How do you visualize a vision for healthcare in a multi-stakeholder context?
Welcome to the first post of our three-part blog series about our latest vision visualization client project! This post will describe the project on a general level. In the next post, we will go into the process of the project execution in more detail. The third and final post will include behind-the-scenes content from the project and show how our clients benefited from it.
In spring 2021, we were contacted by the Healthcare and care through distance-spanning solutions project (In Swedish; Vård och Omsorg På Distans – VOPD) to help them visualize a vision for holistic healthcare in the Nordic region in 2030. VOPD was funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers, and as such it brought together stakeholders from all the Nordic countries as well as Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland.
The process started with identifying the values of the project, followed by researching information about the relevant subject matter. Then, the concept of the solution was developed, after which we moved into the production phase. Finally, the outputs were polished before delivering the end products.
Our initial brief was to “visualize a vision for healthcare and care in the Nordic region in 2030”. In one of the initial co-creation workshops, we identified six values with the client as the foundations for the final outputs.
These values were
independence,
individual empowerment,
trust,
simplicity (accessibility),
transparency, and
quality of life.
Not only did these values help us define what we wanted to achieve, but they were also aligned with the work the client had done in the project so far, as well as the values of the funding organization and the future direction of the project.
With the values defined, we were able to narrow down the outputs as follows:
a short film consisting of five scenes from an individual’s perspective,
a collaborative game for ideating potential futures, and
concepts for future services by design students from Aalto University School of Arts, Design, and Architecture and Umeå Institute of Design.
The students worked on their concepts rather independently, and our task was to ensure that the short film, dice game, and the service concepts told a coherent narrative.
We started working on the project in summer 2021. The final exhibition was showcased in the Finnish and Swedish pavilions in Expo 2020 Dubai during January and February 2022.
The project provided valuable insights for work in the future. First, by defining the guiding values early in the project, the turnaround time can be shortened or adjusted considerably as there is a strong alignment with the client’s agenda.
Second, working with visions requires different types of communication and managing multiple stakeholders, which is why the team needs to have diverse skills from multiple domains (e.g., design, political science, marketing, and video production).
Third, co-creation is essential not only in managing the project but also in ideating and creating the final products.
Fourth and finally, vision work should always be inclusive. Namely, whose vision are we talking about? Who is being impacted by the vision?
In the process, we maintained an iterative and open-ended ethos throughout the project to allow for the final products to be as impactful as possible. As mentioned above, we began by identifying the values, after which we conducted research to feed into the concept development phase. Once the initial concept was agreed upon by the client, we moved to the production phase, and both the short film and the dice game went through multiple iterations.
If your organization is thinking about how to boost the impact of your strategy or vision or make them more engaging, get in touch with us! We are thrilled to work with you on goosebumpifying your vision for the future.