Rede Refugia: mutuality and collaboration for the integration of different stakeholders in the refugee crisis

Abstract

The Rede Refugia is a collaborative service that proposes facilitating the reception, protection and integration of refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons (hereafter only called refugees). The service is based on mutuality and collaboration among refugees, humanitarian organisations, private entities and other stakeholders operating in the humanitarian ecosystem. The paper aims to discuss how Service Design facilitates the process of co-creation and co-design of a refugee integration ecosystem with different stakeholders. As for the methodology, the research considers Design Science Research (DSR), focusing on the demonstration and evaluation steps. This research contributes with the description of the co-creation and co-design process among different stakeholders in the context of the humanitarian refugee crisis based on mutuality and collaboration, materialising the idea in the Rede Refugia. More precisely, the results indicate the ease in understanding the service objectives, positive expectations of the Rede Refugia service, and some points that must be adjusted. The research also reinforced the importance of the usability test as a fundamental moment for co-design with potential users of services. Future research might consider investigating other tools that can contribute to co-design and co-creation and its contribution to fostering the relational and socio-environmental impacts of collaborative services.