A two-day Design Sprint was held on March 18–19, 2025, at Technology Park Dračevac in Split, bringing together experts from public utilities, the civil sector, and private businesses. Organized by Development Agency Split (RAST) and IRI Centar, the sprint aimed to co-create an innovative and sustainable solution for the seasonal challenges public utility companies face—especially during the peak summer months.
Design Sprint Challenge
The main challenge defined for the sprint was:
“How can public communal companies leverage innovative technology to ensure infrastructure maintenance while engaging the general public and visitors to participate in simple public services, gain experience, earn credits, and thereby contribute to improved public service?”
This challenge was grounded in reality, inspirational, concise, and time-bound, with the goal of delivering a viable concept in under three years.
Problem Framing
The sprint focused on the following key problem:
• Who? Public communal companies such as Parkovi i nasadi (PiN), NGOs, citizens, and visitors.
• What? Limited seasonal workforce and untapped citizen engagement potential in green area maintenance.
• Where/When? Split, during peak tourist season.
• Why (for users)? To offer a rewarding and educational experience through public participation.
• Why (for business)? To create a scalable and sustainable service model that alleviates operational pressure.
The project background included insights from previous initiatives such as CoFarm4Cities and Communities for Climate (C4C), highlighting a recurring issue: the lack of sustainable business models beyond the project funding period.
Business Goals and KPIs
The sprint aimed to:
• Develop a sustainable business model for public service engagement.
• Create a project concept for infrastructure funding and pilot implementation.
• Ensure replicability to other regions.
• Establish KPIs including a validated business model and a prototype supported by basic financial projections.
Customer Insights
Target segments included:
• Public companies: Reducing workload during peak season.
• NGOs: Additional revenue and community engagement.
• Citizens (especially marginalized groups): Opportunities for income and inclusion.
Identified customer needs were simplicity, easy-to-maintain technology, and administratively light processes.
Design Sprint Structure
The two-day process followed a condensed Google Ventures design sprint methodology:
Day 1 Highlights
• Lightning talks and empathy mapping
• Customer journey creation
• “How Might We” questions
• Sketching long-term goals and first solution concepts
Day 2 Highlights
• Decision-making on best ideas
• Storyboarding the chosen solution
• Prototyping a business model canvas and impact action canvas
The Solution: The GREEN OLYMPIC
The co-created concept, Green Olympic, offers a gamified and participatory model to tackle the problem of plant and green area maintenance during the high season. It fosters engagement, competition, and sustainability across Split’s districts.
Key Features:
• District-level competitions in disciplines like:
o Volume of garbage collected
o Amount of water used for irrigation
o Number of active volunteers
o Social outreach efforts
o Donations raised
• Rewards for each category: public/private investments in local areas
• Incentives for public utility workers supporting the initiative
• Volunteer program with education and sustainability training
• District dashboards for tracking performance
• Merchandise: T-shirts, badges, etc.
• Direct communication channel between citizens, NGOs, and municipal services
This initiative not only motivates participation but also builds a stronger connection between communities and city services, offering personal achievement opportunities while improving the urban environment.
Design Sprint Team
• Facilitator: Goran Pavlov, IRI Centar
• Decider: Marina Tavra, RAST
• Team Members:
o Antonia Miletić (Parkovi i nasadi)
o Marin Kanajet (Permakultura Dalmacija)
o Tomislav Mamić (Mamić Savjetovanje)
o Tonći Lučić (Meta konzalting)
o Ana Ban (IRI Centar)
o Ivan Jukić (Native Development)
• External Experts: Udruga Sunce (to be defined)
Conclusion
The “Green Olympic” concept created during this sprint presents a fun, scalable, and community-driven approach to sustainable urban maintenance. By blending gamification, volunteerism, and smart metrics, the solution responds directly to the needs of public companies and communities.
With a solid foundation laid in this sprint, the next step is to further develop the pilot project proposal—potentially within the LIFE funding program—and prepare Split for a greener, more engaged future.