Stage 4: Iterate
“We found it really challenging to figure out how we could motivate or incentivise different partners to work together. Prototyping with partners before committing to a plan helped us to gather some insights, validate (or retire) some assumptions and be more sensitive to the needs and interests of our stakeholder groups.”
– Forth (UK)
Introduction
Creating anything new requires imagination, skills and the ability to manage change, uncertainty and risk. The complexity of climate action requires us to be very attentive to the changing environment as well as the impact of the interventions we make. In the course of the LEVERS programme we saw changes to policy and regulation, public sentiment and industry willingness (or capability) to engage or change. Our projects need to be agile enough to respond.
Systemic practice acknowledges this by working in flexible and agile ways:
- Working at different levels concurrently
- Constantly questioning assumptions
- Embracing complexity by learning and adapting
What did we do?
The nine LV moved in different ways from discovery into firming up ideas and proposals, executing and then iterating. Prototyping and testing ideas entailed practicing openness, sensing emergence, adapting responsively and letting the project find its shape. These were challenging practices to adopt for teams more accustomed to traditional ways of working, all the more so where commitments are to be made, budgets signed off and contracts entered into. At their best convening partners with a view to developing ideas in collaboration.
What tools did we use?
Prototyping and iteration are structured practices which can help to inform, test and improve ideas before committing to scale.
They can also be adopted as part of a culture of working – ‘permanent prototype’ is a way of thinking about an operation which is open and able to change in response to the world around: the definition of resilience.
- Identifying assumptions
- Writing a prototyping plan
Iterate takeaway
Build clarity and align ideas through action – iteratively It’s widely understood that collaborative working is a delicate balance – where skills and resources (among other things) are offered and put to work for shared purpose.
LEVERS ecosystem partners were aligned in principle but it was only through collaborative action that that could be tested. Prototyping, testing and staying open and curious to how the project is forming enables a culture of iteration and improvement.
Example 1: CPN
CPN faced “a lot of conflict in the beginning” as they brought partners together from different backgrounds, who had different perspectives and ways of doing things. Early efforts to create a joint publication surfaced tensions – but also created an opportunity to understand the shifts needed. They found that even when goals are not shared, collaboration still improved the output and enriched the community.
Example 2: Stickydot
As Stickydot embarked on the project journey with partners they quickly identified a possible disconnect between the emerging partnership and their internal team. They needed to course-correct, and found that a follow up ‘near and guiding star workshop’ with the internal team was an important action for ensuring wider support within the organisation as the project evo lv to fit with wider partner goals
Iterate : Diary entries
Other Steps
In this stage of work the nine Learning Ventures are setting a course, by expressing their ambition and finding shared goals. It’s not about a preferred course of action, but describing – and interrogating – desired outcomes.
This starting point can be revisited as the process progresses.
In this stage of work the Learning Ventures take a step back to ask: what makes the existing system the way it is? Why is it not better already?
Asking these questions helps identify where in the system we might work to maximise our impact
In this stage of work, building on the ambition and knowledge accrued in the first two stages, we move towards ideas – the mechanisms that might be used to shift the system.
This requires further study, of who this is for and who it might affect.
The nine Learning Ventures are now at varying stages of this firming up and commitment making process, reflecting how different scales of work and organisational contexts require different toolkits even within similar approaches.