Collaborative production for the circular economy; a community approach

Project Information

Pop-Machina

Grant agreement ID: 821479

DOI

10.3030/821479

Project closed

EC signature date 3 May 2019

Start date 1 June 2019

End date 30 November 2023

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Climate action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials

Total cost

€ 11 057 890,71

EU contribution

€ 9 999 592,50

Coordinated by

KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - Pop-Machina (Collaborative production for the circular economy; a community approach)

Reporting period: 2022-06-01 to 2023-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Pop-Machina is a 4-year project that seeks to highlight and reinforce the links between the maker movement and circular economy in order to promote environmental sustainability and generate socio-economic benefits in 7 European pilot cities.
Existing linear production and consumption patterns (i.e. companies harvest and extract materials, use them to manufacture a product, and sell the product to a consumer, who then discards it when it no longer serves its purpose) generate enormous waste and have a huge negative impact on the environment overall. Pop-Machina therefore focuses on circular economy as a promising alternative. Circular use of material, through for example recycling and reusing, can reduce the generation of waste as well as our dependence on extraction or import of raw materials. As such, it has the potential to bring about significant environmental and economic benefits.
Pop-Machina also supports and reinforces the maker movement because it is one of the most promising agents for driving the transition of cities to a more circular economy model. It holds great potential for urban transformation, improved sustainability, social welfare and cohesion. Maker movement brings together individuals engaged in do-it-yourself (DIY) activities, which sparks maker communities all over the world. These communities typically create products from waste materials or re-assembly products that are discarded, broken or unused.
Pop-Machina has 5 main objectives: (1) To demonstrate and support the power and potential of the maker movement and collaborative production for EU circular economy; (2) To support the implementation of the EU Circular Economy Action Plan; (3) To contribute to the growth of maker ecosystems and the production of circular innovations in European cities; (4) To mobilize citizens under the banner of circular economy and collaborative production; And (5) to empower communities to innovate and make their cities more resilient and adaptive to socio-economic and environmental challenges. The objectives and scope of each pilot city differ across cities depending on the maturity of each individual maker community and progress towards a circular economy model as well as on the key challenges they are facing.
In order to achieve these five objectives and to ensure long-term circular growth, Pop-Machina focuses on the development of three central platforms: (1) The Social Collaboration Platform (cloud based online environment required for the collaborative production of our communities), (2) The Data Collection And Analytics Tool, (3) Open Knowledge Tool (online environment hosting courses, webinars and knowledge to help communities build circular economy and boost their maker movement).

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In a first phase, urban ecosystem frameworks were developed for each of the 7 pilots. In addition, methodologies were developed to (1) support the identification of circular makerspaces and urban regeneration strategies; (2) stimulate stakeholders’ and communities’ engagement; (3) incentivize citizens to become makers through the design of a tokenization system; (4) build circular makers’ capacity through training.
In parallel, a suite of digital tools and technologies were designed, namely: (1) the Social Collaboration Platform (SCP) along with a marketplace, through which the tokenization framework was implemented. Makers can collaborate there to create new products, to share resources and validate circular products; (2) the Data Collection and Analytics Tool, which collects data, provides visualizations, and monitors the activities in the pilot cities; and (3) the Open Knowledge Tool, where makers can exchange knowledge, education, and skills.
Also, in parallel, the urban development framework and methodologies, and the collaborative production tools were deployed and tested. First, ‘pilot profiles’ were created, based on workshops with local stakeholders, providing insights regarding the creation of a ‘circular maker community.’ This led to the elaboration of pilot deployment plans (co-designed city pilot activities), and to the first set of activities taking place in the pilot makerplaces.
The project also achieved progress towards Pop-Machina’s Circular Maker Accelerator program. Innovation and business development support services and material to implement and test their use in pilot cities, have been developed. Makers have also received entrepreneurship training and tailored mentoring.
Furthermore, tools have been co-developed for the evaluation (monitoring, assessing) and optimization of the pilot operations.
Finally, plans have been developed to communicate, disseminate, and stimulate exploitation of the project’s results (including potential innovations). The website and social media activities ensure a strong digital presence, and a Network of Interest has been established, connecting, and informing stakeholders from all over Europe and beyond.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The detailed project objectives are the following:
Objective 1: Understand the maker community ecosystem
Objective 2: Analyse the social and spatial urban environments and redesign production infrastructure
Objective 3: Engage, create and empower local maker communities
Objective 4: Enhance the capabilities of collaborative manufacturing
Objective 5: Train communities in circular collaborative production
Objective 6: Demonstrate community collaborative production capabilities
Objective 7: Assess impact and evaluate the pilot work
Objective 8: Engage policy and society

Pop-Machina contributes to the following impacts as listed in the work programme under topic CE-SC5-03-2018:
“Measurable reduction of materials, natural resource consumption and environmental footprint in urban and peri-urban areas”
“Set of social behavioural, economic, environmental performance and geospatial indicators to monitor and assess the urban and peri-urban circularity and regenerative capacity”
“Local governance innovation in response to the needs and concerns of stakeholders and the affected public as well as boosted creativity and entrepreneurship related to circularity and regenerative processes”
“The implementation of the EU Circular Economy Action Plan with a direct link to the urban fabric (built and public space), and the Habitat III New Urban Agenda's commitment to transition to a circular economy.”

Additional impacts Pop-Machina envisions are the following:
Enhancement of citizens and other non-governmental players’ accessibility to urban policy making
Enhancement of experimentation with maker technologies, methods and tools
Enhancement of participatory and sharing culture, sustainable lifestyles in society
Enhancement of public trust in local government
Creation of new market opportunities for (social) entrepreneurs, companies and investors

Contribution to social inclusion and access to the job market
Pop-Machina supports social inclusion and the integration of vulnerable population groups and is expected to demonstrate through its activities how citizens can develop new skills and become more entrepreneurial, ultimately promoting employability and access to the job market.