PROJECT OVERVIEW
Project type: Generative research for government services, Design for Government (DfG) Master’s course
Team: Design Researchers, Service Designers, Sustainability Analysts, Managers from the Finnish Government Ministry of Forests, Environment & Agriculture and Sitra Innovation
Date: February - May 2017, part time
Skills: Plan and conduct research, designing research materials, participant recruitment, interviewing, data analysis, synthesis and reporting.
Methods: design workshops, contextual interviews, expert interviews, systems thinking, affinity mapping
Tools: Design games, Adobe CC, Slack, Google suite
My direct contributions:
I co-faciltated a Stakeholder Workshop involving a design game I helped to customise for our research goals.
THE CHALLENGE
Finland is moving toward industrial food systems based on a circular model (zero waste) to build more efficient use of resources, mitigate negative environmental impacts and build a promising new economy.
My multi-disciplinary team was given an open brief to investigate the obstacles, opportunities, best practices and potential innovations for sustainable circular food systems in Finland.
Our research uncovered opportunities to change how food is sourced so that the amount of local, sustainable food in public cafeterias (e.g., schools, hospitals, care homes) is increased.
Given the majority of students in Finland eat lunch at school cafeterias throughout their school life, our research and design proposal have the potential to make a positive impact on citizens’ local food consumption, not to mention farmers’ livelihoods and the environment.
Eat Local, Source Local is a team project developed in collaboration with Andrea Cuesta, Helén Marton, Anna-Mia Myllykangas and Ellinoora Rustholkarhu. After the research the team continued to develop a service design strategy called “Source Local, Eat Local” (for brevity, not covered here).
The team’s field research included contextual interviews with local carrot farmers. Photo by Helén Marton.
APPROACH
This case study covers the Discovery phase of the project. Our research approach was structured into two parts (predetermined by the course structure):
Due to the open-brief and complex nature of the topic, the team predicted the following challenges:
In order to tackle these challenges we applied empathic design, systems thinking and behavioural insights methods in a collaborative team effort. Teamwork was carried out in a mix of individual and pair tasks with regular team meetings. We used Slack and Google suite for online collaboration.
Over seven weeks we conducted desk and field research, two design workshops and used several system mapping techniques to analyse the data. Research and analysis continued to explore/validate ideas/concepts during the solution phase of the project.
PART 1: Orientation & Empathic Design Research
To better understand the challenges and opportunities in Finland’s regional food systems the team conducted the following research activities:
Our teammate made “Sketchnotes” to live document interviews with Ministry Managers and to prompt post-interview discussions.
Throughout the investigation, the team conducted rounds of desktop research and made affinity maps to make sense of the data, to get insights into people and context, and to identify opportunities for design.
Stakeholder Workshop 1: Systems Mapping
The design team designed and facilitated a kick-off stakeholder workshop with two senior Ministry Managers. The goal of the workshop was to:
To meet these goals, the team collaboratively designed a food system mapping game.
In the game the Managers took turns to build a systems map to explore and draw connections between stakeholders, and to identify obstacles and opportunities in the local food system. I designed playing cards with graphics representing stakeholders and relevant aspects of the food system. A team-member facilitated the session, while I documented and observed the discussions.
The workshop resulted in a visual representation of the food system from the Managers’ perspectives and a shared understanding of the project challenges and goals. The Managers commented that:
“... the game presented a refreshing way of exploring complex issues.”
The stakeholder workshop resulted in rich discussion, a fresh perspective on old issues and a visual artefact of actors, connections and flows in the Finnish food system.
Stakeholder Workshop 2: Discussion Board Game
With a deeper understanding of the project challenges and goals, the team held a second workshop with five senior Ministry Managers.
The main goals of the workshop were to:
To reach these goals we used the ATLAS Game. This game is used in design research and co-design to facilitate balanced participation, discussion and collaborative problem-solving. We tailored the game to our research topic and current line of questioning.
A team mate and I developed the game strategy and tailored the content of the game to our research goals. I adapted the card graphics and constructed the physical game materials. Prior to the workshop, we tested and improved the customised game in a rehearsal session.
The ATLAS Game workshop brought together five key stakeholders for a discussion about the Finnish circular economy and food systems in the Forssa region. Photo by Tilda Jyräsalo.
The workshop generated a collection of question cards and discussion notes that also documented the workshop data.
Ethnographic Field Research
Our field study location for the project was the agriculturally rich Municipality of Forssa, 100 km north of Helsinki. In Forssa the team conducted:
“No Farms, No Food”. Field research in Forssa included contextual interviews with farmers at two local farms. Photo by Helén Marton.
We found that people in Forssa appreciate local farming, as evidenced in the town's K-Supermarket (one of Finland's largest grocery chains) which prominently displayed locally grown potatoes. Grocery store staff reported that there is a will to "pay more" to support local carrot and potato farmers.
Analysis and Synthesis
To analyse the data we gathered from the workshops, desktop and field research, we made a “research wall”, with our key findings printed on notes and loosely categorised, and then conducted two rounds of Affinity Mapping to bring out themes and develop insights.
To process the immense amounts of data we gathered, a team member suggested that we switch from hand writing laborious Post-it notes to entering them on a google docs, and then printing/trimming them into notes. This offered significant time-saving and collaboration benefits.
The drawback to the google docs approach was that all of the notes looked the same. I found that this hindered my own visual reognition/recall of notes of interest and made identifying clusters more challenging. Colour coding the notes with markers or printing on coloured paper might work better next time.
Eventually the team identified patterns in the data, made clusters of emerging themes and synthesised findings into insights.
Further along in the process, the team narrowed the research focus to local food procurement, and maintained a research wall to track data and develop our progress.
Part 2: SYSTEMS THINKING
The Finnish, let alone European, food system is a very complex network of subsidies, policies, suppliers, distribution and waste management processes, not to mention the environment and industrial infrastructures that support it.
To better understand these inter-related systems, we mapped stakeholders and key players in the Forssa regional food system in order to identify power structures and “leverage points” – places in the system that represent opportunity for change.
I paired with a team member to begin mapping the food system, using loose sketches and Post-it notes to facilitate discussion. My team member digitised and shared the map with the entire team. The map was adapted as knowledge of the system evolved and our research focus sharpened.
Two team members discuss a food systems diagram.
Key Insights
Key insights from the research were presented in slides, supported by direct quotes from participants and information visualisations. Slides by Helén Marton.
Deliverables
Our final proposal addressed areas four and five with a strategy for integrating sustainable food rankings into food procurement / supplier award processes.
IMPACT
Professors’ Feedback
“The quality of the proposal was very good. The choice to focus on procurement was smart and strategic, and supported well through research work. Excellent work throughout the whole course: everything from research, concept design and the proposals was well thought and executed. This is professional quality work that I hope the Ministry will have the boldness to bring forward.”
LESSONS LEARNED
Say hello!
In need of a UX Researcher or Designer? Comments or questions? I'd be happy to hear from you. If you would like to hear more about my experience and discuss how me might work together, please get in contact.