University project: Conceptual Service Design – Sharing based currency for social change

As part of a service design at the university we were tasked to develop a service concept for real cases involved in the nordic competition ”Sharing for Affordable and Climate Smart Living”.

Me and my group developed the concept for a local currency with a focus on social change and a more sustainable future. At the end of the course we got the chance to present our results for the Swedish finalist teams and more than one of them were interested in our work and to co-operate in the competition finals.

ECHO Points is a sharing based local currency that strengthen community and sustainability in Sege Park and Malmö city.

By performing activities that Sege Park and its residents benefit from you are awarded with ECHO Points. The activities can be everything from helping out with community gardening, arranging a workshop or lending your bike to a neighbour. These activities create echoes that enrich and strengthen community resilience and sustainable development.

The points are connected to your household instead of a separate individual. In ECHO, the individual is important but the interaction between individuals is even more important. Members can use their points whenever they want, which enables new and better ways of bartering and skill sharing. The ECHO platform is operated cooperatively and every connected household has a voice in the development and direction of ECHO.

ECHO Points are easy to use! ECHO connects directly to your housetag but can also be used through ECHO’s mobile app, where you can see your balance and make transactions.
Powered by ECHO The ECHO platform has an open API and can be directly incorporated in authorized third-party applications. Bring Your Plant’s Green Share app is connected to ECHO. This brings new and exciting opportunities for all ECHO users to generate and use their points.