The Raising Places design team in Wilmington has been busy conducting research focused on the group’s positive goals! (See here for more on those goals, which were drafted at the Kickoff Lab).
Over the previous six weeks, the team learned from residents, including teens, parents and grandparents; leaders and instructors at youth-serving organizations; business leaders from the credit union and local banks; people running as well as engaging with government services, such as general assistance and food stamps; as well as residents running their own home-based businesses. They also immersed themselves in the local context by trying to a) rent a home and b) find a job in Wilmington. The purpose of this work was to better understand the needs, assets, aspirations and lived experiences of community members, so that the team could create better, more child-centered and more locally-relevant programs, spaces, policies and systems.
From the research and synthesis came a series of powerful insights, each of which led to an opportunity statement. Starting with the phrase “How might we…,” an opportunity statement is a tool to spark brainstorming and new ways of looking at old problems.
From spending time with people working in various co-ops, the team discovered that people often learn skills better from peers than professionals. They also realized that these types of learning networks are enabled by common goals and activities.
From these insights they wrote the following opportunity statements:
The design team’s research showed that when adults make the investment to treat youth as equals, youth in turn return that investment to the community. Likewise, they also found that so many youth in Wilmington are creating beauty, even in tough circumstances.
From these insights they wrote the following opportunity statements:
Through their research, this small group saw that a healthy environment is one where people live, work and play. They also realized, however, that people don’t always realize that they are impacted by, or impacting, their environment.
From these insights they wrote the following opportunity statements:
At the public Ideas Lab event, community members were asked to brainstorm and sketch ideas in response to these opportunity statements. Over a hundred people showed up to this event, and generated over 250 ideas. The ideas ranged from new programs, campaigns and services, to new policies and plans for the community, to new businesses and systems of support. The team is now gearing up for the prototyping sprint, where they will be making, testing, and iterating on these ideas with a wide range of community members. They will present their next round of concepts at the Action Lab on February 7 and 8. Stay tuned!
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July 19, 2018
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June 22, 2018
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June 18, 2018
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June 5, 2018
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