The SIC learning repository is an online, open resource available for innovators, researchers and policy makers to improve their skills in design for Social Innovation.
The tools section is organised by main activities/actions, including:
RECRUITING SOCIAL INNOVATORS
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
IDEATION
PRODUCT/SERVICE DEVELOPMENT
PROTOTYPING
SUSTAINABLE GROWTH AND IMPACT
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
For each tool, time commitment and team requirements are listed and each can be downloaded as a PDF.
Task Type: Problem solving
An A/B test measures and compares the effectiveness of different versions of a program feature, service, or communication. This interactive tool helps users prepare for A/B tests, create random assignments of users to A or B, and helps users analyse which was more successful. The publishers suggest that this approach can be used by governments to optimize outreach materials, communications and engagement, program features, and processes (e.g., applications, payments).
The MaRS Library contains articles, templates, reports, workbooks, reference guides and videos covering a range of topics, including accounting, funding, governance, intellectual property, leadership, legal issues, marketing, product management, selling, social innovation, strategy and talent.
It is intended for an entrepreneurial context, but it can be adapted for a public sector organisational context.
Grounded Change is an approach and social innovation methodology used by the company InWithForward. It means flipping the order in which most social policies & services are made. Rather than start at the top, in boardrooms, they start at the bottom, with user needs. They have named 7 kinds of interactions that they believe are the most important to weave into policy, procurement, service delivery, and community activities. This resource contains the context, reasons, and mechanisms of Grounded…
The Hackers’ Kit supports different types of discussions around project and program design. It's aim is to normalise innovation in a large organization by embedding new practices in key project management business processes. Worked on and tested with over 25 project teams in the United Nations Development Programme, the toolkit is intended for an international development context but could be applied to any large organisation with a desire to innovate.
It includes a wall map of the process,…
This resource describes a comprehensive method for the BC Public Service (BCPS) to design services for British Columbians, although it is also applicable to other governments.
The Playbook is intended to help ensure public service designers have the necessary tools and corporate support to make change.
It includes an overview of service design, a discussion of when and how to use it, as well as detailed guidance and tools for the various methods used in service design. The methods are organised…
The toolkit provides an approach and methods those looking for a new way to tackle social and policy issues by making services more valuable to customers and users, easier to use, with fewer resources wasted on implementing the right ideas in the wrong way (or on the wrong ideas entirely).
This approach involves spending time understanding people’s experiences and resources on their own terms, taking methodical steps to analyse and address these with their active participation, and pushing for…
This web-based resource has been created by the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design at the Royal College of Art to share ways to design inclusively for a range of physical and cognitive abilities. It includes personas representing different abilities, an overview of typical daily activities done by those personas, a selection of design methods, as well as a collection of ethics for designers. The research method selection describes each by input, output, suitability, and characteristics, including…
The Shift Surrey guide provides an overview of Surrey's design approach to date, including a summary of projects and suggestions for building an internal community of practice inside government. At the end of the guide, there are several typical design tools, tips and tricks learned through Surrey's experience and suggestions for related design resources.
This canvas and associated guidance is is a strategic management and lean startup template that can be used the to describe, design, challenge, and pivot a business model to deliver different values or in different ways. It consists of 9 elements: value proposition, customer segments, customer relationships, channels, key partners, key resources, key activities, cost structure, and revenue streams.
It can be used individually or in a group. It works in conjunction with the Value Proposition…