The Commons Model Canvas, a new tool to promote the appropriation of the commons presented at NEC23

Since the first edition of Numérique en Communs in 2018, the ‘Programme Société Numérique’- and in particular the Laboratoire Société Numériques – and inno³ have been working together to produce resources and tools dedicated to the appropriation of the commons in an open and collaborative approach:

• The ‘Digital Commons Tutorial’, initiated at NEC 2018 and completed for NEC 2019;
  
• The ‘Digital commons and its resource’ tool sheet, the result of collaboration between Praticable, the Programme Société Numérique Fréquence École and inno³ at NEC 2020;
  
• The ‘Panorama of the digital commons’, initiated to support the NEC 2021 workshops;
  The ‘Framework for the governance of the digital commons’, produced as part of NEC 2022;
  
• and lastly, a framework dedicated to the economic dimension of the commons, detailed below, produced in support of NEC 2023.

The Commons Model Canvas dedicated to the economic dimension of the commons

What is the Commons Model Canvas?

The Commons Model Canvas is both a method and a guide for digital commons project leaders, designed to provide them with the tools they need to think specifically about the commons: defining governance, dealing with economic issues, organising the framework for collaboration, etc.

In the context of the work carried out on the legal structures needed to structure the digital commons, the question of the economic models for these commons was regularly raised as the main concern of project sponsors. The Commons Model Canvas complements the Canvas for the governance of the digital commons, published in 2022, by embodying the concepts associated with the digital commons. Its aim is to help define an economic model for the commons and a related business model for the parties involved in maintaining and developing it.

The business model refers, on a collective scale, to the strategy put in place to ensure the economic sustainability of the Common from the point of view of both development and maintenance requirements.

The business model refers, at the level of each member, to its own capacity to generate and capture value enabling it to make its contributions sustainable.

Definition proposed within the Commons Model Canvas

Indeed, the issue of the economic model of the commons, and the business models that can be envisaged for the stakeholders, has been raised among commoners for years. In particular, inno³ has been able to help a number of projects define their business model, either directly at the request of these projects, or on behalf of institutional players wishing to provide support for specific projects (Ademe’s call for commons, ANCT’s call for expressions of interest in ‘Equipping digital inclusion players’, and IGN’s Géoplateforme project). Many projects have fed into our experience: iTowns, La Rochelle Territoire Zéro Carbone, LaCollecte.tech, Soliguide, XSalto (nom Alpilink), etc.

What makes up the Commons Model Canvas?

It can be used in paper or digital form, and consists of a set of self-contained resources that can be assembled to facilitate a variety of situations, such as individual discussions or team workshops.

This tool, which was launched at NEC 2022 with the framework for governance of the commons, helps digital commons projects to better understand and address the complexity of the economic challenges of community projects in relation to their business models and the stakeholders involved.

To run the workshops, we have produced a ‘kit’ consisting of :

• An user guide containing a range of resources, advice and examples. A number of resources for exploring the issues raised in greater depth, to make it easier to put them into action.
• A series of 3 sheets to help you grasp and understand the issues (economic and governance issues, indicated by pictograms) underlying the digital commons. The cards are double-sided, so that the issues raised by each stakeholder (front) and those of the community (back) are mirrored.
  • Sheet 1 – ‘Presentation and Mission’ (green): takes stock of the situation of each stakeholder;
  • Sheet 2 – ‘Convergence of actions’ (blue): describes the contribution of each stakeholder, the resources they mobilise and the rules of governance established in the community;
  • Sheet 3 – ‘Projecting on a common model’ (red): allows you to take a step back and look ahead to pre-determined timeframes (6 months, 2 years or 5 years) by linking scenarios to a multi-dimensional action plan.
• A set of two Canvas that can be completed independently of each other and according to the needs of the workshop:
  • A ‘Canvas for the governance of digital commons’ to summarise the rules of governance, the structure and representation of the project community, articulated by actions and indicators.
  • A ‘Canvas for the economic challenges of digital commons’ to summarise the business models of each stakeholder in a digital common in order to clarify what each stakeholder puts in and what each receives.

Other canvas templates may be added to the Commons Model Canvas in the future, depending on the needs of project promoters.

This kit has been built using all of inno³’s expertise (legal, design), a bibliography of grey literature and the organisation of focus group discussions. Our approach was also based on a more global design approach at inno³ through game design.

The Commons Model Canvas in practice

How to run a workshop using the Commons Model Canvas?

This kit is initially designed to be used in a face-to-face workshop format, with a number of profiles working on an identified digital commons project, and a printed version of the booklet. However, we are making available documentation enabling it to be produced remotely in .odp format.

When running a workshop, it is advisable to use the following facilitation plan:

• Stage 1 – Immersion: This stage introduces the various digital commons projects and forms the groups.
• Stage 2 – Exploration: This stage involves filling in all the double-sided sheets in the kit.
  • Each sheet is colour-coded for easy identification.
  • They contain questions with annotation areas to be completed as the discussion progresses (it is advisable to complete the cards in order).
  • The cards can be completed individually or collectively, depending on the needs of everyone around the table during the workshop. The back of the sheets, concerning the community, can be completed with all the stakeholders in the project.
• Stage 3 – Convergence: The summary of the actions and the elements completed on the cards will be entered on the two templates provided. The answers given on the forms will feed into these templates. It is therefore advisable to complete the forms before completing the framework.
  • The template on governance allows you to refocus on the governance elements of a digital commons project.
  • The Canvas for the economic challenges of digital commons allows you to examine your business model, in conjunction with those of the community’s other stakeholders, in order to build a business model that is sustainable for the community and viable for the stakeholders.

The recommended time for the workshop will depend on a number of factors, such as the number of participants, the objectives set and the context. In any case, you should generally allow between 2 and 3 hours to complete all the materials (worksheets and outline).

Commons Model Canvas in action at NEC 2023

For this latest edition of Numérique en Commun[s], inno³ led a workshop entitled ‘Get to grips with (and challenge) inno³’s digital commons support kit’, the aim of which was to introduce participants to the Commons Model Canvas, a tool designed to help digital commons developers understand and manipulate the necessary concepts, and to project themselves onto a sustainable common economic model.

The large number of participants in this workshop shows the importance of the need for common carriers, whether private or public, to have specific tools to support them in the structuring and development of their project.

The participants were divided into four groups, each devoted to an existing common project supported by one of the members. The common was used as a case study to ensure that the framework was easily understood and used by the players for whom it was intended.

It emerged from the workshop that the Commons Model Canvas addresses most of the issues raised by the participants, in a format that is particularly well-suited to the task and makes it easier to learn and complete collectively.However, a number of irritants were raised: information to be requested; vocabulary to be adapted; design to be reworked from time to time, and so on.

This feedback is invaluable, because the Commons Model Canvas, like all the resources resulting from the collaboration between the Digital Society Laboratory and inno³, is intended to be the fruit of collective work.That’s why you can now download the version of the Canvas shared with NEC, under a CC-By-SA 4.0 licence, so that you can make use of it and make any changes you wish.