Hothouses for Innovation
Service design
The Hothouses for Innovation initiative is a partnership with Crisis, the national homelessness charity. It is a service design initiative aimed at improving services and outcomes for those who might benefit from Crisis support, employing design thinking and rapid cycle testing methods.
The need
Crisis deliver services for people affected by homelessness in 11 locations, called Skylights, across the UK. While the context around homelessness is dynamic and changing at the national level, there are also important differences and dynamics in local areas. The Skylight model of support, therefore, must constantly be adapting and learning to ensure it can improve outcomes for communities in different environments.
Our response
Selected Crisis Skylights have become Hothouses for Innovation in which the Lab is facilitating a service design process that incorporates user-centred and evidence-informed design. The process starts with a full-day workshop bringing Crisis staff and service users together with partner organisations to agree on a priority challenge that the Hothouse would address. Next, we run a Service Design Sprint in which staff, service users and partners rapidly develop service adaptations that responded to the priority challenge. Finally, the Hothouses pilot the most promising adaptation and within a framework of rapid cycle testing.
The Hothouses for Innovation initiative is a partnership between the Dartington Service Design Lab and Crisis, a national charity for homeless people. Crisis helps people directly out of homelessness and campaigns for the changes needed to solve it altogether. Crisis’ ultimate aim is to eradicate homelessness
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