2Ping is a local currency created by the social cooperative Lokaal Geld U.A. The objective of 2Ping is to stimulate social and economic benefits through the means of a digital local currency in Amsterdam South-East. Since October 2022 the social cooperative had made significant steps into realizing this local currency and is currently working with 17 local businesses.
The local currency was merely thought as a tool to encourage social good. However, instead of highlighting the social impact that people can provide, the emphasis was made on the economic benefits of the currency. This emphasis on economic benefits turned into a lack of motivation to do social good, as the economic benefits were too low in terms of self-interests due to its comparison with the Euro.
And so, the positive attitude of doing social work for the greater good was neglected, and the spotlights were shined bright on the function and relatively low benefits of the local currency. A shift of purpose was needed to change the perception of 2Ping.
Together with 2Ping this project tackles the following challenge: How can we reframe the purpose of a local currency system to a platform for doing social good?

By taking an anthropological stance and gaining insights through the lens of reciprocity a new purpose for 2Ping has been proposed together with a redesign for the 2Ping platform. The concept of reciprocity is a key concept which forms the foundation for community building and providing local transactions. It focuses on the dynamics of exchanges and underlying values, which can result in community building, social innovation, and sustained engagement between people. The concept of reciprocity was particularly relevant in the context of this design challenge, but also relevant in the field of design.
As designers we are often lost in the complexity of societal issues due to diverse contextual environments, needs of stakeholders and the goal-oriented approach of tackling social issues.
But with this goal-oriented approach we often lose the importance of the dynamics in relation and exchanges between actors and the underlying values for collaboration and shared interests.
Alongside the redesign of 2Ping this project proposes a Design for Generalized Reciprocity booklet that fills the gap of practical tools to guide fellow designers and pioneers of social change to design for reciprocity.
The booklet aims to introduce a process-oriented approach of searching for insights through observing exchanges between actors and accomodates template exercises to be familiarized with different types of reciprocities.