Set of service design and art-based methods for co-design and stakeholder work in cultural tourism

The present document shows the results of D7.1, namely, a Manual – also known as a Menu – that consists of a set of service design and art-based tools/methods for cultural tourism stakeholder consultation and engagement. The Manual serves as one building block of a system of instruments within WP7, along with the SmartCulTour Game, the SmartCulTour Toolkit, and the Strategic Roadmap, which will be developed in the next stages under WP7, constantly evolving to keep pace with the needs of the Living Labs (hereafter referred to as ‘the Labs’ or ‘LLs’) throughout the lifecycle of the SmartCulTour project. The methods included in this Manual will be adopted and further developed in collaboration with the Labs, while the Manual itself can also serve as a valuable tool for the organisation and facilitation of community workshops in general.

The double-diamond design process model1 serves as a service design framework to help narrow down the set of tools/methods to be developed, tested, and implemented in the Labs. Specifically, Task 7.1 lies in the first part of the double diamond, that is, identifying and clarifying the needs of each Lab. Therefore, the majority of tools/methods that have been developed so far contribute to the first diamond, and the focus has been placed on empathy building and empathic engagement. There are 12 service design and art-based tools/methods included in the Manual.

Taking into consideration the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Manual is designed to support the use of the tools/methods in both physical and virtual environments. Each method is described according to 12 topics: (1) Underlying idea of the techniques; (2) Situations in which the tool can best be used; (3) Expected output; (4) Guidelines for using the method; (5) Recommended settings in terms of facilitators, participants, and duration; (6) A link to a virtual template (where possible); (7) Materials needed for in-person use of the method; (8) Links with other tools/methods, either as input or as output; (9) Lessons learned from earlier applications of the method; (10) Suggested next steps to complete; (11) Inclusion guide for use of the tool with participants with disabilities; and (12) Reading references.

The Manual is intended to provide relevant stakeholders with a useful set of tools/methods to choose from when developing sustainable cultural tourism in diverse contexts. However, it is worth noting that the Manual is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Audiences are encouraged to adopt it proactively, adapt it creatively, and eventually make it fit to local specificities.