Centre of Expertise Mission Zero's research team, Future Proof Labs, focused on examining the operational dynamics of living labs within the South Holland region.
The living labs under the banner of Future Proof Labs, were afflicted by a lack of transparency in stakeholder participation and role clarification. The core challenge was to develop a tool to elucidate stakeholder roles during different project phases and foster clear communication
Tool Designer - A comprehensive toolkit that integrates various components with the aim to enhance stakeholder participation transparency. Workshop Facilitator - Planned and led several workshops, introducing the tool for stakeholders to apply
The creation of Mountain Sight was born out of my engagement with Future Proof Labs, a research team affiliated with the Centre of Expertise Mission Zero. The team was deeply involved in a project studying four unique living labs within the South Holland region, aiming to discern their operational mechanisms and their impact on the surrounding environment.
Given the freedom to delve into various aspects of the project, I found myself irresistibly drawn to a particular challenge that resonated deeply with my personal background - the transparency of participation in the democratic process. Therefore, I was fascinated by the chance to address this issue within the context of the living labs.
For projects that run in the living lab, the participation level among stakeholders would keep shifting through different stages. With the lack of transparency and clarification within the lab, it is often difficult for the stakeholders or citizens to understand their roles in the process, which leads to miscommunication and distrust. Therefore, the design direction of the tool is to:
During the lifespan of the projects undertaken within the living labs, the level of participation among stakeholders continually shifted across different stages. However, an opaque communication framework often made it hard for stakeholders or citizens to comprehend their roles. This lack of clarity precipitated misunderstandings and sowed seeds of distrust.
My primary challenge was to mitigate these issues by devising a tool that would enhance transparency and foster a better understanding of stakeholder roles in various phases of the projects. These considerations steered the design direction of Mountain Sight, a toolkit with the purpose to illuminate the path of participation for everyone involved.
The initial toolkit focused on identifying stakeholders' roles, participation levels, and project phases. I designed collaborator cards, roadmap phase cards, a stakeholders' map, and a phase canvas for each stage, complemented by a flowchart to clarify participation levels. However, feedback from the research group indicated overlap and sizing concerns with some tools.
Considering the feedback, I revised the toolkit aiming for a more compact and simpler design. Collaborator cards were transformed into tokens, phase cards were redesigned, the stakeholders' map and flowchart were combined into a participation matrix, and the phase canvas was made more flexible.
User testing sessions provided valuable insights, leading to further improvements. For example, the toolkit was condensed into a single canvas, the stakeholder tokens were redesigned, and the canvas was equipped with a "parking area" for prolonged discussions or hard-to-agree-on topics.
To reduce unnecessary space for the collaborator cards, the form of a token is created instead. The front of the token is the stakeholder category; meanwhile, the back provides space for users to fill in related information when needed.
The phase cards have also been redesigned into an arrow shape, which symbolizes the idea of the process.
Instead of having two separate tools, a matrix was made to combine the ideas. The top row indicates the level of participation, whereas the left column represents how stakeholders can contribute or influence based on a certain level. Users can place the stakeholder tokens in the corresponding area.
The original version lacks flexibility as it limits how users can integrate the toolkit together. Therefore, multiple topic cards (e.g., objectives, stakeholders, outcomes, etc.) were created instead of fixed columns and can be combined with the roadmap and stakeholder tokens. Users can select the topics relevant to the discussion and lay them out as the right photo. By doing so, the canvas is more open, and users can move elements freely and keep the tool more condensed.
During a user testing session with the research group and stakeholders, I garnered significant insights, realizing my initial approach was somewhat narrow. I had envisioned participation levels as separate tools, but recognized that various components of the toolkit could be integrated. I refined the canvas, merging participation levels into it, and shifted the focus from detailed project planning to a broader overview, emphasizing stakeholder involvement. We retained outcomes and activities topic cards and added a "parking area" for prolonged discussions. Additionally, I enhanced stakeholder tokens with more specific subcategories, like ministry and province, and modified their design to be more user-friendly.
After the tool’s mechanism was defined and clear, I tried to improve the visual to make it more engaging and easier to understand for non-designers. I have an idea of using climbing as a metaphor for the tool. For the level of participation, we put stakeholders on the mountain path as the climbers, meaning those groups would share more responsibilities and actively work together. Meanwhile, at the bottom, they are more like the audience/assistant. The row of the parking area is also renamed as pick up later so that it is more relevant to the theme. Moreover, there was feedback about indicating which phase or outcome would be the milestone. Therefore, the flag sticker or pin would be made for this indication.
After multiple ideations and user testing sessions, the tool is finally settled as Mountain Sight. Below is the overview of the complete toolkit:
With the complexity of the toolkit, a facilitator is needed (ideally) to host the session. On the other hand, I also designed a guidebook on how to use the tool in case the facilitator is not familiar with it yet or if the team member would like to read it beforehand. Feel free to check the guidebook here!
On July 11, 2022, I had the exciting opportunity to present my tool, Mountain Sight, at the FutureProof Labs end-of-year presentation. This event also marked my first-ever experience as a workshop facilitator, where I guided stakeholders in applying my tool to their respective projects.
The workshop was structured into three groups, with my role being to circulate among them, offering guidance, and observing their interactions while maintaining an impartial stance. This was a thrilling and challenging experience, especially since I was unfamiliar with most participants and their projects.
What struck me most was the discovery of a potential partnership opportunity by one of the groups using the Mountain Sight tool, reinforcing the positive feedback I received overall.
Being a facilitator in such a workshop was a learning curve for me. It made me realize the subtle art of guiding participants without being overbearing. Recognizing the perfect moments to step in, and understanding how much input to provide, are skills that I recognized as areas of growth for me.
However, I truly believe that these aspects will refine with time and continued practice. It has underscored the importance of boldly stepping into new challenges, embracing the learning journey that comes with it, and being receptive to feedback. After all, every experience brings with it a new lesson to be learned and a fresh perspective to consider.
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