Innerstaden Göteborg, founded in 2005, is a dynamic city centre organisation that unites property owners, and shop owners in collaboration with the municipality,in the historic heart of Gothenburg. Over the years, the organisation has grown to encompass more than 530 businesses, fostering a vibrant community that combines long-term planning with immediate action to enhance the city's commercial and cultural landscape.
We speak with Lena Dalerup, that has worked for eight years as CEO of Innerstaden Göteborg, about how she digitised the organisation with the help of Chainels.
Innerstaden Göteborg hosts a diverse array of businesses, from shops and offices to various other enterprises, creating a rich and mixed inner city. This diversity is a cornerstone of Gothenburg’s unique character.
The city centre offers a plethora of restaurants, cafes, and shopping opportunities, contributing to a lively urban atmosphere.
The municipality of Gothenburg plays a significant role in the community, enabling numerous projects and contributing to the organisation. This collaboration is important to ensure that Innerstaden Göteborg can continue to thrive and implement various initiatives to improve the city centre.
When it comes to digitisation of cities, Innerstaden Göteborg was something of a trailblazer.
“We were the first city in Sweden to start using Chainels” says Lena. “Before then, we were communicating with members via lots of different mediums. It was too much, and we wanted to combine as much as possible into one platform.”
Chainels streamlined communication by consolidating all interactions into a single platform, making it easier for both the management and the members to stay connected.
“When you become a member, you get a small introduction to Chainels, and you receive the necessary information to get started with the platform,” explains Lena.
Chainels has transformed how Innerstaden Göteborg communicates with its diverse stakeholders. Shop owners and ground-floor businesses actively use the platform to communicate with each other, report issues, and access essential information. Meanwhile, office users and municipal representatives utilise Chainels to gather data, information and monitor the overall health of the community.
“The platform makes our job much easier in several ways. We no longer need multiple communication channels, and important information is efficiently disseminated. We can also quickly generate reports, newsletters, and track our goals using the data from Chainels,” says Lena.
Adapting to a new platform can be challenging, but Innerstaden Göteborg has received positive feedback from its members. Through annual surveys, the organisation tracks member satisfaction with Chainels, which last year received a high rating of 3.7 out of 5.
“We also track event participation and gather feedback through short surveys, ensuring that we continuously improve our initiatives,” adds Lena.
Chainels offers several modules that enhance the community experience. For instance, the discount module provides members with special offers at various shops, incentivizing membership and fostering a sense of community.
Innerstaden Göteborg is proud of its Purple Flag accreditation, which signifies a commitment to creating a safe and vibrant evening economy. The Purple Flag initiative, originally from the UK, has been adapted to the Swedish context. Each year, a city is recognized for its efforts in improving safety and nighttime activities, and Gothenburg has been honoured for its achievements.
The organisation formed a Purple Flag group within the Chainels platform to further enhance communication and collaboration among stakeholders dedicated to improving the evening economy.
With Chainels, Innerstaden Göteborg has effectively unified its communication, streamlined operations, and fostered a strong sense of community among its diverse members. The platform has proven to be an invaluable tool in achieving the organisation's goals, from enhancing safety and promoting events to improving overall efficiency.
As Innerstaden Göteborg continues to grow and evolve, Chainels remains a crucial partner in their mission to develop a vibrant, safe, and inclusive city centre. The success of Innerstaden Göteborg serves as a testament to the power of effective communication and collaboration in transforming urban communities.