Improving lives by shaping our own future
UX POD
improving lives by shaping our own future
what IS happening
People are being actively blocked from defining their own future. Everywhere we work, play, live – we see people in systems that are not designed in their interests. Instead, both the civil servants delivering social services, and the people using them, are being led by the policies and processes at the heart of a system, instead of being enabled by them. Too often, we see social services that are designed to:
not adapt to changing needs à developments in technology and finance mean the way we shape our response to challenges needs to remain adaptive
respond over prevent à undermining long-term solutions that are often more cost-effective
reduce “innovation” to a buzzword à often just an excuse to cost-cut in financially-pressured public services
rely on pre-determined solutions à transplanting preconceived best practices[i] and optimising within existing boundaries of choice
Put simply, many of these barriers are preventing people from effectively engaging in the social services and systems they interact with. Instead, we are stuck in a dichotomy between market forces telling us we are shaped by our individual desires, and a welfare state that tells us we are defined by our needs[ii]. On the assumption that people – not the market or the state – are best placed to make the best decisions themselves to improve their lives – the current status quo is simply not working.
what SHOULD BE happening
We see a world where people have the ability to actively shape their own future; where people have the access, resources and decision-making ability to make the best decisions to improve their life chances themselves. For this to happen, people need to be active in the design, and governance of, the systems and services they engage with. The real power to shape it and influence the flow of resources to make it happen.
We want to change the current incentive structures, at the heart of systems, so that lines of accountability make sense for those they are designed to serve: the people. We aim to simplify the complex barriers to entry for people, and re-shape these systems by engaging people, and their lived experience, in the active design of solutions to meet their needs.
We need system teams to not just think about incrementally improving existing social services, but who are able to reframe the challenge from the perspective of people’s actual needs. System teams who have the capability to lead a solution-design process that truly enables people to articulate the latent challenges they face. Armed with those insights, policy design and service delivery can flow concurrently – seeing solutions evolve through real-time learning and adaptation towards optimal impact[iii]. If systems can protect a space – both physical and a virtual policy space – for experiential learning, iteration and innovation, solutions can be designed backwards from users’ needs and experience. Only then can we innovate new solutions that can address the real problem.
how it works
We work with the system to identify a UX Pod Leader who will be coached through three pillars of the UX Pod process: develop, design and deliver.
during the develop stage
the UX Pod Leader would be identified from within the system and be no more than one layer removed from the sign-off decision-maker(s)
s/he would create 3-tiers of team:
core team = designers
extended team = engaged experts
informed team = top leadership & decision-makers
the UX Pod Leader would be directly coached to take their core team through the UX Pod Curriculum, designed to facilitate the development of relevant and transformative solutions, whilst building capability within local system talent
during the design stage, the UX Pod Lead will take the team through two major steps:
inspiration à what opportunity is motivating the search for a solution?
research to generate ideas and insights by learning from the behaviours of people facing the challenge (understanding what the right problem actually is)
challenge brief developed – translating insights & framing the opportunity for creation (innovation)
identify the “wing” – protected physical space for experimentation, positive deviance and iteration
workplan the ideation step – creating space for both divergent thinking (creating multiple options) and convergent thinking (making choices based on the test-iterate loop)
ideation à delivered through two sub-steps:
co-create concept(s) by translating insights into potential solutions
prototype the minimum viable solution (rapid and iterative testing of the essential core of the solution with real users), but only until you have enough feedback to drive the idea forward
during the deliver stage, the solution will be:
implemented:
solution viability is promoted to win early adopters and leverage funding for implementation
a roadmap is created – including the partnerships, team and trajectory of milestones required to deliver the solution
continuous evaluation through evidence-driven feedback allowing real-time adaptation (capturing positive deviance and failures to inform the optimal design and implementation of future solutions)
spread:
through diffusion. Once a successful solution is identified – one that intersects desirability from those who use it; technological feasibility and economic viability – it will be scaled through diffused networks at multiple levels of the system (not top-down through policy alone)
bringing the UX Pod to life
Ultimately, we believe the UX Pod process can be applied to address the design challenges faced by policymakers in multiple systems. Below are three iterations we hope to test in the near future:
UX POD curriculum
Rather than re-invent the wheel, we have built upon elements of existing ‘sciences’ that combine to provide a coherent approach to supporting systems to develop, design, and deliver effective services. The curriculum itself will reference elements of beveridge 4.0[i] (reimagining the thinking behind the UK welfare state); problem-driven iterative adaptation[ii], principles of design thinking[iii] [iv] and human-centered design[v].
This is underpinned by some fundamental conditions for success which we believe need to be in place for the approach to drive results:
what we are looking for
We are currently seeking partners to help us develop this approach, and apply it to opportunities in prison, secondary education and local governance systems – three areas we believe this approach can have transformative impact.
Partners to us means those willing to co-develop and lead this approach; thought partners; those willing to provide financial and logistical support; as well as organisations who are delivering solutions in these systems and are open to collaborating on applying the UX POD approach to enhance their impact.
To help me shape this – and dialogue around what is needed to make it happen, please get in touch:
Emily Akers
emilyakersconsult@gmail.com
+256 (0) 751147821 / +44 (0) 7946365964
