ecos Processes
ecos has designed, facilitated and supported socio-political dialogue processes for cities, municipalities, cantons and organizations since 1987. ecos` particular strength lies in its tailor-made process that goes beyond the design of individual events, and draws on various methods of moderation (future workshops, consensus conferences, Open Space etc.).
In terms of subject area, all fields related to sustainable development are covered, although the team focuses on the development of cities, local communities and districts, plus Local Agenda 21 (LA21) issues and city or community marketing.
Examples of participatory urban development projects to promote quality of life:
- Quartiers 21 for the City of Lausanne: www.quartiers21.ch
- WERKSTADT BASEL for the Canton of Basel-Stadt:
- «Vision A - Gemeinsam für Arlesheim»: Video-based participation programme for sustainable development in a local community.
The team brings its process expertise to bear in developing complex projects and products involving specialists from many different fields.
ecos provides knowledge and experience in anchoring sustainable development at the local level, and raises people?s awareness. It organizes seminars, workshops and conferences, develops tools such as handbooks and guidelines, and supports networking processes between individuals and communities in Switzerland and abroad.
Examples:
- Training module on city development as part of the postgraduate course «Gemeinde-, Stadt- und Regionalentwicklung» (community, city and regional development) at the Lucerne School of Social Work
- Local Agenda 21 Handbook www.agenda-21.ch and Publications
- «Mutual Learning» Partnerships between Local Agenda 21 communities in Switzerland and Africa
- LA 21 Ambassadors - Training seminars and network for initiators
ecos collaborates with scientific institutions to gain new findings both from research projects and from practical work, and to exploit synergies. One example is the development of criteria to analyse and optimise the quality of dialogue and Local Agenda 21 processes.
Example:
- «ProzessKompass»: Quality assurance for Local Agenda 21 and similar participatory processes
- Preliminary study on «Success factors and quality standards for participative processes in local communities, neighbourhoods, towns and regions»