En commun is a non-profit association which constitutes a center of shared skills bringing together women and men experienced in activating the involvement of citizens in the creation of their environment.
Mission and purpose
In common is a non-profit association whose objective is to implement and promote the principles of common goods and common management in the areas of territory, social, ecology and economy, in starting with its own functioning.
Origins and development
Since 2017, En Commun has been carrying out participatory and mediating approaches in the area of spatial planning and housing; it supports and facilitates citizen initiatives, and encourages civic engagement.
Organizational structure, membership and funding
En Commun is a center of shared skills bringing together experienced specialists serving citizens, public authorities and the social and solidarity economy.
Specializations, methods and tools
In common is developing mechanisms to integrate citizen expertise into Parallel Study Mandates (MEP). An MEP is one of the procedures for tendering architectural and town planning projects regulated by the standards (SIA 142 and SIA 143) of the Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects.
The MEP + C aims to achieve 3 objectives :
- Mobilize a citizen group of around 40 people that is as diverse as possible
- Allow these citizens to contribute, in a project position, to supply the design teams with their citizen expertise
- Guarantee that representatives of the citizens' group take part in decisions relating to the choice of projects selected
Major projects and events
Place du Marché , Vevey 2017-18;
Place Perdtemps , Nyon 2018-19;
Place de La Coudre , Neuchâtel 2019-20
Analysis and lessons learned
The 3 main results of the MEP + C :
- A project that responds to citizens' concerns
- A winning team capable of collaborating with citizens
- About forty citizens, ambassadors of the project to their respective networks
