Social Innovation Toolkit
Social innovation. How can it be achieved and lead to visible improvements to inspires others?
The political change in Britain in 2010 is aspired to lead to greater engagement and involvement by citizens from a grass root level. This requires citizens to take on new roles and responsibilities within their communities. However, the number of community workers in Scotland will half within this financial year, highlighting the need for tools and methods which focus on the needs of community members to encourage initiatives and teamwork.
The project’s outcome is a first iteration of a set of tools that aid communities to map their local resources and help focus on small changes that can be realised locally. The toolkit is part of an online engagement platform which unites community groups using the same toolkit. The outcome was informed by analysis of user-centred design and team management tools for their adaptation and use by community groups to provide a process and support.
What needs to happen at each part of the process to achieve co-production and not just ‘user engagement’?
My Role
User Research. The outcome needed to emerge from user research. For that I planned and executed a workshop with an activist group from Glasgow who organise kids activities, to learn about the current structure and supports which lead to change initiated by the community themselves. Numerous insights were also drawn from interviews with community workers, social research students and organisations engaging with communities from meeting at a national engagement tool conference I attended in Edinburgh.
The Toolkit
The outcome is a set of tasks divided into four meetings that enable small groups to work autonomously, without the support of external agents. It integrates group and individual tasks encouraging equal say and exchange of view points. The tasks systematically lead the group to realise their own resources and opportunities.
Individual process books
Academic and user research also highlighted to importance of reflection and individual working. Each kit comes with a handful of work books to be handed out to the key group members to prepare and reflect on group sessions.
4 Steps
The starter kit includes 4 short group sessions broken down into 3 individual steps each. They support identifying available resources and looking at the issue from different angles. The visual language makes it human, it incorporates people's silliness which is important for group dynamics and an optimistic mind set to think creatively and lateral.
Activy online Platform
The online platform gives community groups a voice and presence. It allows community groups with similar issues to connect and exchange learning. By creating video content and sharing interviews and findings, not only is their effort and process documented but also empathy is created supporting micro financing from local businesses and individuals.
The process was informed by academic research and a thesis prior to the practical work and creative part of the process.