The interest in different forms of dialogue is large in today's citizen development processes. Much of the present research and development work, however, focuses on how to actually carry out dialogue processes. Less work is done on how the overall organization of architecture firms relates to their capability to carry out well-functioning dialogue processes.

The project consists of two parts. 1) Case studies on how a Swedish architecture firm organizes its work with citizen dialogue in practice and how this relates to their overall organization. 2) A methodology is being developed and tested which architecture firms can utilize in order to increase their capability of working with citizen dialogue.

Renovation projects often go hand-in-hand with technical difficulties, social and environmental goals as well as a willing to make an economic profit. However, it is often hard to know how to balance these goals.This is why Renobuild has been developed – a decision support tool that actors within the construction industry can use to assess the sustainability impacts of renovation projects.

Renobuild gives you an overall picture of how different aspects of sustainability relate to one another. To begin with the tool allows you to analyse a particular buildings' life cycle costs. Furthermore, you can use Renobuild in order to analyse the environmental impacts of the building over its entire life cycle. Last but not least, it gives you an understanding of the social impacts of the building and its close surroundings.

Renobuild lets you compare up to ten different renovation scenarios. It is currently only available in Swedish, but is other than that available for anyone that has MS Excel to use, for free. Renobuild was developed by researchers at RISE in cooperation with actors from the construction industry.  

PRISMA is Swedish for prism, a transparent optical element which reflects light in different ways depending on how you turn it. Just like a prism, PRISMA has as its ambition to provide support for city development actors - such as municipalities, consultancies, citizens and housing companies - with understanding what social sustainability can be in relation to urban design. The tool has been developed with the help of case studies of actual city development processes as well as through research overviews on the relationship between urban design and various aspects of health, well-being and justice. PRISMA is meant to provide a flexible and research based tool that can be utilized in different situations and is meant to complement the local and professional knowledge of city development actors such as urban planners, housing developers, contractors, citizens and public health professionals. The tool has been developed and tested in closed in cooperation with a number of city development actors, first and foremost with the municipality of Mölndal in Western Sweden.

PRISMA consists of an interactive PDF-document which in a simple way presents overviews of research in relation to aspects of the built environment such as yards and squares, greenery, social services, buildings etcetera. For each aspect the user answers a number of questions in relations to these aspects and related assessment criteria. This is preferably done in a process of co-creation with a variety of actors as well as in relations to documents such as policies, economic estimations etcetera. Furthermore, the tool helps the user define goal conflicts as well as issues in relation to plan implementation that needs to be dealt with. Also, an appendix in the form of a MS Excel documents lets you complement the qualitative assessment with a quantitative analysis which results in a radar chart.

PRISMA is available for free and can be used during different stages of an urban development process, from the initial phase when an idea is developed, through the planning and implementation phases to the administration and management phase. Out hope is that PRISMA will be able to help city development processes become more transparent, effective and well-reasoned.

The population is aging

In Sweden over 20% are over 65 years.
In Japan it is already 30%.

Age related frailty is a serious threat to independent living and social participation of senior citizens. A main cause is lack of proper food intake, i.e. sufficient energy as well as nutrients, generally referred to as “anorexia of aging” as well as lack of exercise. This leads to malnutrition which in turn leads to weight loss, frailty and finally to nursing homes, hospitalization, disabilities or even death.

It is estimated that the care costs for malnutrition in Sweden alone are 9 billion SEK/year. Problems with impaired senses of taste and smell, difficulties swallowing as well as sociological factors, lack of exercise and depression are among the contributing factors. A further contributing factor, especially in Japan, is poor oral functions.

Outcomes of the project

An intervention program to prevent oral frailty (chewing problems) mainly for Japan
Japanese seniors meet twice per week for ten weeks to exercise, eat together and get information. This program was proven to considerably strengthen oral functions and general health status, and it has been implemented at community level in over 50 communities in Japan.

An intervention program to alleviate and reverse pre-frailty mainly in Sweden
Swedish seniors who had experienced balance problems or falls met twice per week for ten weeks to exercise, eat together and get information. One exercise was fall training by the Judo4Balance program and the other aimed at strength. The program was proven to increase balance, mobility and general health status.

New food for building oral strength
A “cam-cam-bento-box” was developed in Japan with chewy food to give oral strength.

New food for dysphagia management
Texture-modified food was developed using 3D-printing in Sweden to manage swallowing disorders.

An implemented and improved swallowing sensor
The non-invasive, AI-based sound sensor GOKURI was implemented in studies for determining swallowing disorders and improved to detect differences in food and beverages as well as for remote monitoring.

An implemented movement sensor to detect balance problems
An accelerometer and gyroscope based sensor was implemented to detect incipient balance problems in the intervention program.

Purpose

The aim of the project was for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region to strengthen their innovation capacity and their technological development through collaboration with researchers and other important players. Several SMEs developed their knowledge in interaction design, user experiences and user-centered development, and more companies buildt knowledge of and experience of innovation projects and of collaboration with researchers.

Challenge

Increased digitization in society and in working life means that more areas are using ICT, therefore investments in interaction design are needed in order for the innovations of the future to be competitive. A good understanding of the users, their driving forces and context is needed to develop well-functioning solutions. A design perspective on the interaction between people and new technology is central to the development of future applications and smart products.

Solution

Through a pre-study, the foundation was laid for how a successful project aimed at SMEs in the region should be organized. The project thus offers flexible forms of research collaboration and learning and with the possibility of different levels of participation, from innovation projects to workshops and seminars.

Effects                                                                                                 

The project contributes to sustainable growth in the regions, innovative SMEs, new collaborations between SMEs and researchers and new ideas and prototypes to further develop.

Aim and goal

The purpose of the project is to study if and how those living and working in the microgrid interact with it and whether they are, on a system level, able to optimise the use of self-produced electricity. We aim to involve existing and potential users of the microgird through dialogue in contributing to the development and evaluation of design concepts for communication within the microgrid.

Challenge

This project focuses on a newly build microgrid area in Kungsbacka Kommun. The housing company, who initiated this microgrid area wants people to feel proud about living and working in the area. They also hope that especially the tenants of the rental apartments will shift their electricity use according to the production of solar energy. This however is difficult, as people are often not at home at the moment the sun is shining, let alone that it is difficult in general to change your practices.

Solution

Rather than focusing on the individual tenants and how they can shift their energy use, we take a system perspective and involve the broader area, including the public sector buildings and their staff. By involving everyone in the dialogue around how best to optimise the system, we will shape  a better understanding of the microgrid system for those working and living there as well as support explorations how best to optimise the use of the produced solar energy amongst all connected.

Effect

A deeper understanding of what a microgrid is and how it works for those working and living in the grid. Expanded knowledge on how people relate to microgrids and how to engage them in discussions. Potential to optimise the system by taking a system perspective on optimisation.

Aim and goal

The project's goal is to develop a measurement method for studying dirt and microflora on surfaces to visualize the effects of cleaning methods and routines. The measurement method is intended to provide quick feedback to the user of the cleaning products and increase the motivation to clean efficiently. In addition, routines for the cleaning and effects of implementing some interventions are mapped into two case studies in hospitals and food production.

Challenge

There are major socio-economic benefits to reduce the spread of pathogenic viruses and microorganisms in homes, public environments, health care and food production. Here cleansing is crucial to prevent infection spread.

A large part of the cleaning is manual work, and it is often difficult for the person to decide whether the cleaning is enough. In addition, often there are no standards for measuring what is clean enough.

Solution

A good method for measuring the purity and presence of microorganisms, which provides quick feedback on the cleaning efficiency of the operator, would provide more efficient cleaning. In addition to this, the possibility of evaluating the types of microorganisms present on the surface and how they vary over time would be valuable to, for example, be able to see if a change in routines affects the levels and types of microorganisms., and thereby reduce infection spread.

In the project, flow cytometry (FC) is evaluated as a quick analysis method to get an overview of the composition and levels of microflora on surfaces. The method is used today for routine analysis of drinking water production and promising studies also show that the analysis can be automated, and the equipment miniaturized to be used directly by cleaning staff or operator.

Effect

Measuring cleaning efficiency faster and more efficiently, as well as an opportunity to evaluate the types of microorganisms present on surfaces in the patient room is an important part of patient safety work. In the food industry, this information allows for increased food safety and improved hygiene, resulting in less recalls and food waste.