MA Innovation Management Degree Show Catalogue 2017 by Central Saint Martins

Temporary Environment for Navigating Scenarios of Emergence by MA Innovation Management

Oftentimes innovation focuses upon beginnings and endings: How to start? How to come up with new ideas? How do we deliver solutions to problems? What are the outcomes? Were we successful? At its most dynamic, such endings or beginnings serve as the points where new processes can begin. Management, too, has its traditional characteristics: control, measurement, mitigating risk in the production of smooth, productive processes or outcomes. Put these together and we find a standard account of innovation management that prioritises measured, repeatable and smooth processes for delivering successful, creative outcomes to given policy directives. MA Innovation Management at Central Saint Martins is not like that. Operating at the boundaries of a multiplicity of practical and conceptual systems, sometimes offering bridges across them, at others finding a tangential direction to flee them,

we are creativity unbounded and process without end. Which is not to say that we are ad hoc, or flippant â&#x20AC;&#x201C; well, not always, as both of these can provide valuably creative responses to troubling impasse. Rather, being at the boundary of many disciplines and discourses requires a mastery of the codes and rituals, rules and subcultures of each. Further, when these are set in local and global contexts of mind-boggling complexity, we have found that such an intermediary position allows not only creative agility, but dynamic resilience too.

with the others in this catalogue, and with the tensions that exist in the world that we have edited out for brevity.

While all MA Innovation Management students exhibit these characteristics as a matter of course, the class of 2017 has chosen to highlight upon this in-between-ness as the most important thing to express as they graduate this year. And they do so not in some naĂŻve, gung-ho, 'letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all be liminal!' way. Instead they recognise that occupying the spaces in-between, engaging with complexity, chaos and order, managing in places that are not easily identifiable, is fraught with danger, with moments of extreme difficulty. Thus we are presented with tensions: neither as binary opposites, nor as interlocking systems; but as fields of affect that blur into and out of each other. These tension pairs delineate the areas across and in-between which these students act; although, not exclusively. Each piece of student work you see here, while locating itself between the pairs shown, will also have relations

A personal 'thank you' not only to MA Innovation Management 2017 for invigorating my thinking and practice over the years, but to my colleagues too, who have piloted us all through often turbulent moments. Finally, congratulations to these students, as they complete the two-years of their studies, and best of wishes on their future journeys.

Please use this catalogue to navigate the work of MA Innovation Management 2017, but also as a map that provides lines of voyage through the complexities we have noted here. We would be happy to hear of any additions you could make to our work, so please feel free to message either me, or the students, on the contact details we provide.

Dr Jamie Brassett FHEA FRSA Reader in Philosophy, Design & Innovation Subject Leader & MA Course Leader, Innovation Management Central Saint Martins j.brassett@csm.arts.ac.uk

Temporary Environment for Navigating Scenarios of Emergence

A divisive world. Balancing paradoxes in political, economic, social, and environmental spheres is no easy feat. There are no singular anecdotes for these macro-level tensions, but managing the emergences created from these crucibles is the role of an innovation manager.

Within these pages are four paradoxes which give rise to Tensions; tensionswhich individuals and organisations confront everyday: Profit//Preservation, Order// Chaos, Physical//Digital, Now//Future. Inevitably, the tensions are interrelated, and looking through these pages, you may find commonalities discussed by all innovation managers. We work to understand these tensions by observing and deconstructing their meanings to see how they foster the emergence of appropriate outcomes. We investigate how the uncontrollable might be managed. In response to these macro tensions, individual innovation managers have created their own studies which will help to create a larger picture of organizing the world we live in. We may not answer all your questions on the future conditions of the world, but can inspire you to try and construct your own from the present. Agents of change, we are a band of individuals disillusioned with the status quo. As navigators of new meanings and signification, we ask too many questions and finding answers we are not satisfied with, we proceed to ask more questions. These tensions, as we understand, will never disappear but continue to form an uncomfortable state of being â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;in-betweenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. We then are the professionals crazy enough to try to make sense of the uncertainty within those grey areas. Do not confuse us with the inventor; we are not looking at the chaotic world and seeking a specific solution. As conductors of innovation, we manage the processes and study the ways of making people and organisations deal with and profit during this ambiguous process, thus becoming more resilient in a world of continuous emergences.

Contents

TENSE Introduction

2 4

Digital and Physical

Rowan Wallace Inga Veidmane Minnie Mirintorn Asavanant Sai Harrod Alcinda Lee Interview with David Mullet

10 12 14 16 18 20

Order and Chaos

Rizsky Adytama Pranada Georgina Manly Dennis Kastner Charlotte Hutton Andrea Corvetto Jose Neto Aisha Marzuki Nina Wafula Amanda Mitchell Anni Korkman Andrew Robert Bellofatto Interview with Julian Wilson

26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48

Profit and Preservation

Miguel Esparza Hyerin Park Tida Urramporn Ance Rusova Tomas Clavijo Jose Carlos Meija A. Interview with Nick Zirnick

54 56 58 60 62 64 66

Now and Future

Yihan Xu Arana Anantachina Jesse Adeniji Naoki Hayashi Vichitravanna Burapachit Clementine Song Isabella Blatter Interview with Ronald Jones

72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86

Student Index Acknowledgements Sponsorship

90 94 95

TENSION 1

Physical

Digital

We are witnessing emergent technologies and practices that are enabling and empowering people to create whole new value chains. Collisions herald new realities, presenting opportunities and threats for both organisations and individuals. While new technologies commence, the physical remains, constructing a variety of new mediums to continue practice. We are posed with questions on how to embrace these emergences, and reflect on their necessity.

Reterritorialising the Domains of Intelligence: AI Innovation in the Design Space Rowan Wallace

“Survival is the ability to swim in strange water.” — Frank Herbert

As we broach an age of increased augmentation in our personal, professional and cultural lives, we can expect the future to be transformative. The technologies of tomorrow will create symmetrical manifestations within culture, and therefore as meaning-makers – both designers of and users of those technologies – we have the opportunity to culturally code an infinite spectrum of meanings into the relics of the future. The ontology of our technological counterparts is changing. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robots form a second economy, create their own set of languages and experiences as well as exercise degrees of egalitarian tolerance that exceeds the intelligence of many humans. In cyberspace, soon discriminating against an algorithm will be considered as counterproductive as destroying a textile loom during the First Industrial Revolution. In the face of AI then, we need to make ourselves radically open and susceptible to alienation, despite its initial discomfort. This form of deterritorialisation allows us to escape the felt restrictions placed on us by our own cultural conditioning, in favour of the endless possibilities of our universe afforded by the entanglement of man and machine.

Machines learn by analysing masses of data, detecting patterns and in turn, predicting futures. We too can learn from this unbiased approach, but this does not dictate that we must learn in a vacuum. In fact, the process of reterritorialisation requires extensive and unrelenting management: being aware of complexity, creating conceptual models, modularising components, manipulating perceptions via structure and signification as well as utilising the automating capabilities of AI itself to streamline processes. Many AI debates revolve around the idea of intelligence, but perhaps it is our perception of what this constitutes that is skewed. Utilising dualist dichotomies as a dialectic is proving futile. Neural networks are already deciphering commonalities across human languages, known as interlingua, that have for millennia escaped man’s conceptual model. In light of this, perhaps it is AI that will teach us what it is to be intelligent and sentient. Essentially it may teach us what it truly means to be human. #ArtificialIntelligence #Complexity #Augmentation #Design

Adopting new business models: Artificial Intelligence as a new value driver for business? Inga Veidmane

“Artificial Intelligence is not a Man versus Machine saga; it’s in fact, Man with Machine synergy.” — Sudipto Ghosh The continuous evolution in technology is changing the way we do business and the way we consume, work, and interact with each other. How we live is affected by changing business models. Companies must consider how their business models should evolve to reflect the changing economic, social, technical, regulatory, and competitive environment.

The faster the organisation can go from idea to implementation the more it can embrace opportunities to transform and even disrupt markets and internal business models. If a company has an adaptive culture where new technology can be integrated more easily, or if is at least encouraged, that enterprise is more likely to succeed in a the long term.

Organisations failing to adapt business models to changing circumstances can have dramatic and negative results. As such, those companies must continually monitor and adapt to the external environment, working to make proactive changes earlier on rather than having to take a reactive approach, which can lead to a vastly different outcome.

The ability to adapt quickly can result in quicker go-to market timelines and a stronger market advantage. With increasing market dynamics and new technological developments, it is possible to imagine and combine various and formerly separated technological capabilities in order to facilitate new and useful value propositions. Even though Artificial Intelligence may not always be a solution for every issue companies might face, failing to examine the possibility of utilizing it could have serious implications for a company’s future.

My research is focused on business process innovation in an environment which is rapidly changing. When markets become more populated and competitive, it requires companies to constantly innovate their business processes. Furthermore, I explored the role of Artificial Intelligence in the creation of novel solutions and more fluid and flexible business models to deal with these challenges.

#BMI #BusinessProcesses #Experimentation #Prototyping #ChangeManagement #ActionResearch #AI #MachineLearning

Business activities and ideas need to be assessed, tested, analysed, and judged more quickly than ever. This means a 'fail fast to succeed faster' mentality. Some projects will work straight away, others will have significant learning curves. 13

Virtual Reality: the missing Architectural design thinking tool Minnie Mirintorn Asavanant

“The ultimate display would, of course, be a room within which the computer can control the existence of matter. A chair displayed in such a room would be good enough to sit in. Handcuffs displayed in such a room would be confining, and a bullet displayed in such a room would be fatal. With appropriate programming such a display could literally be the Wonderland into which Alice walked.” — Ivan Sutherland Virtual Reality (VR) could be integrated with architectural practice to create a better creative and business experience for architectural practitioners and their clients. For this, technology should be used as an ideation tool because it allows practitioners to experiment their idea in a 3D virtual space. To utilise this technology, practitioners will go through a process of unlearning 2D thinking, and entering immersive 3D thinking and prototyping processes. This dissertation is about how to think in a different way and see the traditional idea from an unfamiliar perspective. To encourage architectural practitioners to unlearn practicing in 2D spaces, the researcher must help in preparing their expectations and guide them to the unknown and uncertain spaces where familiar rules cannot be applied. How can architect’s design structures in virtual spaces if the basic laws of gravity do not apply? The investigation shows that expressing ideas with body gestures increases creativity and the flow of creative thinking; here, drawing upon VR could optimise this aspect. The freedom in virtual space enables and encourages explorers to use more than hand and wrist to demonstrate their ideas. Furthermore, this emerging practice may help render practitioners’ mental imagery. With 3D thinking, training and practicing, architectural practitioners could use the 3D virtual space to sculpt a more holistic mental picture.

The researcher is not a technologically sophisticated person. She can comfortably use some creative and architectural software, but does not code applications or direct drones. She turned the focus to VR after participating in a VR sketching workshop at Chelsea College of Arts and attending the Drawing Futures conference at UCL Bartlett. These experiences completely changed her prejudice against this technology. This encouraged the researcher to investigate radical thinkings and practices. The researcher tried to find out how people in different industries integrate VR into their original practices, and how VR affected and changed original or traditional practice. The researcher strongly believed that VR is a significant tool missing from architectural practice. The tool, which can accelerate creativity in architectural design and help practitioners communicate their ideas in actual 3D space, would be very useful for the industry. #Technology #Architecture #VirtualReality #ArchitecturalPractice #VRImplementation #3Dthinking #DesignProcess #LearnUnlearn #Transition

Innovating Education in the Digital Age Sai Harrod

â&#x20AC;&#x153;School should be like a museum, where children can freely explore, and select what he or she wants to discover from the guided tourâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; an educator interviewed

My educational journey with MAIM is deeply awakening, empowering and life-transforming, it has powerfully ignited my inner passion for learning and life in general. My consistent focus on sustainability issues throughout the course, together with enduring selfreflection has inevitably led me to the choice of this subject. Education is an area of great interest to me, I would like to build upon the initiatives from my research and actively participate in the forthcoming change. Inequality has reached a tipping point. In 2015, the average income of the richest 10% of the population was nearly ten times that of the poorest 10% across the OECD. Deep shifts in the structure of employment due to the rise of 'social class' and 'skill biased technical change' demands a different kind of education. Traditional education faces great uncertainty; tension arises from digital disruption, where rapid changes shifted by technological advancement and evolving educational needs of the 'digital natives'. My research has focused on building understanding around the educational needs of children living in the digital age and their wider learning environments. Fieldwork was carried out in both traditional and alternative education regimes across multiple cultural settings with an orientation towards personalised education supported by digital technologies.

This research considers how an open innovation model can enhance personalised education by utilising digital technologies to unlock opportunities for possible revolutionary change in traditional education. This proposed strategy encourages the forming of open cultures within the traditional education regime, improves accessibility of diversified educational resources, and facilitates creativity and collaborative cultures among all educational stakeholders. New generations of children, parents and educators share new dimensional meanings for education, school and learning; a redesign of education from an open innovation model requires transparency and cooperative relationships among all stakeholders. Applied digital technologies may not intend to replace humanising interactions and so with guidance personalised education can be co-created with individually respected children. #InnovatingEducation #DigitalAge #OpenInnovation #HumanisingInteractions #PersonalisedEducation #Co-creation

Participative Futures: Digital Literacy, a common denominator for participation between physical and digital worlds Alcinda Lee

“Literacy is not something that is achieved and then surpassed, either at the level of the individual or at the level of a society: it is a process, not a condition. Literacy is not a static quality, but a set of competencies that must be practiced and expanded throughout an individual’s life” — Anne Balsamo

We’re on route to digital literacy; a common denominator for our participation between physical and digital worlds. In a scenario where long-standing car manufacturers do not look to each other as competition but are looking towards Google, Amazon, and Apple as competitors, we know that the digital economy is not only innovating new products and services but creating new genres of competition within the workforce. Taking on a sociological perspective to technological innovations, this future of work thesis was designed with three qualitative analysis methodologies – cooperative inquiry, thematic analysis, and interpretative phenomenological analysis. The developing digital divide is not only a matter of access to technology, but also disparate geographical-culturaleconomic-political circumstances which affect how communities reach a level of digital proficiency for meaningful gains. Therefore, I hypothesised that a shared participatory culture is a systematic pathway towards building a society standing for 'equality, reciprocity, sociality, and diversity'.

These skills need to be nuanced for us to achieve independence and confidence in navigating ourselves in the digital economy. As we experience varied stages of structural change, I propose an “Adaptor” toolbox by which individuals and organisations could play a part in facilitating versatility in the workforce’s adaptation to new paradigms of work. I would like to extend the current project in developing an agile operational model which facilitates participation of a global reach of individuals through remote-style working strategies. Another dimension of the future of work needs to be about opening up public discussion towards developing business models which are job-creating by design. For future academic writing, I hope to translate this research study into organisational theory as organisations could face unfamiliar challenges in managing new work cultures in a globalised world. #ParticipatoryCulture #SociologyofWork #HCI #DigitalLiteracy #PoliticalEconomics #SocialInnovation #Participativefutures

The focus on the theory of participatory culture is strongly related to developing skills of performance, simulation, appropriation, multitasking, distributed cognition, collective intelligence, judgement, transmedia navigation, networking, and negotiation (Jenkins, 2015). 19

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Interview with David Mullet

"In twenty years we will have a whole new landscape of companies and experiences and communication that simply does not exist today."

David Mullet is a Virtual Reality (VR) technology innovator at Pupil. He reimagines the digital experience into rich new immersive sensory worlds. David's mission is to invent the new virtual reality medium with visionary leadership that shapes breakthrough VR experiences and bleeding edge technology. He believes that VR is the world's first and only medium where we can theoretically experience anything â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that the breathtaking new worlds we create will radically transform the human experience.

Q. How did you come to encounter mixed realities? Why were/ are you interested in them? As a graphics and film student at the Royal College of Art, I became interested in capturing space in unique ways beyond just the optics of a single lens. Influenced by the expansiveness of David Hockneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s photo collage works, I started bringing multiple cameras together and exploring volumetric capture and the computation side of imagery. When VR headsets came out, it was a liberation from screen-based media that made all my earlier explorations on the captureside suddenly relevant on the viewing side. Then I began to unpack how we construct scenes in our mind through perception and saw the bigger project of virtual reality as ultimately encompassing all sensory channels, not just image or sound. Suddenly the whole future of the human sensory experience appeared before me and my fascination locked in.

early days. I think solutions-based VR applications that solve real problems in the world are going to make it stick and that is where things are going to accelerate. Q. How would you describe the technical challenges for generating VR content? The entire VR content creation endeavor is difficult. What kind of capture technology are you using – live action or volumetric? How are you framing shots or stitching? Are you building for a game engine or mobile VR? How do you intend your viewers to engage with your content and with what input devices?

Q. How have you seen the development of virtual reality applications change over the years? The timeline for the most recent push in the VR industry has been so compressed. The Oculus Rift DK1 is already hanging in the V&A museum and it was introduced in 2012. Having seen the last generation of VR applications from that point moving forward, the medium is clearly still trying to find a home and a purpose in the world. Even the most specialist uses for VR in industrial and medical contexts is

Technically, the challenges are endless. The big picture project with VR is pushing past the current digital format, past screen-based PC and mobile formats to create the world’s next computational medium. I like to say that the internet wasn’t made for screens. What we now know as the internet is only the warm-up act for the real internet – the new spatial, more human digital parallel dimension that will be around us at all times. The tech challenges are monumental – volumetric capture, artificial intelligence, cloud architecture, compression, tracking, optics, real-time render, anatomical input and spatial UI are some of the basic VR tech challenges at hand. I see the virtual reality ecosystem as a convergence of a range of breakthrough technologies.

Q. What is the role of the designer beyond the purely visual aspects? And how do you think this might evolve? The role of the designer is to approach problems – either mundane or global – and create an impactful solution. Design is not about aesthetics or 'skinning' a product. Designers need to be incorporated into the very beginning of the conceptualization stage, embedding deep user research into the development process that will influence a company’s strategic roadmap. User experience in virtual reality takes an elevated level, because to create a usable and effective VR experience, it really must be a 'humancentered' design approach, otherwise it simply will not work. Designers will continue to become more and more essential moving forward as competition grows and we become more intimately connected with our digital universe. Q. People have long created distinctions between the virtual and physical worlds and specifically technology's potential to limit communal experiences. What's your opinion on these kinds of tensions?

I studied Surrealism in my undergrad, and an Andre Breton quote always comes to mind when I think of the virtual and physical world coming together: “I believe in the future resolution of two states, dream and reality, which are seemingly so contradictory, into a kind of absolute reality, a super-reality.” The future is a surreal place. Q. Finally, what's your vision for the VR industry and how might more people participate in this field? VR is a technology that can literally be applied to any and every industry on earth. I agree with Kevin Kelly that we are in the most ripe time for creating the future than ever before. In twenty years we will have a whole new landscape of companies and experiences and communication that simply does not exist today. Somebody is going to have to bring that world to life. We are talking about the future of computation here, and anyone that makes the leap into VR now will find themselves rewarded in so many ways.

I think that we are going to see a sublimation of our human identities in the virtual world. Technology facilitates profound and valuable new forms of communication – the virtual world web will play host to far and away the most communal human experience ever.

TENSION 2

Order

Chaos

Rapid development in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world forces us to challenge the existing order. Industries are constantly evolving, and a select few of these organisations spark revolution, corroding traditional hierarchy. In this era, companies can employ survival strategies by toying with chaos to construct a new order to champion tomorrow.

By embodying the problem, art can provoke singularity between art, design, technology, business and innovation Rizsky Adytama Pranada

“Art is a process of becoming, a continuing process where there is no beginning neither ending. A dynamic back and forth movement in the transition between knowledge and practice. There is a phobia, a line of demarcation for claiming between aesthetic and nonaesthetic, which we have to be fully aware for not putting a classification between art and others.” — James Elkins

In an era of uncertainty a company’s or organisation’s ability to survive is determined by its ability to recognise change, adapt, and transform within themselves. Even though art is seen as an unmanageable disruption in business, through its practices and representation the arts are arguably effective to record, analyse, criticise, and generate unique and tailored solutions or even trigger a new hybrid or 'species' of practices and knowledge that can be the key to a company’s or organisation’s survival. My research focused on how leaders could set a stage to allow innovation to happen by tailoring the utilisation of the art’s rapid, permeating capabilities through space. I explored the growing discourse where art adapts, synthesises, and transforms within the ever changing landscape of art, design, politics, society, technology, and business. The emergence of the hybrid ‘species’ of art and business, stemming from the arts, creates a mould of a new alternative business model and organisational culture. This new 'species' is positioned on the threshold between the existing sectors of art, design, and business institutions and those yet to be acknowledged. Therefore, it opens new markets and innovation opportunities that emerge from the threshold, paradoxically providing the space for experimentation yet requiring validation from the

existing sectors. Organisations can produce new value by coupling transdisciplinary practice with the capabilities of the arts to permeate through space. By implementing art’s permeating capabilities, organisations can develop new business models and organisational culture through the movement of value (Value Zones) in organisation structure. As a framework that creates and expands the culture, the ‘business model’ itself becomes a space. In this space, leaders could manage the position, movement and duplication of different Value Zones within an organisation’s structure, where different positions of the Value Zone will nurture different strategies. This will create a stronger emotional partnership with the people in the target 'zone'. By maintaining the tension of emergence in the Value Zone, it could transform the whole company’s attitude and focus, gradually affecting its business model development. In the near future, I would see myself as a culture and innovation strategist, producing provocation between the interface of art, business, technology, culture, and humanity. #Leadership #CollaborationCulture #ValueCreation #BusinessModelInnovation #Space #Disruption #ArtisticResearch #Art #Performance

Ceaselessly Emerging and Transformative: Customary acts as traits of change Georgina Manly

“We look at change but we do not see it. We speak of change, but we do not think about it. We say that change exists, that everything changes, that change is the very law of things: Yes, we say it and we repeat it; but those are only words.” — Haridimos Tsoukas and Robert Chia

Looking for your BIG idea? Individuals and organisations misjudge the linear and nonlinear processes towards expected outcomes. Big ideas are sought-after, however perceived small and mundane practices are unrecognised. Yes the product, the service, the content may be the essence of your work, however, the opportunities for change throughout linear and nonlinear processes are missed. Your customary, mundane, or repetitive practices are opportunities for change and will ultimately have an effect on innovative outcomes. Organisations should value and reflect upon everyday actions and the use of time. The management of processes should be embraced and transparent. It’s time to think small and think big. Therefore I introduce Candpraxis, a critical thinking technique. Verb: 1. to reflect upon and value customary marginalised acts within organisations during the process of delivering an output. CANDpraxis Creative activities: What practices do you participate in to ‘be’ creative? What’s their purpose, outcome, environment, and do they duplicate work? Audience: Do you consider your audience on multiple levels? Are your audiences slightly remembered at

the beginning of idea generation? Are they considered throughout the entire process of executing an output? Navigating space: How do you interact with your internal and external surroundings? Do you experiment and work within other physical spaces such as parks, museums, galleries, and highly populated areas for example? Do you work within the same space as your client or stakeholder? Decision: What is your relationship with time? Do you believe you have authority to display positive reactions to time via mental and physical practices? The journey to this unexpected understanding included navigation of the spaces, physical and mental, and a discourse analysis including a semiotic analysis within the working environment. In addition, Actor Network Theory was used as a guide for vital insights and mapping of all the processes which I participated within and observed. I am not a static brand or identity. I am a combination of a strategist, researcher, service designer and storyteller. I would like to identify and support various creative organisations’ traits and change processes from the initial idea to the execution of a product or service. #Processes #Change #Networks #Time #Creativity 29

Antifragile Organisation Design Dennis Kastner

“In a self-managing organisation, change can come from any person who senses that change is needed. This is how nature has worked for millions of years. Innovation doesn’t happen centrally, according to plan, but at the edges, all the time, when some organism senses a change in the environment and experiments to find an appropriate response.” — Frederic Laloux

By adopting the ‘Antifragile Organisation Design’ organisations would not only survive in today’s complex, interconnected, uncertain and ever changing global economy, but even flourish. The large majority of conventional organisations are stuck in the paradigm of the Industrial Age. Incumbent practices such as the division of labour, top-down hierarchies and ignoring human needs have led to a high rate of employee disengagement, low productivity and lost innovation opportunities. Hierarchical organisations with an over-dependency on top-level-decision-takers are less agile and adaptive to fast-paced market changes, making them more vulnerable to disruptions and turbulences in a complex and uncertain business environment.

The framework encourages firstly, self-organisation allowing agile decision-making and faster adaption to market changes. Secondly, a resultsbased culture e.g. 'profit sharing' to create 'ownership' and higher worker engagement. Thirdly, stakeholder diversity combined with organisational learning to increase the output of innovative initiatives. Finally, shared values, principles and missions could create a deeper sense of community and higher purpose amongst organisational stakeholders, especially in times of disruption it could be a valuable asset. #Antifragility #OrganisationalDesign #Self-Management #StakeholderCompanies

My research focused on Resilience in Complex Adaptive Systems and Nassim Taleb’s concept of 'Antifragility'. The field research showed that 'Stakeholder Companies', especially those that practiced self-organisation principles displayed remarkable Antifragile characteristics in times of crises. In order to drive, strengthen and learn from turbulences in an interconnected and uncertain business environment, I developed the 'Antifragile Organisational Design' framework, which I recommend organisation leaders to adopt.

Seed Banking: A strategy to preserve diversity at the managerial level to enhance an organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s resilience Charlotte Hutton

“To avoid the trap of letting one solution dominate, and provide a richer experience and knowledge base… diversity in general increase the capacity of socialecological to tolerate disturbance, learn and change. This capacity will be one of the most crucial assets of societies in the coming times of rapid global change.” — Jon Norberg and Graeme Cumming

It is essential to understand our interconnected world as a network, where each part affects the whole’s ability to adjust and respond to turbulence. Therefore, I wanted to explore how each 'part' can be made adaptable. Returning to the root of resilience theory, I used ecological systems thinking to examine the requirements for the successful navigation of the adaptive cycle. I identified that in order to traverse the cycle in the face of disturbance there must be diverse resources available to avoid the poverty trap and stagnation of the network. I explored methods that are designed to navigate the poverty trap to promote resilience. Following the theme of ecology, one of the areas of investigation included seed banks. Through observation of the model and process of seed banking I was able to identify an opportunity to modify this to an innovation process. Within an organisation, the culture of innovation is imperative for not only its survival, but also its growth. Through the management of multicultural and multidisciplinary teams I have experienced how the innovation process is an emergent and fluid one.

To truly innovate, one cannot be afraid to take risks and face disturbances, however, to avoid stagnation, the manager of innovation needs to be able to ensure the continuation of the project. To do this, the project needs to pass through the ‘adaptive cycle’ whilst avoiding the poverty trap. Thus, I wanted to experiment with how we could use seed banking to ensure the Innovation Manager’s resilience and as a result, the project’s. 'Seed banking' can be tailored to an organisational structure. It allows the manager to recognise, collect and bank key resources (or 'Seeds') during a time of growth and exploration in a project and swap and utilise at a time of disorder. This creates an interconnected network that promotes resilience and also prevents knowledge loss within an organisation. I have started to investigate how Innovation hubs can use this strategy. I am keen to find an opportunity that allows me to utilise my knowledge as a designer, my experience in managing diverse teams and my drive to produce truly innovative solutions. #SeedBanking #Ecology #SystemsThinking #InnovationHubs #ResilienceTheory

Governmentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Innovation Labs must remain open (embrace failure, change and collaboration) during their work processes and be able to adapt to different conditions Andrea Corvetto

“There are no value -free, true- false answers to any wicked problems governments must deal with.” — Rittel and Webber The environment today is complex and demanding, requiring a new approach to citizens’ problems. Policymaking has become harder in the last century due to the constant change in the context of the countries. Therefore, the process to a successful result is tangled and discouraging for policymakers: policies stay on paper and are not implemented as desired. Public servants find themselves working with less time, trust and money. As a result, governments are forced to find other (non-policy) ways to be effective in order to design public services and improve social issues. To understand how public servants work in today’s uncertain world I investigated processes that a manager of innovation handles in Peru’s new Innovation +51Lab. If I had to describe +51Lab’s processes in three words, they would be: messy, mindful and open. The team embraced ambiguity and uncertainty everyday. In their projects, they wouldn’t want to jump to conclusions or feel certain about one path or another. They were genuinely open to multiple, diverse methods. Using trial and error they would continually try to rescue and build on top of what was useful. Their openness to not knowing made them constantly nurture themselves with other sources of knowledge and keep them in a constant process of learning.

During my ethnographic research, I realised my role within the lab was not only to help others in their current projects but I was constantly trying to guide them through solving their own problems. I was a 'liquifier', a facilitator troubleshooting in many directions when the process encountered the fuzzy front end (managing the convergent and divergent ideation methods through a recursive cycle). I worked with the team to aggregate multiple possibilities to the given challenges of policy engineering with a view to developing prototypes, testing them and reiterating the feedback loop. It was interesting how the application of innovation management practices of design thinking and service design helped us speed up the ideation process through to delivery of policy thrusts. I’ve built up a network of actors and stakeholders within the innovation management sector as a result of this research, so when I return to Peru I can find the right place within the public sector in order to contribute to high value societal outcomes. #Innovationinthepublicsector #DesignDiscourse #WickedProblems #HumanCentredDesign #UrbanAcupuncture #HumanCentredDesign

How can art processes be used as a tool to manage innovation and help businesses to embrace chaos and uncertainty? Jose Neto

“The need for art lies at the very heart of the world’s most intractable problems and it is through the arts that we can best experience the transformation that brings about progress in all areas of human endeavour.” — Caroline Watson

Innovation is a significant feature in economic prosperity and it has emerged in different ways. Contemporary thinkers propose the idea of innovation as being a more cultural activity than a science. Therefore the art world can supply constructive tools about innovation. Artists are important in the process of innovation due to their training, their openness towards critical thinking, positive attitude towards unpredictability and their perception of engaging with an audience. Exploiting these innovative propensities entails an eagerness to try new things. The importance on people for business is not a novelty, however the focus on that centrality is. Corporations have seen emotions as something to be avoided and controlled. Now, emotions are something to be explored. Artistic processes open the way from the subjective field of the individual to the field of emotions. It makes the associations and innovative considerations more dynamic within the organizational context. Here is where art processes can come into play and add to business as a management tool. They are more empiric processes not tied up to rules and pre-determined strategies – therefore, they can generate numerous possibilities.

Making innovation possible, nurturing and giving it room to flourish is more crucial than managing it. And here lies the importance of art processes in business since they are directly connected to the people and emotions; they trigger creativity and harness emotions. The research highlighted not only the need for creativity in business but also how disconnected artists and leaders are; it requests the existence of an elicitor who could aid in the collaboration between business and The arts. The facilitator who would act as the Innovation Manager would apply art processes in business. There is an opportunity for multidisciplinary professionals to target this business demand in having art processes as a management tool. The research first identifies the need of this facilitator, and then the skills required to perform his jobs. It highlights this as the missing link for businesses to effectively harness the emotional contributions of their employees’ business contemporary visual art processes to manage innovation. #ArtProcess #TransformationServices #Emotions #BusinessModels #Uncertainty #DiscourseAnalysis #ServiceDesign #ActorNetworkTheory

The Values of Metaphors within Organisations: Resilient Superorganisms and Ecosystems Aisha Marzuki

“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is to act with yesterday’s logic.” — Peter Drucker Nature-based metaphors have nascent potential as a medium to convey intricate problems and change through a more 'organic' narrative. Advocating certain metaphors within organisations has its merits in communicating complex realities and enabling members to understand the nature of challenges better. Whether it’s affiliating organisations with efficient machines or complex adaptive systems, the 'frames' used to depict organisations and its processes are essential in determining the way progress happens. However, it is important to acknowledge the imperceptive tendencies a metaphor entails in shaping opinions. With regards to these considerations, the main focus of the enquiry resides in the value of using metaphors in shaping organisational culture, particularly through employing references from the Natural World. Through an extensive process of interviews, ethnographic studies and further reading, the research highlighted the importance of borrowing elements from different sources to help organisations in increasing their adaptive abilities. By utilising a different ‘lens’ on a specific issue, teams within organisations would have an alternative viewpoint towards their challenges. The emphasis on concepts such as ‘Superorganisms’ and ‘Ecosystems’ can enable organisations in visualising a more ‘natural’ portrayal of elaborate potential threats and their

origins. For this reason, a prototype toolkit was proposed to help organisations in reflecting upon their internal processes and the function of the wider network. After rigorous experimentations with the toolkit, it was successful in establishing the similarities that natural and human-made systems exhibit, as well as conveying principal lessons to be taken. By making nature-based metaphors accessible to the context of organisational challenges, organisations are provided with the leverage to strengthen different units of stakeholders accordingly. Moreover, the research has demonstrated that the use of nature-based metaphors in Innovation Management can yield insights on how to better reflect upon internal processes, re-identify one’s position in a wider network of organisations and determine the actors and interactions that are crucial for the organisations’ ecosystem. All of these characteristics are relevant in constructing anticipatory strategies towards challenges and conferring resilience. Taking into consideration findings from the research, the researcher aims to assist organisations in further strengthening their functions, performance and sustainability to become better enablers for innovation. #Biomimicry #Nature-basedReferences #Resilience #ComplexAdaptiveSystems #OrganisationalDesign #Ecosystems #ToolkitPrototyping 39

Evaluating the Value of Social Innovation Nina Wafula

“We spend our time responding rationally to a world in which we understand and recognise, but which no longer exists” — Eddie Obeng

Public sector institutions are facing immense pressure to deliver new solutions for diverse long-term or persistent societal challenges and the last decade has seen a growing energy around efforts to evaluate and measure the impact of social innovation. But with resourcing decisions under increasing scrutiny, evaluation has become conflated with the evidencing of 'what works?' at the expense of asking 'for whom, in what context and how?'. Currently the answers sought from traditional evaluative endeavour respond not to the assessment of innovation’s impact, but to the impact of its output, which is simply one context-bound manifestation of the innovation process. The real value of innovation is in the process that holds the power to transform cultures, contexts, beliefs and relationships within individuals and systems allowing the manifestation of its output to exist. With roots in the philanthropic sector 'developmental evaluation' is a methodology that engages specifically with the nonlinearity and complexity of social innovation. It applies a 'strategic learning approach to the conceptualisation, design and implementation of innovation to inform the growth and adaptation of solutions in a meaningful and effective way. Whilst intended to aid the development of innovation practice, it does recognise and respond to the value of innovation as a process. Developmental evaluation could therefore be further

utilised to capture and document these more nebulous principles of innovation – identifying how and in what ways the surrounding social, cultural and organisational structures need to evolve to support innovative outputs. Since it is the dissemination of these principles that allows social initiatives to successfully spread to different contexts, data from developmental evaluation has the potential to improve the scalability of social innovations. This research was conducted within the context of a social innovation consultancy whose challenge was to more clearly articulate, evidence and measure their impact to justify their value and contribution to improving social outcomes. The potential of developmental evaluation as a tool to elucidate, evidence and ultimately measure the transformative value of innovation was explored and a theory of change developed. This hypothesised that by using developmental evaluation as a tool to evaluate the process of innovation, social innovation consultancies could not only improve their impact, but develop more rigor and consistency in the measurement and articulation of their impact and value. #SystemsThinking #SocialInnovation #SocietalChallenges #Complexity #DevelopmentalEvaluation #Scale #Impact

Entrepreneurship, Problem-Formulation & Design Amanda Mitchell

“Great execution of bad ideas kills businesses.” — Nabila Amarsy

As an aspiring entrepreneur, I focused my research on 'problem-formulation', 'strategy', and 'design' and equated the act of formulating a problem with that of strategising. I argued that design is useful to strategy because the two are virtually the same. To a large extent, 'design', 'problemformulation' and 'strategising' represent the search (exploration) for a problem to be solved, as well as the definition of that problem in such a way that the entrepreneur/designer can decide the ifs and hows of developing a solution (exploitation). Entrepreneurs who are starting new companies (or who work in established organisations which need to change direction) tend to face a common problem: making products and services that people want. Often, entrepreneurs efficiently work on problems that do not exist and create products that people do not want, when perhaps, we should first spend more time in the discovery phase. To test my hypothesis, I used 'ethnography', 'unstructured conversational interviews’ and ‘participant observation' as my research tools, and worked with two entrepreneurs; one in West London and the other in Trinidad & Tobago. Those experiences along with my review of the literature confirmed that problemformulation is critical to entrepreneurial success. However, it is not always a linear

process. There are certainly times when we need to spend more time defining the problem before trying to solve it. However, sometimes one problem is formulated while another problem (or nonproblem) is being tackled. Sometimes we learn about the actual problem by diving into developing a solution to a sensed problem. Thinking like a designer allows the entrepreneur to use particular principles to confidently navigate the journey of discovery. One of these principles is pragmatism. Another is the notion of accepting or reshuffling constraints. Another is empathy. And there are more. I am in the process of exploring and defining a problem in Trinidad & Tobago; one that I aim to solve from within the UK. Naturally this is proving to be an exciting and demanding challenge, one that I hope leads to a successful enterprise, or at the very least, lessons that I can use for another entrepreneurial challenge. #Ethnography #Pragmatism #BusinessModeling #ValuePropositionDesign #ConversationalInterviews

The Possibilities of Making Space for Serendipity in Group Innovation - Fostering Radical Connectedness in Facilitating Meaningful Human Encounters Anni Korkman

“Connection means being accessible to those we don’t yet know and willing to reach out to others on their behalf, always in the meaningful context of the networks we’re operating within. With connection, we never know who will reach out to us with a serendipitous idea or overture, but it always makes retrospective sense when they do.” — Robert Austin and Lee Devin

In the post-digital era, design festivals’ visitors are looking for more meaning and value creation in the experiences they take part in. Through studying ways of facilitating a gathering of design professionals, an innovation manager might be able to improve this experience by adding value to it. This research puts its focus on the atmosphere and the milieu: how to add serendipity and value into the encounters fostered among the participants. This study examines how to find the balance between structured and unplanned interactions in group innovation. How could this balance leave space for serendipity? Nine design festivals established a global network called World Design Weeks. The amount of design festivals are growing and they have become invaluable providers of exposure, insights, as well as opportunities. During these festivals, 'temporary networks' appear; international design professionals come together to get inspired and experience the programme. An innovation manager could take advice from Peschl and Fundneider who state that innovation is a highly challenging social and epistemological process which needs to be facilitated and enabled through supporting (infra) structures. There are artifacts that have been designed to enable processes of collaborative knowledge creation and innovation. Many examples show (e.g.,

O’Connor & McDermott, 2004; Fagerberg & Verspagen, 2009; Dodgson & Gann, 2010) that innovation is not something that is accomplished by an individual or a maverick (Peschl and Fundneider, 2015). Innovation is social: in most cases, it is the result of well-orchestrated team work, formal and mostly informal social networks, as well as processes of intense collaboration (Weisberg, 1993). The richest (event) venues affect the experience of time, space and matter (Pine and Gilmore, 1999, p. 56). When designing an experience and looking for spaces generated to engineer serendipity, this study looks into the 1960’s Situationist Art Movement that presented the idea of 'the third space', a space of intervention (Lefebvre, 1991). The social space created to represent the event as well as the organisation could be taken into a wider perspective and other representations of the idea of space could be thought of. Beyes and Steyaert state that 'organizations are themselves configurations of multiple, distinctive, differentiated spaces' (Halford and Leonard, 2005: 661; Beyes and Steyaert, 2011). The design summit organizer could pick up on the intention, the context, make it explicit, and make the participants talk about it and see where it takes them (Zeldin, 1994). #StrategicDesign #EnablingInnovation #ExperienceDesign 45

Understanding the role of chaos and complexity within organisations: An evaluation of how managers can foster innovation Andrew Robert Bellofatto

“Chaos comes before all principles of order & entropy” — Hakim Bey

The role of an innovation manager is to build resilient structures in uncertain times. We should not suppress chaos but have organizations embrace its complexity by taking risks, which will foster a more resilient future. Some contemporary brands and organizations are investing in 'chaos theory' to disrupt their industries and sustain themselves through ever-changing times. For an innovation manager, chaos and its uncertainty can influence frameworks and methodologies, and help organizations overcome these concepts as barriers. A twenty-first century design agency or firm may not use the anarchist manifesto, Temporary Autonomous Zone, as a tool for its work with corporate clients. However, disrupting the status quo whilst working within the contemporary economic structure can be explored and used to employ new strategies. Within both the academic and professional discourses, innovation itself is a term that generates mystique and used as a marketing tool to deem something creative. We must understand the difference between the importance and is used of creativity and innovation, as individuals are misled to believe that if something is creative then it is innovation. Through a discursive analysis of the innovation industry, we can investigate the communications strategy of organizations and how they employ certain language as

part of the strategic process. The rhetoric used between a design agency and its client is something we can use efficiently to persuade the client/brand/organization to embrace uncertainty, taking a more radical approach to development. Language and semantics around innovation can play a major role in the demystification of a concept, and help to support real innovation. Clarifying corporate 'speak' is beneficial for both organizations and individuals to avoid being misled within the innovation process. Whether we are referring to radical or incremental change, eliminating the 'chatter' or 'dasein' (Heidegger, 1927) will allow the process to focus on action-oriented innovation. Through time, stability is relative, but we know in today’s increasingly uncertain world direct communications have proven to be successful within the political and social sphere; we know being able to communicate an idea properly propels its innovation success, even if the idea was originally assumed as too radical. #Language #Chaos #Communication #ContemporaryBrands #Discourses

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Interview with Julian Wilson

“Leaders face the challenge of loss of control, workers face the challenge of increase of responsibility/accountability: the organisation faces the challenge of the wider culture. Innovation potential for self-organisation.”

Julian Wilson is the owner of U.K. based company, Matt Black Systems, which has been manufacturing components for the aerospace industry since 1971. In 2005, the organisation restructured by embracing self-organisation rather than the traditional top-down approach. To some, this can be seen as a move from Order to Chaos.

Q: What has led you to restructure your company to a unique model of self-organisation?

However, the result of this change has increased the productivity of its workers by 300% simultaneously cutting costs by 50%. Matt Black Systems has also noted that their model is the predominant reason for their exceptional resilience against market turbulences and disruptions.

Q: Within your company, there are often metaphorical phrases and words, like ‘recipe’ and ‘magic’. What do they mean, and how has this influenced the development within the company?

Commercial pressure - not just financial but also competitiveness: combined with experimenting with the traditional approach and it didn’t deliver enough improvement.

Language has done little: the biggest impact was our adoption of environmental psychology. The primary tendency for people to adapt their behaviours to their environment not the narrative. Self-leadership requires each individual to make decisions about their direction of progress in collaboration with both the people around them as well as the world

around them. This requires all individuals to maintain 'situational awareness'. I.T. technology today (hardware, software & networks) provides a new opportunity to achieve cheap and real-time 'situational awareness'. This is important in answering the key question about self-leadershipâ&#x20AC;Ś 'why now'? It is I.T. that now makes self-leadership a viable option and it was not previously available; I.T. is a key facilitator. Q: What are the challenges organisational leaders face in the tensions between a conventional organisational system and a more liberal model? Leaders face the challenge of loss of control, workers face the challenge of an increase of responsibility/ accountability: the organisation faces the challenge of the wider culture. Q: Do you see the self-organisation model going further in the future? How do you see your organisation evolving in the next decade? Self-leadership is the model used to organize our cities. This is a normal part of our society and is not going away. Applying this within an organisation provides the same benefits. The more it occurs the more pressure on traditional organisations. Traditional organisations use a centralized command economy that is very expensive and does not

promote continuous improvement. In the next decade we must diversify out of our declining market. Q: What would you suggest to other professionals on how to make their organisations more resilient during an increasingly uncertain world? Keep evolving (both improvement through iteration and parallel experimentationâ&#x20AC;Ś like nature).

TENSION 2

Profit

Preservation

Human nature has a long history with greed. Within hyper-capitalism profit and success are monetary; other values are often undermined. The discourse on profit is being explored, with a focus on inclusivity and awareness of the worldat-large. Globalism can work as a benefit and a detriment to preserving world resources. Can we intrinsically motivate organisations and ourselves to compromise? Do we need to?

Rethinking the co-working business model for the sustainability of the independent worker communities Miguel Esparza

“Through practice, we produce the world, both the world of objects and our knowledge about this world. Practice is both action and reflection. But practice is also a social activity; it is produced in cooperation with others. The world is also a produce of former practice. Hence, as part of practice, knowledge has to be understood socially, as producing or reproducing social processes and structures as well as being the produce of them.” — Pelle Ehn In today’s capitalist market economy, 'rising individualism' is a key driver in shaping the future of civil society. There is a growing discourse revolving around possibility, autonomy, freedom, and entrepreneurship. These discourses are coupled with a meshwork of ideas, desires, words, tools and images that are central to economic development and are in contradiction with many of the independent workers’ ideas of labour and life. My ultimate goal was to explore building collaborative communities as a means to drive innovation. I focused my research on understanding key drivers and socioeconomic conditions from which new notions of contemporary work culture and independent work have emerged. In doing so, I juxtaposed contextual literary information with in-depth analysis of new business models, discourses on collaboration and actor-network-theory.

This business model allows members to provide services for various markets whilst offering a mix of physical and digital spaces in which collaboration and participation in open community projects can happen. The services can be rented, borrowed, traded and swapped aiding cross-discipline collaboration. The model can help creating new sustainable innovation communities, social wealth, and the right conditions for emergence to occur. #CollaborationCulture #ActorNetworkTheory #Capitalism #PostCapitalism #ServiceDesign #Networks

I propose positioning independent worker unions and co-working spaces as cooperative membership business entities. The creation of new kinds of collaborative relationships that work in digital and physical spaces provide a new sense of what independent work culture could look like in the near future. By doing this we can help creating new alternative organisations based on a sense of community.

Fashion sustainability as a strategy to enhance innovation Hyerin Park

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.” — Martin Luther King Jr. The 'fashion-industrial complex' is too broad and perplexing to understand. Therefore, it is not easy to establish a business strategy or a new ruling system in the fashion industry. There are various forces synergising to form a powerful system such as the dynamics of human behaviours, the emergence and power of capitalism and neoliberal order, consumer culture, and 'liquid modernity'. The current fashion industry’s position comes from mega-consumption, which reflects and reinforces socio-economic inequality whilst simultaneously degrading the environment. Therefore, it is undeniable to say that there is a huge rise of tension between fashion and sustainability. Sustainability is an important value that the fashion industry has to inherit. However, the value should be deeply embedded in the enterprise rather than being forced onto consumers. Also, sustainability should not be regarded as a market ploy which is what it used to be. The key point is that if we think and imagine in different angles, we may get a chance to approach new business models. Such efforts like combining different types of incompatible values, will create a new paradigm shift which will make these fashion organisations themselves resilient in uncertain environments.

Therefore, I would say that the fashion industry must adapt and embrace sustainability, which has the potential to transform the fashion system for the better. Also, by combining it with different types of seemingly incompatible values, the fashion industry can create a new trend of disruptive innovation. I was once a combination of market researcher and fashion designer. However, the experience and knowledge gained in this study has helped me to understand creative businesses within sustainability and technology. I believe that seeking new challenges in this area is where I should go next as an innovation manager. #InnovationManagement #DesignThinking #TechnologyInnovation #Disruption #Sustainability #MillennialsConsumerBehaviour

How can Government Policy Transform CafĂŠ Culture to Unlock Innovation? Tida Urramporn

“Politics doesn’t matter, policy does.” — Brian J. White

Government agencies can play a crucial role in sustaining the flourishing of creative industries by using 'design' for policymaking processes to create an appropriate ecosystem for business innovation. The realities surrounding the topic of this dissertation are the limits of the government’s capacity to enhance the level of creativity and innovation in the business sector, leading to an ongoing discussion on how governments can meet growing demand for public services with strict budgets whilst better responding to rapid change and declining trust in institutions. Particularly in the case of this dissertation, the unmet needs of the creative industries can be fully comprehended by government agencies through a new pragmatic approach in both of policy processes formulation and implementation. In order to cope with these challenges, the Thai government’s 'Thailand 4.0 policy' (towards the fourth industrial revolution) is helping drive innovation and creativity by focusing on Café culture. However, there are limits to the government’s capacity in building appropriate ecosystems for the emergence of innovation due to the lack of fundamental development of human capital at a national level.

To put it simply, the public sector can play a crucial role in supporting business innovation to flourish and grow sustainably by setting up laws and regulations that meet the current circumstances and actual needs of creative industries. It requires a new government practice to design pragmatic policies for creative entrepreneurs to enhance and sustain their business innovations. In addition, the fundamental development of human capital is needed including knowledge management of individuals to be compatible with global market and rapid changes. With a holistic understanding of innovation management skill sets, particularly the increased ability to be pragmatic, along with the experiences gained from Central Saint Martins, I am seeking opportunities to work in a government agency or social enterprise to generate better ideas and policies that truly meet the needs of people. From the strategic positioning, I am trying to change the cultural practices of governmental organisations to decentralise and promote democratic approaches to influence an effective output from state actors. #BusinessModelInnovation #PolicyFormulation #StrategicManagement #KnowledgeManagement

Circular Economy: A dynamic, restorative and waste-free complex systems model constructed to address the planetary boundaries Ance Rusova

“Regulations encourage companies to devote tremendous time and energy to figuring out how to get away with as much as possible, and to think of environmental concerns only as obstacles to profitability. Environmentalists, meanwhile, are stuck in the role of scolds, nagging corporations, in essence, to wear hemp and drink soy.” — James Surowiecki

The process of industrialisation, at times amplified by technological, economic and social progress has produced a growing number of problems as an operational side-effect. The study I conducted argues that a fundamental paradigm shift of the neoclassical economy can trigger a change in the way things are designed, manufactured and distributed and thus reduce and possibly reverse these processes in a desired direction. It seems quite unfair that smog, river sludge and pollution are the prices we pay for a healthy economy. Growth is not harmful and there is nothing wrong with higher living standards and wider access to commodities. However, the amount of waste we generate when producing, using and eventually throwing away products is problematic. Consumers start to understand that while they still appreciate the power of the brand image, they are also aware of its artifice. That’s not to say the artifice doesn’t matter; the creative halo of any brand is still as crucial as it ever was, it’s just that pure artifice alone, unsubstantiated, isn’t enough.

model we live in could be defined as 'take – make – dispose' or 'linear economic model' and at times 'dead end road' or 'the exploitation of living systems'. In contrast, the Circular Economy framework provides regenerative value creation mechanisms. The aspiration of the model is to generate a 'truly circular' product and service lifecycle where consumed models go through an effective fully transformative bio-cycle or alternatively products can be turned into services. You can visit the 'Rethink' framework (ancerusova.com) I have developed as part of my research to re-imagine your own business. #BusinessModelInnovation #CircularEconomy #SystemsThinking #DesignThinking #ComplexAdaptiveSystems

The interesting thing is that we do not actually need to make less ‘stuff’. We just need to re-imagine our business models. Such frameworks already exist; the Circular Economy is a dynamic, restorative and waste-free complex systems model constructed to address the planetary boundaries. It turns out, the current

The Critical Firm: Counter-Hegemonic Political Action as Business Strategy Tomas Clavijo

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sustainability and responsibility are failing to engage those who feel angry. Identity is not enough for those who feel betrayed. To reinstate trust, Business needs to target Business.â&#x20AC;?

'Sex does not sell anymore, activism does'. However, adding activist traits to a brand identity is different from engaging in political action and portraying a meaningless fictional demonstration in a TV ad is not supporting a cause in the real world. Business and Social Movements have traditionally held antagonistic roles in society and the tensions among both actors are one of the major drivers shaping society and, as an extension, corporate identity today. Out of these tensions, Corporate Social Responsibility has grown as the dominant discourse of corporate identity in the 21st century. However, the culture of 'responsabilisation' and all its subcategories shared an apolitical narrative of what was a politically charged topic. The rise of populist politics indicates this narrative is losing track in favor of those that situate the corporate world at the epicenter of political decision making. The uncontrolled and irregular explosion of 'branded activism' highlights the need of corporate actors to generate new identities that renew the trust of citizens in the corporate world. It is precisely this need that opens a possibility for activist and social movements to influence the behaviour of certain organisations by linking those new identities to alternative political practices.

The business community is the most powerful interest group in society. Above a certain scale, business is politics. However, the political nature of business is a controversial issue. Corporate Political Action (CPA), happens whether there are the legal mechanisms for it or not. On that premise, my project aims to search for strategies to democratise it by asking: How could a sincere collaboration between businesses and activists work? Could social movements generate trust for selected organisations in exchange for their political resources? Could corporations lobby against their own short term interest and obtain a longterm market advantage by generating targeted political conflicts in their own industry? Could critique and alternative practise be presented as a pair? If you want to know more about the Critical Firm and how political conflict works as a strategy for legitimisation in business, follow my articles on aeffect.co.uk. #CulturalBranding #CorporatePoliticalAction #CorporateIdentity #BusinessStrategy #Activism

From capitalism to a frugal economy: how indigenous knowledge can drive innovation Jose Carlos Meija A.

“A systemic and social understanding of innovation, and the proper management of resources proposed by frugal innovation and done for many years by indigenous communities, can lead us to a frugal economy that shifts/changes our current social and environmental crisis.”

Systems are failing and capitalism isn’t working - that is a fact! We are experiencing the biggest social and environmental crisis of our time and this has had a direct effect on the rise of social, frugal and systems innovation. Frugal innovation highlights the dichotomy between the scarcity of resources and the abundance of human ingenuity. It builds on the idea that human ingenuity can help us properly manage the available resources in order to disrupt our current social, political and economic landscape, and design a better common future. Indigenous people have properly managed their resources by maintaining a harmonious relation with themselves, others and especially with nature. This is the reason why they’ve become an example for social change projects, and a precedent on how to shift the sustainable development and economic growth paradigms. But this holistic idea of harmony isn’t only an indigenous feature. It is a hidden or lost human trait that can be unlocked by innovation, to bring about individual and social change. Therefore, this project is rooted in the idea of individual against collective interests, and how this binary tension impacts our current status quo and the possibilities of a different future.

As a researcher and practitioner I used social network analysis and systems thinking to understand how this project was about untangling social complexity and displaying our possibilities as individuals and collectives within this complexity. Mapping, storytelling and scenario planning helped me shape this project and understand where it could or could not stand. The framework I propose is an emerging tool for my work either as a facilitator of community based workshops or as a project lead and consultant in social innovation and sustainability. It is a disruptive design work that might help people rethink and improve their relation with themselves, with others and especially with nature. It’s a tool that was designed to spark processes of change in different levels. It’s a framework for individual change, that at the same time might trigger collective change. It is a canvas that can be tailormade for specific projects and can be adapted and readjusted by other sustainability and social change practitioners. #FrugalInnovation #SocialInnovation #IndigenousKnowledge #DisruptiveDesign #SystemsThinking #SocialChange

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Interview with Nick Srnicek

â&#x20AC;&#x153;...the idea of counter-hegemony is an action of changing that particular world view, shifting what is considered as the 'common sense'. Counterhegemonic in part is a matter of trying to get post-work in power. This is where the work ethics come in as a crucial hinge point - how do we reconsider work and get that largely accepted?â&#x20AC;?

Income inequality is at its highest level for the past half century, climate change is expected to hit developing countries the hardest. These arising problems, related to the existing social, political and economic systems make us question their viability for the future and imagine new alternatives. Therefore, we interviewed philosopher, lecturer and acknowledged writer Nick Srnicek, who proposes ways of designing a post capitalist economy capable of liberating humanity.

Q: What is the future of work? I think it is an important distinction to make between, say, work as freely chosen effortful projects versus work that is something forced upon us to make a living. Under capitalism, the means of production is taken away from workers, and workers therefore, have to sell their labour power to make money in order to survive. That is different from freely chosen projects. So, for instance, you can imagine a world where the basic means of existence is provided for but you are still working out of your own choice â&#x20AC;&#x201C; reading and learning about philosophers, doing art, taking care of family or helping out with the community. Q: What do you think is stopping us from progressing into a post-work world? In the first place, we need to change the common sense of people. We need to change the hegemonic ideas in existence

at the moment. People are so tied down to this idea, that not only work is good but that it is pivotal to be valued in the first place. If you are doing unpaid work at home, if you are taking care of children, for an example, then that is not counted as work and not valued in the same way. We need to change our conception of work. Q: What do you think we should do to prepare for automation? Possibly rethinking education entirely. So, not focusing on reading, writing, and arithmetic but on social skills. I think the big questions as well is â&#x20AC;&#x201C; do we want to force people into jobs or do we want to liberate more free time for everybody? We as a society have to ask ourselves this questions and answer it at some point. Q: What if people choose not to work when given a universal basic income? Well, if you were given basic income, would you still do productive things? I have yet to meet somebody who says no and actually sits on the couch and does nothing. I think there is some sort of mythical figure, an idea of these people who will do nothing if they were given money. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s these sorts of mythical monsters that are designed to scare us away from these ideas or to take action.

Q: How can we design and manage a Counter Hegemony: what is this? Hegemony is the idea that in any relatively complex society (which is what we have today) you can't just rule through power and force. You also need consensus and people 'buying into' the project. Hegemony is when the ruling class manages to get its particular worldview accepted by a vast group of individuals. The idea of counter-hegemony is an action of changing that particular world view, shifting what is considered as the 'common sense'. Counter-hegemonic in part is a matter of trying to get post-work in power. This is where the work ethics come in as a crucial hinge point - how do we reconsider work and get that largely accepted? Q: Do you believe that collaboration between organisations, unions and large corporations can happen? Absolutely. I think there's room for collaboration and alliances there. I mean part of this issue is the counterhegemonic. The basic element of the counter-hegemonic project is bringing together different interests and having them recognise that there's a shared and common situation â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the common enemy. I think that's one of the big things missing from left populism right now. Who's the enemy? I think you have to define the enemy.

These things are all interconnected. We have to develop stories and ways in which people can recognise themselves in a common project. It is about bringing different actors of the various groups of society together. Trying to create new social bonds. Q: We need to change the profiting hegemony, paradigms and mindsets. How would that transition effect or impact the preservation of nature, cultural diversity and the new social bonds you've mentioned? We would have an entirely different approach to these issues I think. Nature would be valued in its own right, instead of being given a monetary value, while cultural diversity and new social bonds could flourish outside the limiting constraints of capitalism. I think this is one of the key insights of Marx, and something that needs to be remembered today: that capitalism is ultimately a constraint on human liberation and creativity. If profit is no longer the ultimate arbiter of what survives and thrives in our society, then suddenly a whole new swathe of possibilities opens up. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what we should be aiming for: the expansion of freedom.

TENSION 2

Now

Future

Technology allows for greater accessibility to information. Modern day documentation and archiving is a cherished activity of this generation. We believe we are constructing more informed futures. Time is losing its value, making it hard for individuals and organisations to understand how to live in the present and prepare for the future. Identities are at stake.

Unlocking the Subconscious: Technology, Speculation and Spirituality. Augmented leadership in the Augmented Reality World Yihan Xu

“The future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed.” — William Gibson

Analogous to what augmented reality is to reality, what posthuman is to human, the time to rethink management is upon us. Leadership is not a rank, but a chance to provide meanings to elements in a sea of chaos. Innovation happens in the threshold between boundaries. It is a chaotic state and an ongoing psychosocial process of adaptation and coping with mental distress. We can see tension between the liminality (non-structure) and the structure, the Innovation Manager plays a role with regards to the interaction between the two states, which could be understood as a therapeutic process. In psychotherapy, the attempt for the therapist is not to just to heal their disorders but help lead the client to a new sense of self. Creativity within this therapeutic process can be found in the ability to tolerate mental illness. I’m focusing on generating a framework on the basis of the interaction between the 'Philosophy of Mind' (identity, self, emotion, perception and consciousness), and the fields of computer science, psychology and ecology. In order to understand the overlaps, I tested tools such as Speculative Design Prototyping, Expressive Psychotherapy and Spiritual leadership to understand transformation in uncertainty.

My outcomes for the complex discourse of innovation management, 1. to manage transformation and uncertain consequences, Innovation Management needs an augmented leadership that combines the designer’s mindset with the psychotherapist’s knowhow. 2. the main strategy of identifying innovation opportunities is unlocking the subconscious behind the overlaps among artificial intelligence, emotional intelligence and spiritual intelligence. 3. the three layers to understand the subconscious are the measurable unconscious, spiritual subconscious and ecological universal subconscious. My outcome at this stage is an introduction chapter for my further research. I can see myself continuing to investigate the intersection of technology and human concerns. To utilise my passion for facilitating meaning-driven innovation and sustainability, I am looking for opportunities to working in environmental, human health, artificial intelligence and future trend sectors. #MeaningCenteredInnovation #ImplicitInteraction #Subconscious #AI #AR #TechCulture #SpeculativeDesign #Foresight #Creativity #SpiritualLeadership

Speculative and Critical Design-led strategic conversation - questioning the present and shaping the future Arana Anantachina

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” — Richard Buckminster Fuller

The structure of industries is in transition, and the world of consumerism is transforming. The identities of products and services have been disrupted, and it is now difficult to define specific functional values. These values fluctuate with the structures, and uncertainty requires organisations and managers to redefine their strategies and realign their skills to anticipate possible opportunities in the future. Organisations that only focus on short-term strategies will not be able to survive long-term disruptions. The main research question is: how can organisations use narrative scenarios and speculative and critical design (SCD) techniques as tools to produce resources for radical innovation so that they can survive in the long term? To answer the question, I explored several discourses including: radical innovation, strategic management, entrepreneurship, speculative and critical design and scenario planning. I studied these areas through literature and case studies as well as researched in the field using participatory action research and interviews. From the research journey, I argue that to tackle the challenge, firstly, entrepreneurial abilities should be accumulated in the managers’ or leaders’ behaviours which will affect their decision making and actions in ways that will inspire them to explore

radical opportunities through possible futures. Secondly, I propose SCD-led strategic conversational frameworks to be used as tools to enhance entrepreneurial abilities as well as expand innovation opportunities in strategic planning resulting in increased resources for radical innovation capabilities in firms. SCD-led strategic conversations provide the fictional artefacts and narrative scenarios that break away from the cliché visual language. The satirical and conflict spaces between reality and possible futures drive questions and critiques, leading to discovery logic within conversations and encouraging leaders to reconceptualise new meanings for products, services or systems. Here, SCD-led strategic conversations are aimed at finding innovation opportunities from the unknown paradigm and helping organisations shape their preferable future. I am seeking opportunities that will allow me to apply my knowledge in these related subjects, particularly strategic foresight, futures design, conceptual design as well as innovation management projects. #SpeculativeandCriticalDesign #SCD #ScenarioPlanning #Entrepreneurship #StrategicManagement #RadicalInnovation

The Liminality of Managing Transitions and Transformations in Strategic Foresight Jesse Adeniji

“Methodologies and frameworks are indispensable for the foresight practitioner. But the ability to develop a Trickster-like dexterity comes from the ability to use an adaptive mindset to 'knit' intelligences – research, frameworks and personal experiences – into actionable tapestries of wisdom for clients.”

The relatively new practice of strategic foresight shares similar struggles of an indeterminate nature with the concepts by which we contextualise and engage with the future; one which is complex and volatile. Evolution, emergence and complex adaptive systems are examples of these. Complex systems have interdependent and interconnected parts which interact to produce unpredictable behaviours called emergence, which may be desirable or undesirable. These systems are at play in the human and material worlds in which strategic foresight reside. Therefore, as important as professional frameworks and tools may be, they would require the creativity, resilience and adaptive nous of the practitioner using them to develop dynamic engagement with complexity and uncertainty. How then, do we develop the resilient mindset, or a way of thinking with which we may navigate constant, relentless change? My research explored the learnings that the practitioners of strategic foresight might borrow from the concept of liminality and the mythical Trickster figures, who thrive in complex and uncertain environments, through certain striking mental qualities. Because practice tools can only be as dynamic as the mind-set the practitioner

adopts, I looked at the nature of the action required to operate between the cracks of culture, business and design, especially as society vacillates between structure and anti-structure. As we experience more intense and relentless structural and social changes, due to the rapid pace of advancement in technology and knowledge, certain rules are going to be broken even before they are made. Frameworks and proprietary tools are types of rules which, while are desirable and needed, sometimes limit the exploratory abilities of professionals in a field which is constantly changing. Therefore, learning, unlearning and relearning, connote the ability to thrive in chaos and uncertainty. I have focused on the practitioner with the view to developing mental conditioning, a mindset that one needs to synthesise intelligence from performance, reflexivity and adaptability. My work will interest people looking to take up practice in the strategic foresight field. It may also guide recruitment and training exercises there. #ComplexAdaptiveSystems #Chaos #Liminality #EvolutionarySystems #IntensiveDifferences #TricksterFigures

Critical Design in the innovation context; expanding imaginations for considering near futures Naoki Hayashi

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Human-centered design is unlikely to lead to radical innovation.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Verganti and Norman

From current interesting arguments around the design approach, 'Humancentered design is unlikely to lead to radical innovation' (Verganti and Norman, 2012). Why do they suspect this? And what are the other methodologies which can lead to radical innovation? Looking into the movement of the design approach might indicate the opportunity surrounding this issue. Currently, some design companies set the Critical Design approach as a principal instead of Strategic Design which wider organisations adopt for their businesses. What is the meaning of Critical Design in the innovation context? How does the trend relate to innovation management? This research believes that radical innovation can be strategically planned by designers and marketers, and Critical Design might be an alternative approach which can lead to radical innovation. The meaning of Critical Design was investigated in the business context. The term 'Critical Design' was proposed by the work of Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby in late 1990s, which comes from critical theory. The difference from traditional design (Dunne called it 'Affirmative Design') is that Critical Design questions current widely accepted methodologies and approaches, and tries to change attitudes and positions by using 'what if' questions to expand imaginations in considering 'near' futures.

Breaking it down into the business context, the Critical Design approach is practically maintaining distance from the result of user research, wants and needs, to explore any scenario, as opposed to Strategic Design. From my work placements, this research found that Critical Design approach is potentially valid for radical innovation, however, three main points should be considered in the business context: organisational management model, time-framing, and most importantly, innovation managers should balance comprehensively both Strategic Design and Critical Design. The Critical Design approach fundamentally requires the skill of persuasion such as visualisation and storytelling. As an innovation manager, 'ambidexterity' in using both the strategic design and critical design approaches would be a fundamental requirement in the innovation context. Organisations can adopt Critical Design to expand imaginations for considering 'near' futures. #RadicalInnovation #DisruptiveInnovation #CriticalDesign #SpeculativeDesign #DesignFiction #StrategicDesign

The Future of Plastic and the Role of the Designer in the Process of Transformation Vichitravanna Burapachit

“Change can be frightening, and the temptation is often to resist it. But change almost always provides opportunities – to learn new things, to rethink tired processes, and to improve the way we work.” — Klaus Schwab

Plastic as a material has existed for a long time. Its meaning and value has changed over the centuries (Mossman, 2008) and people’s perceptions of plastics are constantly switching. My innovation journey started from seeking opportunities to add value to the future uses of the material. My research attempted to discover innovative ways of looking at and understanding plastic as a versatile material by mapping out its future development. The research began by studying the cultural history of plastics. The insights from the discourse analysis highlighted the power of plastic as 'an agent of change', which can transform social norms. For example, a shift towards increasing the use of plastic materials in wider commercial and cultural fields could have a huge impact on society – justifying the claim that it is a societal material.

the ability to select 'an agent of change' to transform society through their creative vision, interpretation and output. If a designer chooses an inappropriate material, the effect is felt by wider stakeholders further down the plastic production chain and material lifecycle. Accordingly, my research findings proposed the creation of a central material information platform which aims to bring together a broad range of stakeholders within and associated with plastic industries to further the development of innovative plastic solutions. #Future material #FuturePlastics #PlasticsEconomy #CircularThinking

Further research revealed the relationships between the material and its stakeholders, which consists of three main groups: manufacturers and businesses as makers, consumers as users and designers as creative links. All three groups are important, with design as an overarching influence. Material selection is important and requires product designers and design engineers to translate material attributes into finished products. Designers have

From nowhere to everywhere: Applying systems thinking to innovation through transcending boundaries and experiencing integration Clementine Song

“I could never imagine how black and white interpenetrate if I had never seen grey; but once I have seen grey I easily understand how it can be considered from two points of view, that of white and that of black.” — Henri Bergson We are now living in the 'liminal space', the tension between Now and the Future resulting from how we see the world – the collective prevailing paradigm that is called mechanistic. It is machine based, with features as reductionist, dualist and scientific. Although it has brought enormous benefits especially in technology, the side effects are there for our planet and future. My original idea comes from questioning the limitation of the human-centred design. How to position users in the process of design triggered my curiosity on the relationship between objects and meaning and has led me to explore a systems approach to rethink innovation. I conducted an experimental ethnography research by immersing myself in the daily life at a mixed organic farm which aims at becoming an education centre and community of small businesses. The experience has transformed how I think and act professionally and personally, inner and outer. From the process, I realised that design is not only about translating human needs and desires into fulfilling products and experiences. It is also about creating lasting value for the future. By changing worldviews, systems thinking can be integrated to encourage individuals and organisations to embrace complexity and uncertainty, thus expanding humancentred design to encompass interactions with other elements such as nature,

culture, technology, spirituality, etc. Applying systems thinking to create an experience of integration, and a transcendence of boundaries to rebuild the connection between human and nature, body and mind, time and space can provide new perspectives to facilitate Innovation. The innovation manager's mission is not to succumb to existence, but to find an antidote for the pain of the challenges facing the future. I am now made aware of the beneficial impact that this way of seeing could have for our interactions with the world. Understanding systems theory as a way of thinking and being can be a starting point. By opening to new possibilities, holding the awareness of limitation, I’m heading to the path of becoming a catalyst to guide and stimulate people’s mindsets and actions towards systems thinking. #SystemsThinking #LiminalSpace #Transcendence #ValueCreation #Complexity #Uncertainty #HumanCentredDesign

Liquid meanings and their transformational character: An evaluation of â&#x20AC;&#x153;meaningâ&#x20AC;? as a transformation tool for innovation strategies Isabella Blatter

“(...) humanity isn’t divided by race, creed, colour or wealth; one thing alone makes humans unequal, and it is energy. The gift of Enthusiasmus.” — DBC Pierre

Ideas exist in abundance. Creative problem-solving activities, brainstorming, and step-by-step toolkits have invaded the innovation management landscape. Design has become a form of thinking, emphasising human-centeredness and ergonomics, whereas design action focuses on users and their needs and is equal to creative problem-solving activity. But those methods can fail when it is eventually the consumer who decides the success or failure of a product in the market place. How do you differentiate yourself and innovate in times of overproduction and overconsumption? Consumers tire of chasing unattainable utopias triggered by empty 'innovations' that mean absolutely nothing. New literature proposes that we think beyond product modernity by exploring what a product really means for people: meaningdriven innovation refers to products that resonate within the cultural landscape and can appeal to the unconscious desire of individuals. This approach requires sensitivity to context, to relationship and to consequences – 'key aspects of the transition from mindless development to design mindfulness' (Thackara, 2005, p.7).

design consultancy where I worked for five months as a practitioner researcher and design strategist. I discovered that starting the innovation process from a meaning perspective is for many practitioners new, complex, abstract and requires a change of mind-set. To do things differently, we need to perceive things differently. This transition process cannot happen without an affective intensity, for example, being enthusiastic about what we are doing. My driver is curiosity and the insatiable urge to increase my skills, learn and unlearn previously held knowledge. My next destination will be either a PhD or a place which allows me to increase my skills, to be in an environment of constant flux and change, where I have to challenge myself. Potentially this could be in the role of a design strategist, but the long-term plan is to set up a company. #Meaning #Meaning-DrivenInnovation #Liminality #ThresholdConcept #AffectTheory

To test my hypothesis, I immersed myself in an (organisational) ethnographic field study to gain a better understanding of innovation processes when they emerge from a meaning perspective. The study took place in a London-based strategic

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Interview with Ronald Jones

“In fact, we first look for patterns, unanticipated signals – what we would also call 'low signal, to high noise': something that is often missed by others looking at the same data.”

Many organisations and entities have withered under the pressure produced by a fast pace of technological and cultural change. This has come with it, ambiguity, complexity, uncertainty and volatility which makes the business and societal landscapes a daunting one. These tensions between the past, present and future visioning is what we discussed with Ronald Jones, a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art.

Q: What is future thinking? One way to think about future thinking is detecting emerging trends in the present, that once evaluated and extrapolated for their implications, give us an early first draft of what the future may bring. There are a variety of techniques for this and perhaps the most assessable is the Future Wheel. While we credit Edison with the invention of the light bulb, that invention is simply a parlour trick until the electric grid was ‘invented’ to distribute the use of the light bulb, and I would say that more than the bulb itself it was the electric grid that triggered future thinking around Edison’s invention. The electric grid was the invention that really foretold the future. And that’s known as systems design of which the light bulb is a small part. The electric grid is a part of an emerging pattern. Pattern recognition is vital to future forecasting.

Q: That’s interesting. What other things can we look out for? In fact, we first look for patterns, unanticipated signals – what we would also call ‘low signal, to high noise’: something that is often missed by others looking at the same data. We’ll pick up on these faint signals, and then begin to analyse them and interpret what they might imply, in effect their future consequences. Let’s talk about a real life example which is not all that exciting, but it’s a project we did for the City of Stockholm. They wanted to understand the future implications of a high number of refugees coming to Sweden and how they might be given homes without creating as a by-product, in-effect a ‘refugee ghetto’ apart from the rest of the city. How will we integrate the newcomers into the Swedish society? This was the real question we were answering by looking at the future of housing. What we did was we looked at a number – and this is also typical of future forecasting – we looked at a number of forces that were trending simultaneously. So, in classical study of the theory of history you may frame things as synchronic – where one thing follows another in succession – or frame events as diachronic, where you’re looking at multiple events, all at the same time, looking at how they’re interacting on one another simultaneously. So, we have an

influx of refugees; we can expect that we’re going to see extra pressure put on the healthcare system, education system. Let’s go down the line in both of those, and suddenly both in education and in hospital care we will immediately need people with languages that currently no one in either the hospital or school staff can speak. There is a pressing future need. How do we plan a scenario to fulfil it? We wanted to have them integrated as quickly as we could, and so we were basically mapping what their future would be. We can do that in a number of different ways, and we then present it to the government. This is what we typically do with clients at Quattroporte, the firm where I work. We typically present clients with three different options. And then ask, 'Which one is the most desirable for you? These are three likely options, which one is the most desirable?' Then we begin, across multiple disciplines and segments of society, to create a roadmap as to how to get to that one that, in the refugee case, the Swedish government has chosen. As I say, there are many our future forecasting analysis allowed us to understand what the priorities would be: language, integration into the society, getting them jobs where they could also further learn language, get the children in the school so that they’re contributing members of society. That was the future: to create, out of these refugees, contributing members of society.

Acknowledgements

MA Innovation Management and Central Saint Martins Alice Holmberg Beth Shepherd Dr Carlos Peralta Dr Ida Telalbasic Inaki Arbelaitz Dr Jamie Brassett Dr John Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Reilly Lorna Dallas-Conte Professor Lucy Kimbell Monika Hestad Paul Sturrock Sophie Chenevix Trench

External Partners Daniela Paredes Fuentes (Gravity Sketch) David Mullett (Pupil) Elena Saurel Giri Tharmananthar and Phillip Joe (Microsoft) Jean-Benoit Ritz and Shetal Edwards (EDF Blue Lab) John Moroni (London School of Economics) Jon Stephens (Ey-Seren) Julian Wilson (Matt Black Systems) Nick Srnicek (Inventing the Future) Piers Roberts (Designersblock) Richard Li (Cambridge University) Ronald Jones (Royal College of Art) Simon Bong (Digital Catapult) Slava Baranovskiy (University of Westminster) Tom Millar (University of Leeds) Tsukasa Tanimoto (Fjord)

Sponsors Mucho Brewdog Kastner AG Life Water

The bookletâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cover is embossed and printed in offset on PlanoJet 400g/m2 and the inside part on 110g/m2 (inside) by: