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Building a culture of Empathy for and Experimentation with the Stakeholders
A brave move to new Ways of Working
The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation aims to unite the strengths of universities, science, industry, and innovation to boost prosperity and create knowledge-based jobs. Traditionally, the Ministry has relied on knowledge and past experience, more than focusing on stakeholders' needs. To shift towards a more human-centered and purpose-driven approach, leadership has introduced Design Thinking and redefined projects as Experiments and Sprints around priority areas.
However, team members are struggling to adopt these new methods, which differ greatly from their usual ways of working. The key challenge is encouraging them to engage directly with stakeholders to understand their needs, rather than assuming the Ministry knows what’s best. This involves reframing problem areas based on the unmet needs of stakeholders—a crucial first step in the mindset shift.
The program developed for the Ministry had two main goals:
A. Focus on Priority Projects
Identify key projects where Design Thinking can make a difference (e.g., university funding, high-quality education, student reputation abroad).
Train project teams directly on these projects using Design Thinking methods.
B. Build a Design Thinking Team
Select the most customer-experience-savvy team members to focus on integrating Design Thinking into the organization as their main project.
To support this transition, a number of simple but challenging tools were introduced to help shift the team's mindset toward this new approach.
The learning journey followed these steps:
LEARN & SPRINT
Teams receive training in Design Thinking while working on their projects. This involves two face-to-face training sessions, each lasting two days, where they learn and apply methods directly to their work.
SPRINT & COACH
Over 6 to 8 weeks, teams engage in sprints with weekly coaching sessions. These sessions help them address challenges, set goals, and move forward more effectively.
SPRINT & ACCELERATE
Midway through the sprint, a workshop is held to accelerate progress. The focus is on identifying stakeholder-centered opportunities and testing them with real stakeholders to ensure the solutions are relevant and impactful.
The Journey in an image
Outcomes
Defined Priority Projects:
Key projects were identified where Design Thinking could have the most impact, such as university funding, high-quality education, and student reputation abroad.
Trained Teams:
Teams received hands-on training in Design Thinking methods, directly applied to their ongoing projects. This likely improved their ability to approach problems creatively and empathetically.
Adoption of Design Thinking:
A designated team, particularly savvy in customer experience, began integrating Design Thinking into the organization’s processes as a priority project. This indicates a cultural shift towards more human-centered solutions.
Mindset Shift:
Through the use of the three introduced tools, team members began shifting their approach to problem-solving, focusing more on stakeholder needs rather than relying solely on past knowledge.
Improved Stakeholder Engagement:
Teams learned to directly engage with stakeholders, identifying unmet needs and reframing problems accordingly. This likely led to more relevant and effective solutions.
Methods Tools Techniques
Design Thinking methods were customized for each project and team, then shaped into templates to guide participants in effectively using the tools. Templates created, based on Jobs to be Done, Reframing, Stakeholder Mapping, Ethnographic Researching
Duration of the Programme
This program was conducted over two sprint periods, running from May 2023 until January 2024.
Team Structure
Core Team:
1 Learning Design & Facilitation Lead (E4G)
1 Client Partner (Agent)
1 Project Manager (Client)
Extended Core Team:
3 Leaders (Client), responsible for running the project sprint focused on integrating Design Thinking (DT) within the organization.
Our Learnings
ACCELERATED PROJECT PROGRESS: The coaching and acceleration workshops helped teams overcome obstacles, refine their focus on stakeholder-centered opportunities, and ensure their solutions were aligned with real needs.
SUSTAINED CHANGE: By the end of the program, the organization will have established a foundation for lasting innovation, with a stronger focus on customer-centricity and agile project management.
Given the deeply ingrained traditional processes and beliefs within this culture, we learned that teams needed smaller, more manageable steps and gentler guidance to begin accepting and embracing this new way of working. Through gradual progress, teams experienced the discomfort of change but now understand that embracing ambiguity leads to positive outcomes in the long run. They’ve learned to trust the process.
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