Kimmo Ronka 2009

Consulente professionista / Senior Consultant Movense Ltd | Gio/Thu 25/06/2009 14:00-16:00; Movense office - Hämeentie 153 B - 00560 Helsinki

1. What are your channels of information? From Agency (company, citizen, research-students) to the citizen? (eg phone, fax, sms, website, newsletter, mailing lists, chat - skype, forum)

It's Art and design City, I use that if I need it.

Arabianranta.fi is the channel if I need to know something about the citizen. I read what they talk what about in the area. But it's arabianranta.fi the channel.

2. What are your channels of communication? By citizens to the Agency (company, citizen, research-students) and vice versa? (eg phone, fax, text messages, mailing lists, blogs, chat, wikis, forums)

Some of those active persons for the users community. Some of the chair of the housing community of Arabiaranta for the citizen. I use them if I need. Some time they are the same of e-moderator, but is the chair of the community of citizen call Artova. They have a web page [http://www.artova.fi].

3. Where did your interest for the use of ICT to inform, communicate and to participate (engage, consult)?

Being a member of global community. Being and knowing faster in the world. Getting faster information. For example for the weather I use the web. I quite a lot using forecast. Knowing when the clouds are coming in the area. Of course using as scientific porpoises, getting the information. I open Google maybe hundred thousand a day. So, it's a part of my work. More important than telephone today.

4. What are your resources and equipment of IT infrastructure?

Pc, telephone, laptop, wireless network at home, networking at office and 3G also mobile laptop. Always connect if I need it. Normally I read the e-mail by communicator [Nokia E90 Communicator] but I answer by laptop.

5. All of the workers (members, partners, research group) have the ability to use ICT tools?

Yes!

6. There is a responsibility of communication? An employee communication? Of tutors or consultants?

My work is as be the leading research in communication. I'm the responsible in our company in this. "ICT thinks" are so obvious that all of as can do it this thinks. Networking is fundamental.

7. Occurring phenomena empowerment or voluntarism?

Maybe I have a couple of students who want to have a job. I'm trying to help them and as well they are trying to help our company to have new projects for them. They want to do their final work, so we have deal without any papers, but if you get a good company, let's make a project. So it's a open business contracts with the students.

Always talking is ten time more than working, than the real thighs. Because you don't know what the real things are without talking. You to talk a lot and sometime you find: this is the place, this is the subject, somebody wanting to do a project and it will start.

I have some voluntary people in another city [Mikkeli]; there is a project that I'm doing with the city of Mikkely; and there is a user community with voluntary people. There are growing interest in this Arabianranta kind of method.

I believe that we have this official works (companies cities organisation) and there is even unofficial world consist of human being, voluntary people, communities and so on. And this is growing, this unofficial world. I changed my mind about organisation as Living labs I use to believe in this official Living Labs but now I believe in real Leaving Lab, that's means it's more user driven innovation, self organised things. So is always a question about to ask who passion to do something and do it voluntary. The question is interest, hobbies, children, that's is the real Living Lab. The important is the unofficial, the every day live. The interface between those two world: official and unofficial; I think that it will be the future, the challenge.

8. Communication is differentiated according to target audience?

Yes! I'm consultant and that's my work to change my talk based on the audiences. So, of course.

9. Can you tell me the experiences of information, consultation and active participation made using the ICT and NOT as a factor of involvement? (past, present, and future plans)

I must say that is still difficult is with this e-participation, because is more easier to have this without ICT. Because only who has the courage to write in web do it, but the other follow and read. So it's different. We have Mikkely discussion in city web page but we didn't got the real discussion there, because only some of the citizen wrote something. But is good start.

The point is: we need both: ICT technology and face to face. We need virtual and tangible things. The both hand is fine.

e.g. I had SMS interview about if I was satisfied with my car and they had the result. Is quite normal that companies will ask using sms if I am satisfied with their service. Mostly I answered. It's a good solution to analyse customers satisfaction. 1 to 6 scale, I answered. It could be used in the city as well. As tram, library...

Actually —you know— car industry, they has really to rise the quality of the service, because it's their work, otherwise they won't have work.

10. Have you had other experiences point and specific areas? (eg historical, tourism, management and design of the neighbourhood, social cohesion, organization of events, planning, gas, real estate services ...) (past, present, and future plans)

One example is pop&jazz conservatorium, about the band they have created last years, using e-mail. They have tried to have the best band for the children with the teacher.

They should use more of that. Hobbies are quite a lot important. Again about music lessons; I think that we have to put more attention to parents if they are satisfied. And also I should have a connection to pop&jazz conservatorioum as a parent. To have a e-mail connection with the teacher.

I'm also a member of school board, in different schools and they use this internet and there we have all the material. Is a good solution. We have "Wilma" meaning: participating my children teacher by web. Is a channel to the school. Is quite good. We have a channel with our children teachers through web. You can sand or check... If your children is sick and you sent the justification to teacher or you can check if he or she is at lesson.

My wife is a teacher and we know that 80% of the parent use that.

11. Have you tried other combinations, systems and tools, and between real and virtual? How to reach non digitization?

If I can say something about Mikkeli case. There we have Mikkeli forum. e.g. two weeks ago we have one seminar at 5 o'clock in the evening in the central square of the city of Mikkely. Where the people are! Then we have a seminar about panel discussion about crucial and important issues. And also we have this web page for material about the seminar. And also we have this news paper about news about the event. So, I think, most people of Mikkely know news about the event. Print and internet, and this real things. So it's a combination. Internet, newspaper, flyer, e-mail, mouth asking. And than at the seminar we have reporters; they make stories in the news paper and to the web. So, many media and good result.

I have even to say that we had done it here in Arabianranta. We had use and develop this method here and spread and sell this idea to other cities. This area [Arabianranta] have a good reputation and good results in casting, develop this things. Is a open research. I export the process. The issues is how to do it not what you are doing. Because all the cities are different. Mikkely is different: hobbies, people, lifestyles. You have to have the Mikkely results. So the point is the process: how to do it, not what to do. You shouldn't decide the result before the process. The process is more important than the result. If you want do that till the end you won't get it, and this take time. But if you have a some kind of direction and you focus on the process you'll get much more better results.

12. Have you taken action to mediation and communication with the council or other bodies?

You know, Finland and Helsinki is a small place and you quite fast learn to know the real people there and you know who knows quite soon. But also, maybe I used more official roads before, but today I use mostly unofficial roads, it's about networking.

13. What are your perspectives, orientations and evaluations of general use of ICT?

Combination of tangible and virtual and also this combination of official and unofficial; meaning new multimedia methods, new mixture, new kind of mixture. Also being practical, meaning: we have industrial designer in our company, so we all do quite a lot practical works, observation, documenting things. My work is more social networking based to crate documentation about the situations. So both are practical things as well as social networking, new kind of combinations. More focus on the process, than the projects. I'm a coach. I'm helping the clients. Maybe our company is more going near coaching than consulting. As I sad: what is important is how to do it than what to do.

Living concept is the practical and theoretical concept. We don't sell anything, any software; we sell only processes.

I could say that my work is using camera, documenting and visualise things.

14. Acknowledges an interest, a push on the part of institutions? What funds or claims regarding the use of ICT?

Two years ago, I believe in wireless things, that they will grow. All here we have wireless systems. But since I have this 3G phone is much easier, faster, easy to install. So I didn't pay attention any more. I still believe that we have this [ICT] is part like water or streets; the same kind of infrastructure. We don't have any fund from government.

15. You start courses approach to new technologies? Literacy? What's missing citizens?

No we didn't.

16. The people in your neighbourhood, feel a lack of services ICT?

In Arabianranta is enough. Is enough. My ex colleague, he uses internet by record digital programs in tv (you can do it by Internet). Is a good service, you don't have to do it in you vhs system. So internet is still growing. My pictures is in hard disk. And so on.

Thecnology is enough, but is still growing and I could pay to have more. The more you have and more you will need it.

17. Felt that push too much on Ict reinforce inequality? Or open the territory to the phenomena of greater democracy?

You know Iran, today Internet helps democracy and there is that 100 dollars laptop... Sure I belive still in a better world.

18. Could you speak more of your active contribution to planning and land management? The participation of citizens with regard to land and public spaces?

For example there is a square over there, I believe that that kind of squares could be places for urban events. So tangible meeting over there. I believe, in the future, this kind of squares are like stages. I always say in the future they will be stages. It was and it will be. For example music business, if you are musician, in the future you will get less and less royalties, but you will get more and more audience. So you need space and multifunctional place, combining production made by students, events made citizen, festivals or conferences made by some companies; live and Net on the Web. Is a new kind of combination between tangible and virtual. This future buildings should be like black boxes and based on the function, it would be easy to make them. You have all these facilities there, but based on the function and the events. It should be more generic or (better) dynamic, not stable. Sometime the in fill is on the Web, sometime in real, is a mixture. I believe this future campuses will be multifunction mixture: workers, inhabitants, students and companies, all together and global, using Web.

This e-participation is important to reach people like disable, older, or people who can't talk, so (e-)partecipation will increase democracy of the city.