona's history; - The management of the entire system led by Hidden City Tours.
In this service the main collaborative encounters are:
- Homeless- hidden city tours: to organize tours around the city.
- Homeless- tourist: to experience the tour in exchange of homeless's informations. - Homeless- historian: to collaborate to build the knowledge needed to lead the tour.
- Social services and foundation- hidden city tours: to collaborate in order to find resources (homeless) and select them.
a
1.2 PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT
Hidden City Tours solve partially the city's homeless problem making society more unharmed and at the same time they earn their own capital. In order to do that the actors interact in three main collaborative encounters:
1. Homeless – Hidden City Tours: they collaborate in order to manage the organization of the tour by settling the appointments.
2. Homeless – tourist: After the tourist apply for the tour the homeless give the historical information that the tourist receive passively.
3. Homeless- historian: After the selection of the homeless, historian provides knowledges in order to build the tour and they receive these lessons passively.
. 4. Social service and foundation – Hidden City Tours: they have a very collaborative involvement needed to maintain the service active.
a
1.3 INTERACTION QUALITY
Through the service the user gets a unique experience that allows him to economically help a social class that has always been apart and that, thanks to this service, have the opportunity to be more socially included.
Thanks to a platform, the user gets in touch with the service and gets all the information needed about the city tour. Hidden City Tours interact vertically with specialized people in order to have the support in the homeless’ selection.
Thanks to a platform, the user gets in touch with the service and gets all the information needed about the city tour. Hidden City Tours interact vertically with specialized people in order to have the support in the homeless’ selection.
1. Homeless- Hidden city tours: Homeless are rescued from the street, trained and employed by the enterprise. They start a journey together that permit them to get close in a collaborative way that will last until the service works.
2. Homeless- tourist: One hour and forty-five minutes in a small group are enough to establish an intimate contact where experiences and lives are shared. The experience is brief but intense.
3. Homeless- historian: In order to become a guide the homeless need to be trained by an historian for 60 - 80 hours. They receive passively the knowledge needed to accomplish their work.
4. Social services and foundation- Hidden city tours: To ensure the success of the service the enterprise need a constant collaboration with the actors that provide the resources. The interactions are strictly formal with the purpose to inform the profile Hidden City Tours is looking for.
a
2.0 BRIEF CONSTRUCTION
Starting from the existing service of Hidden city tour, we want to focus on its weaknesses and improve them; in particular they are a low sponsoring and a limited offers toward the tourist.
In our new service we have two main aims:
- Considering the importance of the role of homeless, we want to use their capabilities and their know- how to build new solution of tour
- To work on the field of tourism by giving the user the chance to choose. This is a more responsible way to approach a new city by using a different point of view, the homeless one.
- Considering the importance of the role of homeless, we want to use their capabilities and their know- how to build new solution of tour
- To work on the field of tourism by giving the user the chance to choose. This is a more responsible way to approach a new city by using a different point of view, the homeless one.
Advantages for the tourist:
- The possibility to be part of tourism’s innovation focused on social aspects and with an open mind approach to the visited country.
Advantages for the homeless:
- Using their know-how and their experiences in order to built a unique tour; this approach makes them feel as part of the solution and not a society’s problem.
Advantages for the service:
- More promotion, that means gain more tourist and more homeless - The possibility to deliver an unique and competitive service.
a
3.0 NEW SERVICE PROFILE
Our new service‘s name is “ITER-ACTION, City and citizen”; ITER - following the latin’ s meaning - explains that we provide a city tour; ACTION wants to enlighten the values on which the service is settled, changing in opportunity what is normally considered as a problem.
Development of weaknesses:
Different type of tours are developed according to the willingness of the user to discover also hidden parts of the city. The tourist has also the opportunity to extend the experience by spending more time with the guide, having a lunch together at the foundation. All the tour will be enriched by the point of view of homeless, thanks to collaboration with historian.
Brand new activities:
The promotion of the tours is made by ITER-ACTION in the most crowded places in the city and where homeless live, involving them directly.
ITER-ACTION will also organize some special events at the foundation where the guides explain how the service works, this create respect among the community and involvement.
ITER-ACTION will also organize some special events at the foundation where the guides explain how the service works, this create respect among the community and involvement.
The main collaborative encounters are: Homeless-tourists, Homeless-ITER-ACTION, Homeless- Historian, Homeless-Foundation and Social Service and Foundation-ITER-ACTION.
a
3.1 NEW SERVICE ENABLING SYSTEM
The main activities are:
1. Different kind of tours: on the platform tourist can find different tours, from the most traditional one to a real mix between “tourist place” and hidden parts of the city. They can also book a lunch/dinner/snack at the Foundation in order to spend extra time with homeless.
2. Round table between Historian and Homeless: the service wants to provide tours enriched by the point of view of the homeless.
3. Sponsoring the service: ITER-ACTION sponsors the services with the guide in the place where homeless live in order to reach more tourists and involve other homeless.
4. Special events at the Foundation: these are organized by ITER-ACTION and homeless who get the job. In this way a higher number of homeless can be involved to understand how the service works.
The organization, economic support, and the space remain the same of the previous service.
The management of the entire system is led by ITER-ACTION.
The main collaborative encounters are:
- Homeless-tourists: during the main activities of the service - Homeless-ITER-ACTION: in sponsoring the service.
- Homeless-Foundation: to support with spaces the activities - Homeless-Historian: to build together city tours.
- Homeless-tourists: during the main activities of the service - Homeless-ITER-ACTION: in sponsoring the service.
- Homeless-Foundation: to support with spaces the activities - Homeless-Historian: to build together city tours.
a
3.2 PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT
The main collaborative encounters are:
1. Homeless-ITER-ACTION: In addition to the previous collaboration in order to manage the organization of the tours, we make this encounter more active tanks to the sponsoring activities. In some selected places, some events (guerrilla marketing, flash mobs, giving gadgets) will take place in order to catch the attention.
2. Homeless-tourists: The homeless organizes the tour giving his personal experiences of the city of Barcelona and the tourists can choose between different types of tours according to their attitude and their desire to enter more in contact with this world.
3. Homeless - Historian: they decide together how to build the tour and the main points of interest, in this way they provide especially the point of view of homeless.
4. Social service and foundation – ITER-ACTION: they have a very collaborative involvement needed to maintain the service active.
5. Homeless-Foundation: Homeless people who get the job as tour guide can involve other homeless by speaking about their experience and doing special tours for them. In this way they create motivation and respect among the community; this happens during some special events at the Foundation.
a
3.3 INTERACTION QUALITY
The quality of interaction is:
1.Homeless-ITER-ACTION: The new activities of sponsorization make this encounter more intense and long lasting. ITER-ACTION and homeless have to collaborate in order to increase the catchment area of the service.
2. Homeless-tourists: during the tour homeless and the little group of tourists establish an intense relationship, thanks to the lunch/dinner at the Foundation it can become more intense.
3. Homeless-Historian: They have to create an intense relation because they have to build together the tours; in this way Historian has to listen to homeless ’s experiences and teach them some historical knowledge, they have to find the balance between these two aspects. It’s not long lasting.
4. Social services and foundation-ITER-ACTION: To ensure the success of the service the enterprise need to collaborate with the actors that provide the resources. The interactions are strictly formal.
3.Homeless-Foundation: In this encounter the relation has a medium social tie strength due to the different special events that take place, anyway is not thought to be necessary intimate.
a
3.4 BENEFITS
Benefits of this project are:
1. The possibility to choose a different way to make tourism;
2. Improve communicaton to increase the catchment area;
3. Give the homeless the opportunity to enrich the tour based on his experience;
4. Motivate and help more homeless to involve in the service.
a
This project has been possible thanks to the effort and care of Laura Aioli, Enrica Battiston, Aluu Hoo, Darya Kosheleva, Martina Mantica, Maria Piera Mattioli, Lucia Oggioni and me.
