Toolkit Type: Guidance

The toolkit's goal is to help actors conceptualize and operationalize their ambitions in terms of supporting social innovation. It contains not only “procedures” but also knowledge concerning social innovation. The guide was designed to support European Social Fund (or other) funding organisations that want to focus mainly on service innovation (as opposed to systems innovation or internally oriented process innovation). But it also recognizes the idea of broader societal transitions and the…

Features: Guiding framework, Techniques

The United Kingdom government's design principles and examples of how they have been used. Each principle includes links to articles with additional explanation and reflections. 1. Start with user needs 2. Do less 3. Design with data 4. Do the hard work to make it simple 5. Iterate. Then iterate again 6. This is for everyone 7. Understand context 8. Build digital services, not websites 9. Be consistent, not uniform 10. Make things open: it makes things better

Features: Techniques

This is a report produced in conjunction with IDEO after a 2-year initiative of the Rockefeller Foundation called Paper Prototyping, an effort to better inform investment decisions of the Foundation. While this resource is not a typical innovation toolkit, it was included because it describes an often implicit and invisible process of developing and testing proposals for innovative solutions to complex problems.

Features: Examples or Cases

This resource contains a framework and guidance regarding the use of user-centred design. The publisher defines the UCD process in six phases - two planning and four delivery phases. The two planning phases focus on typical project planning aspects such as problem space, resources, agency readiness, team logistics, governance, etc. The four delivery phases are about action, talking to users to understand their real needs, prototyping potential solutions, and building the minimum viable product…

Features: Checklist, Guiding framework, Techniques

The Policy Quality Framework describes the key characteristics of quality policy advice, as well as the ‘enablers’ of great advice, like considering multiple perspectives, good commissioning, quality assurance processes and work planning. It is one of three improvement frameworks co-designed for and by the policy community in New Zealand to help government agencies improve their policy quality and capability. It includes several policy assessments for different stages of the policy cycle and…

Features: Techniques

This is a report from the Workshop ‘How might we approach transformational change for complex challenges in the future?’, held in London 30-31 August 2017. It provides 18 insights and considerations for playing the enabler, catalyst, and convenor roles in creating a mindset of long-termism.

Features: Guiding framework

The DesignGov experiment was an 18 month initiative of the Australian Public Service to apply design-led innovation to cross-agency problems. This resource is based on the experience of DesignGov and is intended to be a resource for others that might be looking to establish and operate a public sector innovation lab. This resource is offered as a personal contemplation about what should be considered when establishing, running and, possibly, closing a public innovation lab.

Features: Checklist

This Field Guide is a systems take on typical design thinking methodology. It demonstrates how to design something with a greater emphasis on creativity and humour. The Guide goes through a systemic design project from concept to implementation. It takes you through the workshop planning process, and discusses workshop roles and client relations. In the FAQs, you’ll find explanations to some commonly asked questions about systemic design concepts to help you introduce others to SD and bring…

Features: Facilitators guide, Glossary, Guiding framework, Interactive diagnostic

A collection of code, tools, and case studies to help United States federal agencies adopt the Open Data Policy and unlock the potential of government data. This project is meant to be a living document, so that collaboration in the open data ecosystem is fostered, and the continual update of technology pieces that affect update can happen at a more rapid pace. Edits to the content may be made by anyone. It could provide other governments with examples and starter content for its own open data…

Features: Glossary, Techniques

This Field Guide is designed to support new-to-foresight practitioners in incorporating future thinking and foresight into everyday projects. In addition to describing methods (including purpose, pros, cons and considerations for each), it also provides guidance on how to advocate for a foresight related project or approach in your organistion, cultivate a futures/foresight mindset, and build a team. The ""zombies" referenced represent an unexpected and unlikely event for humanity. Stories about…

Features: Guiding framework