As we set off into the country from the bustling city, we have time to reflect on some of the things we have seen to the people we have met.
The whistle stop tour of London with its businesses, technologies, councils and people makes London and probably many other cities complex and vast.
Over the next couple of days we have to take everything we have seen and learned and figure out if there is a unique idea that could be used to help communities move that 1% closer to being a smart.
So it’s Thursday night and after a long week, it’s off to bed…
Friday has arrived, the day where all 100 delegates come back together to share our experiences. First up, each team is asked to split into half and move into another team. Interesting what that does for the dynamic s of a team, but more on that later.
Next we were asked what we learnt, for many of us it was a mixture of what we had seen and what we had learnt. The experience led us to summarize 5 key learnings:-
- “Reserve Judgement”, only by talking to people and hearing their perspective can you truly understand their position.
- The power of “Connecting the eco-system” is what truly makes a smart community
- Curiosity can open doors and your mind to new possibilities
- That diversity is really a multi-lensed approached as it’s not just about the physical but also the multi-perspectives in thinking
- (Com) Passion is SMART leadership. You need to show compassion and passion in equal measures to make a difference
And above all anything is possible if the idea, the thinking; the doing; is Powered by People, For People, as without heart you cannot succeed.
With these learnings we now need to move on to stage 2 of this process which is bringing to life an idea that would contribute to a smart community, as I said this is about evolution not revolution.
Joined by Alison Coburn, Chief Exec of Common Purpose International, Alison took us through a process on how to produce ideas for prototyping innovation.
The idea is you do this in a rapid way, by first coming up with as many ideas as possible, as a team. In many cases there was on average at least 5 -7 ideas per person. That is almost 500-700 ideas; imagine the possibilities and the diversity in thinking with 100 people, contributing from 56 countries. The power is profound.
Course you can’t execute or develop that many ideas and have everyone present them in the time we had, so we have to get these down to 1-2 ideas per team. This was a tough ask as with that many ideas you need time to think about them, talk about them, but with rapid prototyping you need to be quick and a little ruthless in your approach. So we get to 1-2 ideas and then make a decision to link the ideas into 1 big idea. In all the time allocated to do that was probably no more than 2 hours, pretty exhausting if I am honest.
However once past this stage we have to present the idea and get our thoughts across in no more than 2 minutes, with 8 people and an idea that needs to have impact, that was intense and yet we all managed it, presenting an idea in 2 minutes and having people follow and be inspired is definitely a lesson I will be taking away.
So what happened next, well as you would expect we were asked to vote on the best 9 ideas and then join the idea you believed in the most, it didn’t have to be your own idea. So now we have a mix of teams first from the original round with a set of new people and now potentially another set of new people. It sounds all mixed up, but the leadership lesson is incredibly powerful.
With that many changes, ideas, and thought leadership there is bound to be some “tension” and how each person, each system and idea overcome’ s that is interesting, You see at the end of the day, we all have to present one idea to a panel of distinguished guests and HRH Princess Anne, so no pressure.
With the end goal in mind, each team needed to learn a few lesson very quickly, in my mind it boiled down to 3 key areas of consciousness: 1. Reserve Judgement of the new and the old. 2. be curious and listen to others thoughts on the original idea and 3. Put diversity at the forefront of thinking. Leadership was crucial here, not in directing people but working across boundaries and believing in the system and more importantly knowing when to let go.
Using a concept called the 7 R’s of Prototyping: Relevance, Revolutionary, Rapid, Rough, Right, Relationally effective and replicable, the teams set out with the help of PwC to create an idea worthy for royalty.
The process is very effective and includes a 3D prototype of your idea. “The Green Bench” team that wanted to create “An active youth Parliament in every commonwealth country and virtual green bench where every young citizen is welcome to have their say”
Our strategy focused on “Inspiring” Young people to take an active role in what they need and want from the future. Build a platform where the “Youth Voice” can be heard by creating and connecting virtual community for all and creating “toolkits” to support leaders. And more importantly to empower a community that helps young people live, learn and play.
This was about engaging the youth to be the voice of the future, to get government and the world to listen to what matters to them, from Jobs and skills, to physical walls that stop them playing with their friends, to rape and FGM. These are the powerful topics the youth need to consider as the decide on what their future will be, welcome to “The Green Bench”
The ideas ranged from the winning idea, My Phone is my Home – digitally equality for all, creating connectivity everywhere and all the time
I-value – technology that enables citizens to make responsible choices.
Common Wealth Social Capital – new currency that can be earned through positive social behaviours
Dem Dollars $ – Incentivising those that don’t vote to vote
The E3 Score Card – A way to engage, enable and energise change.
Innovating sustainability: A Mayor’s Manual – Producing SMART Mayor’s Manual raising the global standards for future cities across the Commonwealth.
Smart.i.e.s – Giving our communities access to the information which will allow them to find their voice and influence their futures.
However it wasn’t about the winning it was the co-creation of something special and with a little courage and focus could move us 1% closer to a smarter community
With that I would like to thank everyone who has been keeping up to date with my blogs and to say a huge thank you to the CSC team, and the new friends I have met for the most amazing experience. One that I will not forgot, and actually can’t forget as I will see many of them during Part II in Singapore. For now goodbye, but watch this space as I will be back, this is not the end of the ideas or the journey only the beginning.
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