Projects:LivingLab Design

LivingLab design is a series of workshop designed and facilitated by Katalin Hausel.

Context

The UniverCite co-working space is launched, given 16 months to build a live community and network of the business/scientific/artistic community within the Lausanne-Renens area. It is hoped to prove itself to be useful either for the commune, and/or businesses, and/or individual members to become economically stable after this initial period. Before addressing specific design issues, let's look at the big picture: let's try to design the near-future of the lab by asking questions, sharing the background of the different stakeholders to support this project. How can we build a common vision for the space? How can we set shared achievable goals that integrate everyone's own? How can the lab itself benefit from the diverse community it hopes to attract?

Goals

To understand the different interests and motivations behind the project; to have a shared idea of the future and how to start making it happen; to forge teams/collaborations and to make plans to tackle foreseeable challenges.

Method

- listen always to what is emerging, don't see the world just through an Excel spreadsheet

- build raw and fast prototypes, collect feedback, fine-tune and iterate till needed

- trust the collective and individual attitudes and skill

Workshop Specifics

To ask questions:

VISION: what is the vision of the space in a year's time for each workshop participant

EXPECTATIONS: we need to understand the expectations of stakeholders, including communities which will inhabit the space

CHALLENGES: what are the foreseeable challenges for the project

VALUES: what are the core values the space needs to reflect MOTIVATION: what are the personal motivations for each person to work on the project

GOALS: what are the goals for each stakeholder

SUCCESS CRITERIA: for each person - 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months

To design the near future:

VISION: let's create a shared vision

VALUES: what are our shared values

TIMEFRAME: create a shared timeline

GOALS: identify shared goals and place them within the timeframe

CHALLENGES: how to address specific challenges

SUCCESS CRITERIA: within the timeframe

COLLABORATION: teams; how to utilise the expertise of the emerging community of the space

TAKING CARE OF EACH OTHER: follow-up; a platform to trace progress and voice concerns; set a regular weekly meeting time for optional face-to-face exchange

References

http://www.artisopensource.net/projects/near-future-design.html

http://www.shareable.net/

http://www.methodkit.com/

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wyIje9lqc1oFF7viViN6Tpls3p0J50GmTbuD47_m-XY/edit

Workshop OUTLINE

1. Check-in (circle)

Who are you? What brings you here?

2. COLLECTING personal inquiries - tools: post-it notes, pens, board to stick them on

ask to write and read them aloud one by one: vision; values, timeframe, etc identify overlaps and contradictions

break

3. FINDING common future(s) - tools: another board (white), post-it notes from previous session, markers

• Shared aspirations: VISION, VALUES, GOALS

each person tell a scenario for the future of the lab that incorporates as many visions, goals, values on the board as possible (based on previous "Wow!" moments) work on a shared narrative; try to tweak the central narrative so that everyone feels that their most important personal goals etc are included

• Shared responsibilities: TIMELINE, CHALLENGES, SUCCESS CRITERIA

in the shared narrative for the space, how deliverables will be delivered and problems solved (expand the narrative)

4. WORKING together to make it happen:

-personal expertise, how can you contribute, form teams -how to bring people on: the emerging community in the lab, finding specialists -follow-up - how to communicate successes and problems, how to keep the group working together, how to meet face-to-face

5. Check-out (circle) What do you take away from the workshop?

[REPORT of first Livinglab workshop] [REPORT of second LivingLab workshop]