SMALL successfully holds 1st Expert Roundtable

And that's a wrap... on SMALL's 1st Expert Roundtable! On 27 April 2023, the Interreg North Sea project brought together its consortium in Brussels to exchange with external experts on how to implement inclusive and accessible shared mobility pilots.

SMALL may be the name, but the results are anything but! On 27 April 2023, the Interreg North Sea project SMALL brought together its consortium to have fruitful discussions with external inclusive mobility experts in the framework of its 1st European Expert Roundtable, titled "How can people with reduced mobility become an important driver of shared mobility?".

SMALL experts and partners divide into groups to discuss the first thematic session.

The event served as the backdrop for the SMALL partners to exchange and interact with the expert community about 3 key topics, namely:

Identifying SMALL target groups' user needs;
How to generate effective co-creation strategies and engage with SMALL pilots' target groups;
SMALL observatory for identifying best practices of inclusive shared mobility solutions.

Plus, experts from diverse and varied fields were present, all related to inclusive mobility. Some of the experts' profiles included:

Individual advocates representing people with reduced mobility;
European NGOs and/or associations representing people with reduced mobility;
Researchers and experts focusing on accessibility in transportation;
Shared mobility providers;
Public transport operators.

The workshop - time for discussion!

The Expert Roundtable foresaw 3 discussion sessions on user needs, co-creation and user engagement, and the SMALL observatory, to help our partners address the most important questions related to the topics identified above. These thematic sessions were followed by a fishbowl discussion session, where both SMALL project partners and experts gathered to reflect on the most important points of the day. Some relevant points of discussion included:

Defining the correct terminology
Going beyond the project's predetermined target groups
Successes and pitfalls of best practices of inclusive shared mobility

The results of these discussions will help the SMALL pilot partners to complete their user-engagement action plans and to the entire consortium in building SMALL's observatory for the identification of state-of-the-art engagement for shared mobility projects. The outcomes of this 1st Expert Roundtable will be further analysed and interpreted in an insight paper to be released in September 2023.

Join the SMALL Expert Community!

Are you an expert on inclusive shared mobility? Do you fit any of the profiles stated above? Then, you can join the SMALL expert community! By doing so, you will be able to:

Help create more inclusive and more accessible shared mobility services;
Gain insights into the needs of different user groups regarding shared mobility solutions;
Meet other relevant stakeholders from the field (such as representatives of societal organizations, policymakers, transport service providers, research organizations, etc.);
Be part of an amazing and welcoming community!

If you would like to be part of the SMALL project expert community, please contact both of our colleagues: