Design Thinking Methodology in the context of the IcARUS Project -Factsheet #1

This factsheet is based on research conducted for the IcARUS reports “Methodology for the adoption of DT in urban security & crime prevention initiatives” and “Guidelines to the DT implementation in IcARUS tasks”.

Do you speak IcARUS? Why the project has created a common glossary of terms

The IcARUS consortium is large and varied, gathering 6 municipalities and 11 institutions from 11 countries as well as an Expert Advisory Board and a Consultative Committee of Cities. Each partner has knowledge and experience of urban security issues but at varying degrees and obviously in different circumstances. Does juvenile delinquency for example – one of the project’s four focus areas – have the exact same meaning in Greece, the UK, Germany or Spain?

The consortium thus decided early on that one of the first things to do was to agree on the meaning of the project’s key terms and make sure everybody is speaking of and working on the same things. This goes well beyond the definition of terms per se. Behind the words and the meaning we give them lies a whole philosophy, a way to frame issues and clues as to how to tackle them. For example, when we speak of managing public spaces, do we mean relatively simple things such as providing public benches or ensuring that there are no physical obstacles to the flow of pedestrians, or do we mean in a much broader sense managing a city’s public spaces so that they contribute to social cohesion? Ask the question to a group of local authorities, academics, private businesses and civil society organisations and you are sure to fire a rich debate.

A creative and learning process

The IcARUS project did just that in a process that was driven by the University of Leeds. Over a period of about three months, they analysed academic publications in order to define a common meaning for:

• the project’s four focus areas: preventing and reducing juvenile delinquency, radicalisation and organised crime as well as managing public spaces;
• a series of cross-cutting themes: governance and diversification of actors, cyber/technology, gender issues, and transnational and cross-border issues;
• three key terms and expressions: urban security, crime prevention strategies, and multi-stakeholder partnerships.

They proposed a series of carefully argued definitions, which were then submitted to the project’s consortium and fine-tuned through a series of back-and-forth feedback. Apart from producing a glossary that will be used by the partners during the duration of the project, this process fostered dialogue among professionals who do not usually communicate much, or at least not on such conceptual issues, and was thus fruitful as such.

Indeed, it reflected the co-production process that IcARUS and Efus advocate for urban security policies and actions, which brings together local stakeholders from diverse backgrounds. Creating the glossary was in itself a ‘multi-stakeholder approach’ and thus gave the partners, in particular the six municipalities, ideas on how to do this concretely when dealing with urban security issues at home. Also, the process itself mirrored the Design Thinking methodology used throughout the IcARUS project in order to produce innovative solutions to urban security problems based on the end-users’ real needs. 

Design Thinking virtual training workshops: A fun and fruitful experience

The IcARUS project organised in March its first training on the Design Thinking Methodology. Over a period of four days, 56 representatives of the project’s partners took part in the training sessions, which combined team and individual work, brainstorming and interactive games.

By the end of the training, the partners were familiarised with the novel techniques of the DT methodology, and eager to adopt them in their own organisational settings.

The IcARUS project organised in March its first training programme on the Design Thinking methodology. Combining team and individual work, brainstorming, and interactive exercises in the form of games, the  four sessions were given online. The training started off with providing the attendees with the general guidelines and specific examples of the methodology at hand, so that they could understand the reason why ‘thinking outside the box’ is an  efficient way to solve urban security problems. Participants then shared real-life situations they encounter in their work in relation with solving problems within the urban environment. They were then asked to discuss real-life situations related to the four IcARUS focus areas (i.e. juvenile delinquency, radicalisation, trafficking and organised crime, and the design and management of safe  public spaces). As they gained a better grasp of the Design Thinking methodology, they were asked to co-create a DT process by experimenting on real examples of urban criminality.

The last two training sessions focused on the four competences needed to successfully implement the methodology, which are interconnected: empathy, experimentalism, creativity, and collaboration. Four sub-groups were formed, one per competence, where participants had ample opportunity to contribute and interact with the rest of the team.

An overarching aim of the sessions was to effectively demonstrate the five Design Thinking stages (see figure below) while co-creating an innovative ecosystem. To that effect, the trainees were given insight on when, how, and why to apply the Design Thinking approach, the pros of generating ideas through empathy, ways to determine and understand stakeholders, how to create the necessary strategies to address a problem, when to prototype and test said strategies, and how to compare the ideas produced through this process in order to decide on an optimal, functional solution.

The training was met with enthusiasm on the part of the trainees, proven by their active participation and fruitful exchanges throughout the sessions.. Many participants said afterwards that they now embraced the Design Thinking process and were provided with the necessary roadmap to facilitate their navigation throughout the rest of the IcARUS’ workshops. All sessions were interactive, dynamic, and entertaining, with the sub-group sessions being the most productive due to their small number of participants and the focus on problem-solving connected to real-life situations, which were tailor-made for each competence.

Lastly, it should be noted that the focal point of the sessions’ success was that it managed to build trust, foster connections, and create a bond among the different members of the consortium. To that effect, the participants communicated feelings of being inspired by the training sessions  and satisfied with the group dynamic that had been created. Many also agreed that they had a very enjoyable experience.

How IcARUS is leading innovation for urban security

“Think outside the box” is easier said than done. Imagine finding a method that allows you to have innovative ideas and then to actually put them into practice. Imagine following a methodology proven to be successful. Imagine an approach that allows you to collaborate and interact with a diverse team of experts, while delivering new ideas. Imagine facing tough societal issues with inventive tools built to overcome them. Now don’t just imagine: read here how we are doing this.

The scope of the IcARUS project is ambitious and the urban problems it aims to tackle are quite challenging. Our project’s goals include finding adequate and successful tools to face problems related to urban security and crime prevention initiatives. IcARUS encompasses the prevention of juvenile delinquency, prevention of radicalisation, the security of public spaces, and the prevention of trafficking and organised crime. These topics are certainly quite sensitive and challenging. This is why the project needed a strong methodology that would allow partners to formulate new and innovative ideas to then shape tools and address those problems. Hence, IcARUS has adopted Design Thinking, a methodology born within the private sector that ensures fruitful co-creation and cooperation among actors for delivering new solutions to long-existing problems.

Design Thinking is a methodology that comprises several steps and envisions different players interacting with each other. The IcARUS project has a diverse pool of partners, each bringing its own expertise and resources. In order for Design Thinking to lead to innovative and effective solutions, diversity in players is paramount. Furthermore, participants must follow determined steps that help them co-build alternative solutions and tools. These steps are: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. This means that actors need to fully understand the ultimate beneficiaries of the proposed solutions; they need to concisely delineate the root issue to be tackled; they must collect all the possible ideas the group can come up with; they then choose one, and finally they will test it by applying it. Interestingly, these steps, or phases, are not necessarily to be followed in this order. After testing the final prototype, for instance, the group can experience negative feedback and go back to the ‘ideate’ phase. Or if they find that the fault is a lack of empathy, then designers should go back to the very first phase.

Design Thinking places end-users at the core of the discussion and makes designers look at the problem through the lens of end-users. Designers should put themselves in the shoes of end-users to see exactly where the problem lies and how to best address it. This is what we had in mind when drafting the IcARUS guidelines: we aimed at assisting partners in their journey throughout the project. The IcARUS guidelines are specifically intended for allowing designers to best use Design Thinking and to strictly follow the main principles of such approach. We divided the set of guidelines into sub-groups to tailor them to the group’s specific needs throughout the project. Partners have been following these guidelines for the first time during the recent training sessions, where they got familiarised with the methodology and could first experience what it means to co-create and how to best formulate an innovative solution. So far, training sessions have been a success and partners are ready to apply Design Thinking to the workings of the project. Hence, great ideas are coming up and interesting solutions are on the horizon. Stay tuned.

Consultative Committee of Cities Interview – Werner Van Herle

What does the city of Mechelen hope to bring to the IcARUS project?

Werner Van Herle, Head of the department for Prevention and Public Safety, City of Mechelen and member of the Consultative Committee of Cities: Mechelen understands and believes that urban safety is about what people need in order to be secure, feel safe and to enjoy their fundamental freedoms and rights. Local governments have an important responsibility in providing a safe environment for all residents. For over 20 years, the City of Mechelen has been investing significantly in an integrated urban safety and security programme. Innovation, experimentation and thinking out of the box are highly valued and key elements of our local strategy. We have quite some experience in developing new answers to challenging urban security threats, in particular regarding the four areas covered by the IcARUS project, which we are keen to share with the project partners.

What results do you expect from IcARUS?

Our expectations are high because the ambitions of IcARUS are high: custom-made solutions to security challenges through social and technological innovations. The project gathers an interdisciplinary  group of motivated experts who will be working together to achieve this ambition. This will create a unique learning environment in which we will find inspiration in order to fine-tune our local security approach.

What is the added value for your city of being part of the consultative committee of cities (CCC)?

We are greatly honoured to be part of the project’s Consultative Committee of Cities (CCC), especially given the fact that we are a small/mid-scale city as per European norms. As members of the CCC, we are part of the IcARUS consortium and will thus follow its work and results. It will also enable us to expand our international network and to be in contact with experts from other EU cities.

What other cooperation opportunities can arise from your involvement in this project?

Mechelen is part of the Partnership on the security of public spaces of the Urban Agenda for the European Union. We are coordinating action 5 on the measurement of social cohesion and how it affects urban security. In that respect we want to create a common method for local security managers to measure the impact of existing local social cohesion projects on real or perceived insecurity. A second objective is to provide a new perspective to find new solutions for complex social or insecurity issues by exploring the possibilities of the ‘Collective Impact Model’ – a framework for achieving large-scale systems changes in communities through coordinated multi-sector collaborations –, in an EU context. In other words, there are many links and synergies between the work carried out in the frameworks of the Urban Agenda and of IcARUS. Sharing this work might open interesting opportunities.

Expert Advisory Board Interview – Dr. Barbara Holtmann

What do you hope to bring to the IcARUS project?

Dr Barbara Holtmann, Director of Fixed Africa and member of the Expert Advisory Board: I feel very privileged to be a part of the IcARUS project. Too often we are stuck with terms of reference that require us to replicate interventions and programmes that have delivered evidence, regardless of how sustainable or replicable they might be. Innovation is essential to making cities safer and that requires courage. This project has courage embedded in its DNA and I believe that I can offer both insight into innovative practices and support the analysis of findings that allow for greater creativity and possibility. I am a natural collaborator and I am deeply curious – I hope this means I can help dig deeper and enable inclusive design and management of promising practices.

What do you expect to take away from the project?

The thing I love most about my job is that it offers new and different exposures and experiences – with new challenges. To have the time and space to get to know practitioners, to better understand some of the challenges and to learn together new ways to overcome them, or in some cases, how best to live with confounding variables and intractability is something that excites and motivates me. I hope I will come away with new friends and colleagues, new ideas and a whole load of new learning.

In your opinion, what is the most innovative aspect of the IcARUS project?

Being open to innovation is as innovative as a project can be and it seems to me that this is its core characteristic. The project design expects real value at so many different levels and from so many different sources. Its duration also responds to a reality that is often missed; change takes time and there has to be space to err and amend and shift and regroup. It is rare to be involved in a project where these things are acknowledged.

How can the expected outputs of the project be impactful?

The outputs of the project will provide cities, policy makers and practitioners with new tools. There is an openness to the project that offers wide inclusion in what is found, done and delivered. It is only through this kind of approach that real systemic change can be made. The layers of consultation and collaboration will encourage widespread uptake of lessons and tools and it is in this spirit that real learning occurs.