VTT / Transition Design Sprints for iBEX innovation Program
“We gained new insights into our problem space in a more collaborative way.”
How do we develop technology that maximizes positive impacts while minimizing harm? How do we facilitate an organizational learning process and creative practices to support research excellence? Our design sprints for Future and Impact tackled these questions while providing concrete tools for innovation teams to collaborate and explore their sustainable research projects.
The VTT’s iBEX innovation program was kick-started by our 3 days design sprint for expert teams, working with themes of sustainable energy, food, and materials. The first sprint was followed by a 2-day Impact sprint, focusing on past and future systemic impacts of the team’s projects. The design sprints challenged the teams with new approaches to “learn by doing” as well as reflecting on the team’s “lived experiences” to create transformative (individual) and strategic (organizational) insights.
The sprints benefitted in:
Understanding the challenges and interlinkages of the three different themes together
Stretching the imagination to search for radically different societal narratives for future systems
Reflecting on the role of technology in the transition process
Building a new language and posture beyond the “techno-centric solution mindset”
Experimenting with and learning from system concepts and interventions in practice
Recognizing risks and opportunities for maximal positive impact with stakeholders and adapting the organizational knowledge for future research
“ We rarely look at the indirect negative impact space that our research can lead to.
It is eye-opening.”