ThinkPlace - Innovation Amplified

Five steps to designing a successful business model

Daniel Silkstone — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 01:05:21 +0000

Five steps to designing a successful business model

Australia

At ThinkPlace we design change. New services. Organisational transformations. New business models.

And in each case there’s a common thread – a binding philosophy. We design in collaboration with the people who will be impacted.

That’s how we create change that lasts.

I’ve been thinking about that recently as we’ve been working with a large multinational company to create a new business model. So often business models are born in the boardroom; but whenever possible they should be born on the ground.

What do I mean by that? In this case, the work was for a company. It could, just as easily, be for a government department in Canberra or an NGO in Washington DC.

Working with the large food company, we were trying to build a new business model within an existing company structure. We wanted to get a different kind of product into the market in a different kind of way. A different way of marketing that product. A different way of distributing it. A radically different way of selling it.

We wanted to bypass the company’s traditional ways of reaching customers. Our task was to make the product nutritious, aspirational, accessible and affordable.

We saw an opportunity to build a new salesforce, hiring women from low income areas to sell the product to their neighbours and peers. If we could make it work this would result in a double-benefit: Better uptake for the product and a new source of livelihood for women in very low income communities.

This challenged our client to work differently, testing assumptions with people before the point where we had arrived at a perfectly thought through solution. It hasn’t been a smooth process but it has been hugely positive. So what were the ingredients of our successful business model design?

1. FIND A SPONSOR – AND THE RIGHT ONE

In this project we were fortunate to get a senior company executive on board very early. Not only did he care about the ‘what’ of the project, he cared deeply about the ‘why’. Finding and enlisting this person creates multiple positives. It meant that within the company the project had a champion, who has invested in promoting the value of the change to his peers at the top level.

His endorsement also sent a strong message to people throughout the entire organisation. For us, as designers, it provided the confidence to know that the project had strong internal backing. As consultants we should never just assume that because we are hired to complete a project or effect a change, that the organisation hosting us is on board with what we are doing or how we’re working. It’s up to us to help create the conditions that give us license to operate effectively.

2. BREAK FREE OF THE BOARDROOM

A new business model, like any other change, should be prototyped and tested. If you conceive how you want it to operate without talking to people on the ground there’s a good chance you’ll be looking at a failed implementation.

In this case, we wanted to try some ideas and put them out into the world. We wanted to test them with users to see whether they worked. There’s a leap of faith required here. For the company we were partnering with, and for many companies, there can be a nervousness about failing in front of users. But ‘failing forward’ (testing something, identifying why it didn’t work, tweaking it and then testing again) is the essence of good human-centred design. And guess what? When we tested our ideas, some of them didn’t work very well. That’s how we ended up with the business model that’s more likely to work.

3. COMMIT TO HUMILITY

As designers, it’s important that we come in knowing that there is plenty of expertise around us. We don’t know everything. Not all of our ideas will be better than other people’s and we need to be prepared to acknowledge that. I find that when you come in with this attitude you often see it reflected back. Mutual humility and openness breeds a culture in which experimentation and innovation are enabled.

In this case, the company had previously run a pilot project selling and distributing the same product we were looking at. We wanted to try some different approaches but were upfront about saying that testing would show us if our ideas were worth developing and scaling up. It turned out the new way of doing things outperformed the previous trial.

4. TAKE A TEAM APPROACH

Our preference is always to form a core design team for a project like this and to make sure there is good representation from the client within that team. When we’re doing discovery (talking with users about how they might experience products or services) voices from the client organisation are often part of the process. When we are coming up with prototype interventions and testing them on the ground those same team members are right there with us.

This means the client sees first-hand what works and what doesn’t. They are invested in the outcome because it is THEIR outcome. Taking this approach generates buy-in far beyond what you can secure by returning from your testing phase and briefing a project team on what happened while you were away from their gaze. Once again, it’s about breaking out of the boardroom.

5. INTELLECTUAL GENEROSITY HELPS

We’re proud of our methods. Time and again, we have seen them work to successfully design policy, strategy, catalyse organisational transformation and design compelling services and experiences. But they aren’t magic and they aren’t a secret we keep from our clients. For a core design team to work well there’s a capability exchange that needs to happen subtly (and sometimes overtly). We welcome the client and our partners into the design team, knowing they bring subject matter expertise and a sponsoring voice (in our four voices model we call this the voice of intent). But for that team to function at its highest level we also need to generously share ideas, mindsets and tools behind our version of human-centred design in complex systems. When we do this well the impact can be significant.

Seeing these methods at work underscores how much more effective they can be in creating lasting, positive change. Every ThinkPlace designer is (to a small extent) a teacher also. But we must always do it from a position of mutual respect.

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Our three big ideas for the future of Singapore

Daniel Silkstone — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 06:00:22 +0000

Singapore

Our three big ideas for the future of Singapore

Topics

#innovation #globalinnovation

It’s an exciting time to be in Singapore – a city and a region that are rapidly changing and where a spirit of innovation and future-focused activity is working every day to make life better for those who live, work and create.

As a proudly Singaporean studio we are thrilled to be among so much of the great work that is going on. As Singaporeans and Singapore residents our goals as a team reflect the things that we want for Singapore itself. So when we sat down recently to set ourselves some ambitious targets it’s not surprising the form they took.

Three big ideas for the future of Singapore.

Video of Our 3 Big Ideas for Singapore

At ThinkPlace we don’t just set goals, we set OKR’s. What are they?

This method was introduced by Andy Grove at Intel in the 1970s and has been championed more recently by John Doerr. It has been used with success by everybody from Google and Uber to U2 frontman Bono.

OKR stands for objectives and key results. This process involves setting shared objectives for an organisation and then attaching them to key results that are specific enough to allow future judgement about whether your objective has been met. A characteristic of properly designed OKRs is that they must be measurable. It must be possible to look back and decide whether the objective was or was not reached.

OKRs are a great tool for driving strategic intent and making sure a team is locked in and focusing its energy and efforts on the things that really matter. We’ve found them hugely beneficial at ThinkPlace.

Why are we sharing these OKRs? Because to succeed in them we need people to collaborate with us. This is a call for people to join us, to work together and be part of something that really matters for the future of Singapore.

1. CONNECTING CITIZENS AND GOVERNMENT

We think we can play an important role connecting citizens, visitors and all sorts of people across Singapore with senior decision makers, to make everyone's life a bit easier.

There’s something really exciting about the way the Singapore government is engaging with citizens at the moment and we want to play a big part in pushing that further. Because we know that when government leaders get better at understanding the needs and experiences of people who use government services that the inevitable result is better services (and a better place to live). Codesign approaches hold much promise for the future of Singapore.

2. MAKING THE INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM A REALITY

There’s so much activity in this space, reflecting the Singaporean Government’s determination to be (or remain) a world-leader. All around us we see initiatives like Smart Nation, Digital Government Blueprint and Industry Transformation Roadmaps. All of these are ambitious attempts to try and get people innovating and connecting in Singapore. We know the intent is there but we believe there are still some big challenges to this happening.

A big question for us in the next few years is: How can we make Singapore genuinely the most interesting place to be innovating and collaborating anywhere in the world? From SME transformation to industry-wide collaboration, there is a lot happening.

If this is a space that you care about or where you are looking to make impact then we are ready and willing to apply our expertise in user research, design methodologies and innovation frameworks to help you make positive impact.

3. WORKING ACROSS ASIA

We’ve been fortunate enough to be closely involved with some of the most interesting and important transformations that have taken place in Singapore over recent years. Now we are taking advantage of Singapore’s connectedness to the region to try and spread the impact we can have.

Singapore’s future is fundamentally tied to the broader region. As neighbouring economies and societies develop and transform themselves the opportunities for regional collaboration and shared value are only increasing. We believe there is huge potential to work with more governments across the region, introducing design thinking and design methodology and citizen-centred decision-making. Our deep experience means we know that, more often than not, these approaches drive better policy and better outcomes.

These are our three big goals as we move towards the end of this century’s second decade and look forward to its next. They will drive our team and we will measure ourselves against them.

What are your goals, and how can we help you reach them, making sure that together we drive a better future for all Singaporeans?

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Helping businesses benefit from digital technology

Daniel Silkstone — Mon, 23 Sep 2019 23:23:00 +0000

Work

Helping businesses benefit from digital technology

Service

Experience & Behavioural DesignInnovation AmplifiedDigital

People

Sector

Strong Economies

Singapore is a nation that is pushing hard to build its digital future.

The Singaporean government has taken an active role, supporting the nation’s businesses and companies to embrace the efficiencies and growth possibilities made possible by emerging technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analysis.

The response to this urging has been strong and enthusiastic but enthusiasm alone will not be enough to guarantee success.

While many businesses display a willingness to wade into these new spaces there are not always sufficient levels of knowledge or competency for them to do so with confidence.

It’s especially true for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) who often lack the resources to run detailed analyses of the opportunities and risks associated with specific technologies. They sometimes find it hard to know where and with who to get started.

At the same time technological innovators and vendors often have an incomplete understanding of the business problems they could be helping to solve. Experience and context is needed to allow them to better target their innovations and make products work in the real world.

THE CHALLENGE

It's not always easy for businesses and technology providers to work together to create new mutual value. It requires trust.

For these reasons the Singapore Government has established the Open Innovation Platform – a way to connect and facilitate partnerships between businesses with hard-to-solve problems, and technology providers who just might have the answer.

The platform is an initiative of Infocomm Media Development Authority.

OUR RESPONSE

ThinkPlace is supporting the program as a design thinking facilitator.

As part of the platform, we’ve been working directly with businesses and technology solution providers to help them engage with one another, and find what works.

We’re working with a variety of Singapore businesses across areas like construction, insurance, food, retail and sustainability. Using design thinking and other methods, as well as our extensive and diverse consulting experience, we’ve helped them make sense of what they’re seeking to achieve and how to engage the world of technology effectively.

HOW WE DO IT

The OIP is a strong platform for matching and catalysing business and technology partners. It’s based on a model, where businesses construct a design challenge around their problem, and offer a prize to the technologist that can best tackle it.

The process starts with problem framing. Together with IMDA, ThinkPlace works with businesses to help them refine their problem statement, ready to be published to the platform.

Some businesses have a very clear idea of the problem (having dealt with it for years) and we help them to put it into language that is clear for a technologist. With other businesses, we help clarify intent and craft the problem statement that they want to put before a techno

We use human-centred design techniques to ensure that requirements consider real world human needs and context. At other points, we’ll explore the system-level view, walk through critical business processes, and consider business risks. Once we’ve reached clarity, the agreed-upon ‘problem’ is then uploaded to the platform and the IMDA shares it with a global pool of thousands of tech providers, to generate a shortlist of interested parties.

At this point, we support IMDA and the business to evaluate potential solutions, and prepare the businesses to effectively interview a chosen few solution providers.

Once a partner is selected we help the business and technology providers agree to the terms of the design challenge, and the KPIs they are to meet in order to receive prize money.

Next, we assist the business problem owner and technology solution provider to design the solution. We bring in years of design experience to create a proof of concept or prototype (depending on the terms of the challenge) that is effective, efficient, ethical and provides a great user experience.

THE IMPACT

This project provides Singapore’s businesses with critical support from an independent trusted ally who can help them navigate a process that is absolutely necessary but often nervously engaged with and potentially fraught with risk.

“What they’ve really appreciated is our independence and our real commitment to trying to understand and address their specific challenges,” says ThinkPlace Singapore Managing Director Bill Bannear.

“It’s a great thing to have the confidence that you are buying something that is really going to help your business, not just being sold something shiny that you’ll regret investing in six months from now.”

For the technology solution providers, the program has opened up new business opportunities and a platform that makes it easy to co-create valuable products. The partnerships from OIP are already creating a portfolio of new business products, powered by emerging technologies, that will scale across the region.

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Tuesday, 1 October 2019

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The one algorithm we are still badly missing

Daniel Silkstone — Sun, 22 Sep 2019 23:56:13 +0000

Australia

The one algorithm we are still badly missing

Topics

#innovation #globalinnovation, human-centred design

We are seeing it constantly; the algorithms that decide which news to place in our feeds like nothing better, it seems, than feeding us news about algorithms.

I am fascinated by the pace of artificial intelligence discourse in everyday media and news. And I see huge potential for the shift that’s underway to unearth systemic root drivers using data in ways that the human mind can’t process.

Take, for example, IBM’s much-lauded Project Debater. This masterpiece of algorithm and programming – released in 2019 – has achieved plenty of fanfare. The promise it offers is tantalising: A tool that can help people make decisions about complex questions, weighing up evidence (in the form of big data) on a computational scale no human could match and using decision-making frameworks to provide advice that is said to be both evidence-based and “not clouded by emotion”.

It’s an interesting metaphor in this context, the cloud. More on that in a moment.

Amid all this change, as I read about new business ideas, services and their possible ethical implications, I can’t help but lean on my own world view, as a human-centred designer and sociologist.

What about Human Intelligence (HI) in this world of increasing AI? As humans, what do we bring? What can we add to both guide and complement the emergence of AI?

It’s important as a species to register our intent: that we are not designing for our own obsolescence when it comes to making sense of the world and working to improve it.

How might we be sure to preserve the role of us, as people, in the way we define and design solutions to our most pressing challenges?

Let’s get back to clouds. In 1966, Karl Popper wrote the famous piece: Of Clocks and Clouds. Decades later, the distinction it makes is still relevant.

Popper observed that clocks are precise mechanisms. It is clear what each component of the clock does and how changing that component will affect the clock as a whole.

Not so clouds! A cloud is composed of many different components and the individual behaviour of each is random and unpredictable. 

“Cloud problems” are complex. They feature interconnections and interdependencies that are unstable and unpredictable. Changing one part of this system will not have a predictable outcome for other parts. These problems cannot be solved in a linear, staged way.

Emotions, relationships, personal connections and private motivations, all are real parts of the problems we see. But most are below the surface. Sometimes invisible. All require human intelligence to build and deploy understanding.

The temptation here would be to presume that, while algorithmic understanding is emerging rapidly and constantly shifting we have “got the human part covered”.

That’s not what I’m arguing. While human intelligence is something we all possess (and something older than human civilisation itself) this does not mean that we don’t need to develop, update, rethink and redesign how we apply it.

For those who seek to make a positive change in the world, this is the truly great challenge of our time. At ThinkPlace we are increasingly working to pair our understanding of human behaviours and the social with the information-gathering and analytic power offered by emerging technologies. Together, both are stronger.

So I’m throwing out two challenges: How  might we increase our sophistication of HI as fast as we work on improving artificial algorithms? 

And how might we define HI in a way that means it is built into future decision-making so that AI will only work if HI is involved? 

Why does this matter? If we pay attention to HI as a critical partner to AI, then complex issues will be solved in dignified and socially sensitised ways, and we have a much greater chance of producing the results we most need. 

It’s possible that algorithms can and will get better at “cloudy thinking” to tackle the kinds of complex problems Popper identified (problems that we see are increasingly common and increasingly complex in the connected, globalised, digitally transforming world we now inhabit). But we know that humans offer some powerful capabilities right now that can be put to use with great impact.

What if we proposed HI as an algorithm too? At its most basic an algorithm is a recipe; a set of assumptions and instructions that can be applied to determine decision-making. So here’s a new recipe for a new human intelligence…

Understanding the social + enrolling the social + optimised collaboration capacity + strengthened learning models. 

Pause for a second and read it again. Think of the power this recipe might hold. If we start to think of things in this way, we can then devote meaningful attention to the work needed to create HI at the same rate we are furiously building AI.

Here’s an example. ThinkPlace recently led an award-winning project to co-create a Family Safety Hub for the ACT Government. The idea was to remove some of the friction or disconnection points between available services and resources for both survivors and perpetrators of family violence, increasing connection and accessibility to make seeking and receiving help a more seamless experience.

To do this we spent plenty of time speaking with survivors of family violence from a variety of backgrounds, as well as discussions with stakeholders in the system and even perpetrators themselves. The ostensible purpose of this was discovery. By seeking, gaining and synthesising insights from users of the system we hoped to use that understanding to create a better system (this is the heart of what human-centred design and co-design are all about).

But we quickly noticed something else we hadn’t built into the project intentionally. The act of coming together to discuss these matters in a shared and safe environment had value in itself. Lots of value. These “focus groups” became “conversation circles”. They physically and emotionally brought people together who would otherwise have remained disconnected and isolated.

To some extent, the research became the intervention. We are now following up how “conversation circles” (both physical and virtual) can be built into the future system.

I’d humbly submit that an entirely data-driven, algorithm-decided look at this problem would not have achieved the sense of collaborative catharsis that our process uncovered (and would not have been ready to pivot and capitalise on the value that emerged).

That’s why human intelligence will continue to play a vital role as our ability to tackle complex problems increases over time.

Responsibility for building this capability lies with leaders in organizational settings - government, corporate, community - to invest in the balance of HI and AI. 

It’s as leaders we can pay attention to how people in our organisations are given agency to be participants in this HI. It plays to very real areas of organisational culture expectations: as issues get more complex this requires even great HI. 

The cultural imperative to build HI - as a collective concept, in temporary and more permanent settings, can help us more fiercely focus on what matters. 

Nina is Global Chief Methodologist, and is driving new models for collaboration and innovation. 

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Monday, 30 September 2019

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Innovative market research for a loved NZ brand

Daniel Silkstone — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 02:34:02 +0000

Work

Innovative market research for a loved NZ brand

Service

Experience & Behavioural DesignInnovation AmplifiedResearch & insights

People

How does a NZ children’s shoe company cut through in a crowded, competitive and established market on the other side of the world?

Bobux, a New Zealand company founded in 1991, offers a range of shoes for babies and toddlers and has experienced success with its products in New Zealand and some other markets.

The company wanted to know what it needed to do and how it needed to present its products in order to establish a successful export business in Northern Europe.

THE CHALLENGE

Bobux was keen to maximise the market opportunities created with the onboarding of their new Northern European based distributor. They had a small market share of enthusiastic consumers and wanted to extend their geographical footprint and grow market share.

Leveraging the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise network in Europe, they accessed data that gave detailed information about their target market in Europe. This pointed them in the direction of Germany and in particular the cosmopolitan city of Hamburg to deep dive into their assumptions and find out more.

OUR RESPONSE

Through the Better by Design programme offered to New Zealand export companies by NZTE (a human centred research approach to a deeper understanding of people’s needs, behaviours and experiences in off-shore markets) Bobux embarked on a journey to understand their German customer directly.

ThinkPlace recruited a German based human centred research team, designed the research approach with Bobux and introduced them to the team here in NZ , prior to them all convening in Hamburg. It was important to have a local team who spoke German and to understood nuances of the language, location and behaviours observed.

HOW WE DID IT

The German based research team spoke to Hamburg parents in their homes, seeking information about their childhoods, their children’s needs, their thoughts on children’s foot health and their preferences when putting their own children in shoes - from learning to walk to school and sports shoes.

They also discussed their weekend activities, where they spend time and what they do.

Engagements took place in-home and over 1-2 hrs. The research teams encouraged parents to show them their shoes, their children’s bedrooms, their closets and storage.

Our research team went to parks and other child friendly spaces and gathering points to observe what children were doing and what footwear they wore. Their Distributor also accompanied them to the in-store environments to see the context for Bobux shoes being sold and in particular how they were being displayed.

THE IMPACT

Bobux gained an understanding into the lives of Hamburg parents and a real deep-dive into their thoughts and behaviours.

Informed by this research the team came back to NZ and upacked their findings. Armed with insights from the research we iterated their 3 -5 year strategy to incorporate innovations they wanted to make across the business.

An intentional focus on responding to their gathered insights has seen some quick innovation cycles that included adding additional shoes to their range to be more in tune with seasonal requirements in Northern Europe. The creation of a stand-alone display system to help differentiate their shoes in the crowded store environments they saw. Marketing materials were also tweaked to reflect the weekend activities observed in Hamburg which were so important to their family life.

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Wednesday, 25 September 2019

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Innovation framework for an energy sector leader

Daniel Silkstone — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 01:39:12 +0000

Work

Innovation framework for an energy sector leader

Service

Innovation AmplifiedStrategy & policy designOrganisation Transformation

People

The electricity sector is going through accelerated change, driven by a relentless march of renewable energy entering the generation mix.

Consumers are enthusiastically embracing new energy technologies. They have more choice than ever before about where to buy electricity and even how to generate and store it.

Within this context major players in the sector are required to show a highly-developed sense of strategic planning and to display the organisational agility to change their business models and practices in such a way as to meet customers where they want to be met.

TasNetworks was grappling with many of these issues before they retained ThinkPlace to carry out this work.

THE CHALLENGE

To stay relevant in the market, and deliver revenue to its shareholders, TasNetworks needs to innovate. In late 2018, the company engaged ThinkPlace to develop an Innovation Framework. The framework is intended to help TasNetworks “execute ideas to achieve value for TasNetworks and our customers”. 

OUR RESPONSE

The project team used ThinkPlace’s Design System to co-design a pathway for innovation.

Stage 1: Establishing intent to understand TasNetworks aims for the project and setting the scope and deliverables.
Stage 2: Exploring to understand the experience and expectations of Innovation from the perspective of team members, customers and partners to ensure the framework builds value for customers and addresses any cultural blockers. This stage started with a one-day co-design training session for team members, to help them create the right mindset for the design. The course covered the philosophy and fundamental techniques of design thinking such as how to involve consumers from the start, how to prototype and test ideas iteratively.
Stage 3: Planning what the innovation framework might look like for TasNetworks. The team explored a number of frameworks from other organisations, then created the core principles that innovation would need to follow, and mapped the journey from a team member’s perspective. This created the groundwork for a pathway, which was iterated a few times. The team then generated many possible areas for innovation, clustered them and landed on four Innovation Frame. Some of these were close to ‘core activities’ that TasNetworks already does, others were more adjacent to core business. Following this, the team made an assessment of TasNetwork’s innovation maturity, mapped to ThinkPlace’s Innovation Maturity Model
Stage 4: Planning to activate the framework and ensure it stays relevant to the organisation. Apart from receiving endorsement from senior management, a number of communication activities, capability building and other tasks are required to put the framework in action. A test stage was proposed to test and refine the framework.

HOW WE DID IT

The pathway identifies 5 stages to innovate

Identify: The first stage to identify a problem and gain a better understanding of opportunities and challenges
Ideate: The second to Ideate possible solutions to the problem
Incubate: Then to Iterate ideas in a rapid succession of agile sprints, until most hypotheses have been validated and a project with a defined scope emerges
Running a project: To run the project following Tasnetworks’ formal project management practices
Implement: To implement the solution across the network and organisation

Video of ThinkPlace is helping innovate the energy sector

It also provided some focus to innovation efforts through four innovation frames:

Frame 1: Accelerating game-changing business improvements
Frame 2: Creating energy solutions with our customers and communities
Frame 3: Harnessing data to enable better outcomes for customers
Frame 4: Reimagining resources around us for new products and services

THE IMPACT

The framework was presented to the client in May 2019 and received enthusiastic support from executives.

ThinkPlace was subsequently engaged to support TasNetworks to test the Identify stage on a real business problem. The work done in this project will create significant impact for TasNetworks' ability to innovate for a challenging energy future and therefore contribute to the overall shift towartds more sustainable, renewable, secure and reliable energy in Australia's future.

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Researching water storage in Jamaica to prevent mosquito-borne illness

Daniel Silkstone — Fri, 13 Sep 2019 05:21:55 +0000

Work

Researching water storage in Jamaica to prevent mosquito-borne illness

Service

Scaled systemic changeInclusive Co-design & EngagementResearch & insights

People

Sector

Healthy Societies

Forty-five and fifty-five gallon drums are ubiquitous with Jamaican culture, generally used for storing household water.

In many fringe-urban and rural homes, this is the primary source of water, while in urban homes water is kept in drums “just in case” - although water supply is often much more reliable.

But these drums make for ideal breeding sites for the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the primary transmitter of Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya viruses. This typically-Jamaican cultural practice is contributing to the transmission of diseases that could be preventable with some behavioural change.

Covering water sources is often promoted as a simple solution to preventing mosquito breeding, however many challenges remain in consistently achieving effective covering.

While the Jamaican Ministry of Health (MoH) Vector Control Unit has identified water drums as one of the most proliferous sources of mosquitoes on the island, there is a strong need to understand the full extent of the environmental, structural and behavioural challenges related to water storage.

THE CHALLENGE

To change behaviour around water storage it is important to know how that behaviour functions and why.

The MoH tasked ThinkPlace, alongside Johns Hopkins University Centre for Communication Programs (JHU CCP) as part of the Breakthrough ACTION consortium, with undertaking a human-centred design approach to uncover rich insights around the use of water storage drums and around water storage behaviours more generally in areas of Jamaica with inconsistent access to piped water.

The ultimate goal? To design and test interventions that could be implemented by the MoH to improve water storage practices throughout Jamaica, diminishing ideal breeding sites for the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

Although much research has been conducted on water storage and mosquito breeding sites, the human-centred approach is novel in the Jamaican context as it allows for solutions to be developed iteratively with community members, rather than developing solutions in isolation for them, which has been the traditional practice to date.

OUR RESPONSE

The discovery research was led by ThinkPlace and also involved a team from CCP and was assisted by local researchers. It uncovered, among other crucial insights, that many misconceptions exist about how mosquitoes breed and why people cover some water containers and not others, as well as deeply-rooted social norms around water storage.

This new understanding of the behavioural challenges surrounding water storage pointed the team towards a range of opportunities for intervention.

HOW WE DID IT

Following a collaborative ‘Imagine’ workshop with key stakeholders from the MoH and Vector Control Services to generate, develop and refine ideas, eight concepts emerged that were tested in-situ with both urban and peri-urban communities surrounding Kingston.

Through this iterative testing process, it was found that some of the ideas were desirable by community members but not feasible, and experimentation with these concepts was discontinued.

Ultimately, four interventions emerged as having the most potential to create sustained behavioural change around water storage practices: a complete revision of the vector control workflow, a multi-channel communication program, a drum exchange program, and a group of structural and product-based solutions.

THE IMPACT

The MoH was provided with comprehensive recommendations and implementation plans for the four interventions, along with briefs for contracting creative agencies to tackle the communication program and product design challenges that remained.

Feedback from the MoH’s involvement throughout the project was very positive.

You have given us much to work with, not just with the solution but with the methodology used and your approach. It was great. A job very well done.

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Friday, 20 September 2019

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Why innovation is more than just invention...

Daniel Silkstone — Mon, 13 May 2019 02:10:18 +0000

Australia

Why innovation is more than just invention...

Topics

Co-design and innovation, innovation

People call them lightbulb moments. It’s an instructive metaphor.

The process of innovation is understood as a moment of inspiration. And that moment is represented by a piece of breakthrough technology (the bulb) associated with an infamous inventor (Edison, or the many people who ‘invented’ it before him – more about that later).

It’s a big idea about big ideas. And it’s playing no small part in holding us back.

As designers, and as people wanting to make change in the world, we need to move beyond this restrictive notion of innovation. Because when you spend your time as we do, tackling complex challenges across the globe, it becomes obvious that this isn’t the only kind of innovation we need.

In complex human systems, like health, energy, or employment, it’s rare for a new piece of technology or a sudden Eureka moment to be the catalyst that drives communities forward, creates lasting positive change or crashes through the gridlock of an intractable situation.

There are some factors we repeatedly see that too-often determine whether innovation programs fail or succeed. And whether you’re an aid agency working in Africa or a government agency making policy in Australia if you’re searching for ways to innovate for impact these lessons can help you succeed.

Innovation is not just about new ideas

The first mistake in many innovation programs lies in thinking that innovation is solely about generating a new idea. Processes like hackathons have their place but the cult of the ‘heroic idea’ -- so stunningly simple that it sweeps all problems aside – means we rush past other possibilities that may be far more practical or effective.

Designing an innovation program solely around finding novelty means you are not thinking about how ideas will be implemented and whether they’ll lead to lasting, sustainable change.

This bias towards invention often results in technical solutions (apps, drones, blockchain) because technology can more easily display novelty. Human solutions may be a little less exciting and they are definitely more messy. They may have ‘been done before’ and so hold lesser appeal for those who fetishize the new.

But fast forward two years and that technical innovation may look a little different. Support has long evaporated, the app is crashing and the drones are gathering dust because no one knows how to fix them.

Let’s go back to Thomas Edison. He was by no means the first to have ‘invented' electric light, and not even the first to solve the problem of how to make a light that does not burn up in its own heat.

So why will every school child in perpetuity learn that Edison invented the lightbulb? Mainly because he had in place a means to rally funding and the networks required produce it and sell it.

I would argue this is good innovation – equal parts invention, action and building the partnerships needed to commercialise it.

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Thursday, 16 May 2019

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Community labs making change in Ethiopia

Daniel Silkstone — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 02:56:26 +0000

Kenya

Community labs making change in Ethiopia

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collective impact

ሰውን ለመርዳት ሰው መሆን በቂ ነው።

It’s enough to be human to help humans.

The only prerequisite to helping humans is being human yourself.

Biniam Belete, Mekedonia Foundation

In the chilly basement of a hotel in the Simien Mountains of Ethiopia, we sat listening to a diverse group of people from the local community read out their ideas.

There were farmers from a nearby village, Federal Government representatives flown in from Addis Ababa, Orthodox priests and Muslim leaders, school principals, health extension workers, and more.

Together, we were ideating, or brainstorming – always an optimistic, divergent part of the design process where potential solutions come to life. In this case, participants were coming up with ideas of how they would address stunting and undernutrition in their community.

Stunting, or low-height-for-age, is one of the most common measurements of chronic undernutrition. Almost half of Ethiopia’s population of children under the age of five suffer from stunting and almost half of all child deaths are associated with undernutrition. For those that survive, stunting can lead to lifelong limitations on health, learning and development.

The Government of Ethiopia has signed the Seqota Declaration to change all of this. By the end of 2030, Ethiopia aims to have ended childhood stunting for children under 2 years old.

Globally, ThinkPlace has aligned its mission with the Sustainable Development Goals and ending stunting is an important part of this global commitment.

That is the ‘what’ but this story is mostly about the ‘how’.

In order to address this complex challenge, the Ministry of Health, Big Win Philanthropy, and ThinkPlace are developing “community labs,” a multisectoral group at village level who combine tried and tested solutions with innovative experiments to address undernutrition.

The group in the Simien Mountains was one such lab and it was their first meeting.

“I’ll never teach my congregation something that I haven’t been taught myself…” said one of the Orthodox priests, as a lively discussion bloomed about a topic that’s very specific to the Ethiopian context: fasting.

In some other religions, fasting implies a complete abstention from eating – not in Ethiopia. Although self-declared vegetarians are rare, modern-day Ethiopians fast by effectively becoming vegan for the day. They do not consume any animal products and most Orthodox Ethiopians will not even touch a piece of cutlery that’s been used around a dish that contains an animal product.

Throughout the year, Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia fast two days a week on average, not eating until at least 12pm, and then only eating vegan the rest of the day. During holiday seasons like Lent, they fast for everyday of the week. Considering all fasts, Orthodox Ethiopians spend more than half the year as vegans.

Ethiopia is the land of Biblical individuals like Solomon and the Queen of Sheba; the land of Lucy, the most complete and most ancient early human skeleton known to the world; and the land of Africans who proudly declare their never-been-colonized status. The interrelatedness of faith, power, knowledge, and tradition are part of the Ethiopian DNA.

We knew these issues were something we needed to address head-on with the Labs.

When he mentioned teaching only what he’s been taught, the priest was referring to the widespread Ethiopian understanding that every Orthodox Christian must fast -- even pregnant women.

For a designer who works in complex systems, this begs the question: how do we increase prenatal health to reduce stunting and undernutrition, when pregnant women are required to fast? How can we ensure pregnant women are consuming the diversity of nutrients and protein needed for a healthy birth?

For what seems like such an intractable problem, mechanisms like the community labs can be powerful in revealing potential solutions. The concept of a ‘lab’ is a relatively popular concept across governments and industries, because it goes beyond a typical working group, committee, or meeting by encouraging genuine collaboration and co-creation.

Labs help diffuse knowledge and power structures and provide an equal footing for everyone in the room to share their expertise. Most problem solving in Ethiopia involves privileging seniority and sector-specific expertise, leading to top-down initiatives informed by quantitative data sets and objective measures.

Labs provide an alternative pathway: they are inclusive of informal, non-traditional forms of expertise and experience, and because they are focused on shifting behavior around nutrition, they take into account the qualitative, the irrational and the human.

That’s not all. Rather than focusing on what we know now, the Labs commit participants to brainstorm solutions based on a shared vision of the future (in this case ending stunting in their community by 2030)

Lab participants strategize by working backwards from that vision rather than by limiting themselves to current constraints. This future focus has led participants to consider how to ‘re-brand’ and promote nutritious, vegan foods that pregnant women can consume while still complying with important religious and cultural norms.

In 2015, the world planned to reduce stunting by 40% by 2030, but Ethiopia aimed at eradicating it. Its chosen method: an all-inclusive, community-based innovation team looking to address local problems through highly contextualized solutions.

Given Ethiopia’s complex culture and intricate social subtleties, the community lab has proven a powerful space for new connections and new problem-solving – even a problem as complex as one involving pregnancy, veganism, and Christianity.

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Sunday, 31 March 2019

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A design challenge for the youth of West Africa

Sashi Surendran — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 01:12:14 +0000

A design challenge for the youth of West Africa

Kenya

Africa is home to the youngest population in the world, and it is expanding quickly. By 2055, the African population aged 15-24, is expected to more than double.

Yet, “the continent remains stubbornly inhospitable – politically, economically, and socially – to young people” (UNDP). One of the main challenges that Africa will have to face in the 21st century will be to turn its youth explosion into growth and prosperity that includes and benefits everyone.

Poor management of population growth will have serious consequences. To avoid this, African countries will need new strategies in terms of leadership, institutions and policies. And much of that starts with tapping the potential of the continent’s youth.

That’s why designers from ThinkPlace US and ThinkPlace Kenya recently brought together 40 amazing young minds from more than 10 countries across West Africa for a Youth Design Challenge.

Over 13 hours spread across 4 days in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire we assembled these young leaders, gave them a challenge and provided them with expert mentors to help them tackle it using Human-Centered Design.

Held on the sidelines of Francophone Social and Behavior Change (SBC) Summit, 2019, the Youth Design Challenge was created to build innovation skills among participants by asking them to design a regional campaign promoting the potential of youth to steer their nations into an era of quality adolescent and reproductive health.

The conference brought together for the first time a community of Social Behaviour Change organizations, practitioners, researchers and youth advocates from French-speaking African nations to drive cutting-edge strategies for reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health across Sub-Saharan Africa.

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Thursday, 21 March 2019

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