“The Time Machine” Social Innovation and Research-Creation Strategy for Risk Control in Informal Labor Communities

Strategies to control occupational risk factors face various challenges in terms of their application and effectiveness, even more so when it comes to providing risk-control solutions under informal working conditions. Purpose: explore opportunities presented by the use of social innovation strategies and methodologies derived from research-creation to establish educational control measures for occupational risk factors, for recovery and recycling workers in Bogotá (Colombia). Methods and procedures: There were two main phases for this research: one aimed to understand the different risk posed to informal labor communities based on workplace inspection and risk assessment norms NTC4114 and GTC45, the other one was aimed to develop a research-creation and social innovation-based strategy, to co-create innovative solutions to address risk factors with the informal workers New Results: Risk conditions were measured for the first time with this group of informal workers and a social innovation creation was made to control risk factors and to dignify working conditions Conclusions: Informal work has precarious and uncontrolled risk. In addition, the systematic exclusion of informal workers from public health labor systems organized by national governments means that protective measures for this group of people are often ineffective or inadequate, or in the worst case, non-existent.