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/ Canadian Government Executive
// March 2016
No design thinking or co-creation project is the same. Each project
is customized to the needs and challenges of a client. A four-step
process engages participants in a design thinking and co-creation
approach for service projects: (1) Discovery; (2) Ideation;
(3) Prototyping; and (4) Testing & Evaluating.
Peter
Jones
Rethinking Regulation
Delivery:
T
he Department of Innovation,
Science and Economic Devel-
opment (ISED) Service Lab is
remarkable in that it is one of
the few Government of Canada innova-
tion labs with a dedicated space for col-
laborative work. Its layout and furnish-
ings reinforce this mission. The expanses
of writable wall surfaces, open meeting
space, the availability of a variety of tools
and templates reflecting design thinking
techniques, and a staff dedicated to proj-
ect consultation and facilitation speak to
its seriousness of purpose. Running lean
with one director, two innovation officers
and a Lab coordinator, the team works
closely with clients to understand their
challenges. Together, they hammer out
strategies and co-lead design projects.
The Service Lab Process
Across Canada, innovation labs and ser-
vice design labs are rapidly moving the
idea of service reform beyond quality
improvement. They are instead focused
on transformation. As there is no perfect
process for “design thinking,” every lab
employs the design practices and engage-
ment methods that best adapt to their cli-
ents’ needs and are most likely to reach a
range of outcomes.
Similarly, no design thinking or co-cre-
ation project is the same. At the Service
Lab, each project is customized to the
needs of a client and their challenge. A
four-step process typically engages partici-
pants in a design thinking and co-creation
approach for service projects: (1) Discov-
ery; (2) Ideation; (3) Prototyping; and (4)
Testing & Evaluating.
Depending on the project, one or all stag-
es may be employed. The discovery stage
identifies new opportunities and can by it-
self frame better approaches to service de-
livery. All four stages are used by the Ser-
vice Lab when a functioning prototype or
mockup is to be desired as an end product.
“Bursts” of work occur in each of the four
steps. The first burst of design thinking and
ideation may lead to a set of new service
ideas or functions that are co-designed in
another burst (or workshop). Another burst
of implementation may lead to the deploy-
ment of service as a new or improved cli-
ent service in delivery.
The success of a given project depends
on the level of collaboration, trust, mutual
respect and level of effort by all parties to
arrive at a solution that can be testable,
measurable, and scalable.
The Regulatory Guidance
Case
A recent case involving the Treasury Board
of Canada Secretariat (TBS), the Communi-
ty of Federal Regulators (CFR) and Health
Canada was revealing of how Service Lab
innovates in both design and delivery. The
CFR, a partnership of 27 regulatory organi-
zations that exchanges expertise, supports
Design
The Service Lab at ISED