Using Design Thinking and Human-Centred Design to Drive Innovation in the Water Sector
Isle worked with its Ofwat Innovation Fund delivery partners to host a Design Sprint at the Northumbrian Water Innovation Festival. The aim: to generate creative solutions to some of the water industry’s biggest challenges.
The Northumbrian Water Innovation Festival promotes developing creative solutions to some of the water industry’s biggest challenges. The annual festival brings together innovators, utilities, experts and communities to grow good ideas quickly.
Isle, alongside Challenge Works and ARUP was commissioned by Ofwat to run a 3.5 day design sprint. We used design thinking and Human-Centered Design (HCD) tools that place the user at the centre of product and solution design. Participants moved through design iterations using quick, iterative feedback loops to ensure decisions and processes revolved around user needs.
We convened a diverse group of people including innovators and utilities to explore the challenge of scaling innovation within the water sector. Our team took participants through different stages from defining the problem to systems mapping, concept development and ideation. We guided participants through solution development, going from idea generation to prototype in 3.5 days. Given the limitations of time, the objective wasn’t to generate a single solution to this industry-wide challenge. Instead, the sprint was the ‘engine room’ for generating ideas and concepts for later development and refinement into possible solutions. Participants came up with a number of different ideas that looked at novel approaches to scaling innovation. They considered Ofwat Innovation Fund projects, from harnessing generative AI to circular wastewater treatment systems.
Benefits of Approach/Innovation
- Rapid feedback: The design sprint promoted regular iteration and refinement, making sure solutions were adaptable and relevant to different contexts.
- Collaborative problem solving: Bringing together stakeholders with different perspectives helped foster collaborative thinking. Participants co-created more robust solutions because they had a richer understanding of the problem.
- Barrier identification: Design sprints help to unearth scaling problems early on, giving teams an opportunity to address barriers.
Specialist Services Involved:
- Connecting innovators and end users: Our team connected innovators, from startups to well established businesses, with end users (in this case, utilities). This ensured solutions align with end user demands, helping drive adoption.
- Design thinking: Our team brought practical, user-centered thinking into the project. Connecting innovative solutions with market needs will help to accelerate product adoption in the water sector.
Outcomes:
- Idea generation: The sprint generated the bones of tangible plans, creating an “engine room” for ideas and concept generation. This helped participants move from initial concept to prototype in 3.5 days.
- Identified scaling barriers: The workshop highlighted structural barriers to scaling innovation, including investment timing and regional differences. Understanding the barriers is critical in order to develop strategies to overcome them.
- Revealed framework gaps: One key takeaway of the workshop was the lack of a recognised industry framework for scaling innovation. Understanding this helps set the stage for more effective future collaboration.
- Brought together diverse stakeholders: The sprint brought together water stakeholders in utilities, innovators, universities and manufacturing to apply a systems thinking approach to scaling innovation. The sprint placed users’ needs and demands at the core of design and decision-making.
Key Contacts:
For enquiries and further information, please contact Oliver Raud, Principal Consultant at Isle Utilities.