En plena crisis del COVID-19, nos embarcamos en el proyecto #GlobalHumanResearch, con un fuerte deseo de comprender cómo cambiará la vida de las personas alrededor del mundo, ahora enmarcadas en una nueva realidad. Creemos fuertemente en que entender los cambios que han surgido y los nuevos comportamientos, es clave para diseñar nuevas estrategias, servicios y productos en el sector público, de negocios e industrial. Esperamos que los hallazgos que presentamos en este proyecto despierten curiosidad e inspiren con nuevos pensamientos e ideas sobre la forma en que nosotros, como individuos, organizaciones o como comunidad, debemos encaminar nuestras relaciones con los clientes, empleados y compañeros a lo largo de la vida en aras de diseñar un futuro mejor. Global Human Research El Covid-19 ha creado una nueva realidad en el mundo en todos los ámbitos de la vida. Obligará a las personas, gobiernos y organizaciones (incluidos nosotros) a cambiar, adaptarnos y encontrar nuevas propuestas de valor y soluciones innovadoras en el futuro inmediato y distante. Estamos en un momento histórico y completamente global. No es un fenómeno local, regional o nacional, es una experiencia compartida en todo el mundo y en cada comunidad. Comenzamos a pensar en trabajar desde una mirada transnacional y desde un enfoque centrado en el ser humano, es decir, conversando con las personas, cuya vida, certeza y seguridad han cambiado dramáticamente. Nuestro principal objetivo era encontrar patrones comunes en todo el mundo y avanzar hacia la construcción de un terreno estructurado para descubrir nuevas oportunidades y caminos. Es así como lo llamamos: Global Human Research. “Contribuir con una muestra de certeza en medio de estos momentos llenos de incertidumbre“ Descarga el documento completo: En inglés

We are really excited of contributing and being part of the Virtual Global Exchange on Municipal Response to COVID-19 organized by Connective Cities This international exchange effort takes place in cooperation with engaged urban practitioners, municipal experts as well as local experts from academia, civil society and business. The purpose of this event and conversations is to support the capacity development of urban practitioners in different areas in an agile way! Do not miss out, check the designthinkersgroup’s program and join us here:

El Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación convoca los Premios Nacionales de Innovación y de Diseño 2020. Los Premios Nacionales tienen un notable carácter honorífico y están organizados en las siguientes modalidades: Premio Nacional de Innovación a la ‘Trayectoria Innovadora’: distingue a empresarios y profesionales con una trayectoria de al menos diez años en la que la innovación haya sido una de sus características relevantes. Premio Nacional de Innovación modalidad ‘Gran Empresa’: dirigida a grandes empresas con una actividad innovadora de al menos diez años. Premio Nacional de Innovación modalidad ‘Pequeña y Mediana Empresa’: distingue a las pequeñas y medianas empresas con demostrada actividad innovadora de al menos cinco años. Tiene una dotación económica de 30.000 euros. Premio Nacional de Diseño modalidad ‘Profesionales’: dirigida a profesionales del diseño (personas físicas o equipos de profesionales) con una trayectoria de al menos diez años de reconocido prestigio en el sector. Su dotación económica es de 30.000 euros. Premio Nacional de Diseño modalidad ‘Empresas’: creada para distinguir a empresas consolidadas que hayan incorporado el diseño a su estrategia empresarial durante al menos diez años. Premio Nacional de Diseño modalidad ‘Jóvenes Diseñadores’: dirigida a creadores que no sobrepasen los 35 años de edad y cuya trayectoria profesional sea inferior a diez años. La dotación económica es de 15.000 euros. Más de 75.000€ en premios este año. Está lista tu empresa para presentar su candidatura? Toda la info y bases en https://www.ciencia.gob.es/portal/site/MICINN/menuitem.8ce192e94ba842bea3bc811001432ea0/?vgnextoid=30b05b23f3083710VgnVCM1000001d04140aRCRD&vgnextrefresh=1

Learnings from AGUI - Connective Cities Program 2020 Asian Green Urban Infrastructure (AGUI) is one of the projects running under the Connective Cities program that helps municipalities in Southeast Asia to infuse innovation into big scale infrastructure projects. AGUI considers waste management and water management projects from cities in Indonesia, Philipines, and Nepal that need to improve the quality of life of their citizens by developing infrastructure. This infrastructure will impact the lives of all its citizens and transform the way each city works. Green Urban Infrastructure is based on the principles of long term sustainability and human-centered design. Most urban infrastructure projects have traditionally been conceived by politicians, policymakers and civil engineers centered in the infrastructure itself, available technologies and resources to develop it, and the public funding to be executed in government periods. They are often based on assumptions and not facts becoming costly, irrelevant, inaccurate and even toxic for the sustainable development of cities and human communities. Hundreds of examples not only in Spain (airports without flights, highways with no traffic, empty real estate, etc) but around the world have shown that investment in urban infrastructure needs to be pertinent, accurate, sustainable, and adapted to the local needs and long term development goals of each city. Our team was invited to participate, designing the whole process for a two-week intensive planning work session where teams from 6 city councils (Bandung, Kendari, Jambi, Dhangadhi, Palembang, and Balikpapan) would transform their initial project infrastructure ideas into innovative, sustainable, and human-centered green urban infrastructure solutions. One key feature was applying Design Thinking as one of the main tools that teams would use for the conceptualization and planning phase of these projects. All projects go through a 3 phase process that includes dialog events, planning workshops, and expert missions that structure the technical, social, and financial aspects to be considered, before being submitted for funding. During the design of this process, the team had two main challenges: first creating a sequence of contents and methods that include technical, funding and innovation experts to inspire and guide the teams in their transformation processes to grow the projects and second, the design of digital experiences and interactions suitable for these users, their resources and interests. This digital process includes synchronic and asynchronous activities, work sessions, content development, and interactions that build up into a final project planning document. Participants had space and opportunity to showcase their projects, get inspired and interact with experts like Victor Tenez from AMB Area Metropolitana de Barcelona, Joris van Etten from ADB Asian Development Bank, Brian Capati from CDIA City Development Initiative for Asia and Dr, Sri Maryati from Institut Tecnologi Bandung, among other relevant local and European specialists that shared recommendations for the design and implementation of large scale initiatives. Design Thinking applied to Green Urban Development Projects brings the human factor to the center of the equation openimg the opportunity to build a solid community dialog before conceptualizing the project and reducing the risk of inadequacy or rejection from leaders and private sector, making it sustainable from initial stages. This articulation is key for high impact projects and public services that thousands of people will use and talk about. An inclusive public policy in the research phase helps to detect ideas and needs that wouldn´t be discovered by a traditional vertical process, it saves time and money simplifying solutions for all stakeholders (inhabitants, commerce, visitors, service suppliers, etc.) Engaging in local research helped teams understand the full potential of participation from different sectors in each city. It demands more time and deeper analysis but generates reliable KPIs and commitments. This process transforms the initial scope of the project substantially and therefore the future vision and impact of it. To deploy such a process with remote teams it is necessary to create different types of resources: specific experience design, a process manual, and a final delivery template are key to follow up with the transformation of each project. Experience and process design need to be adapted to the region, culture, digital literacy, and tech skills of participants. A detailed journey where interactions, times, and resources are carefully coordinated will improve not only the experience of the project but the results and its continuity. The manual needs to guide the process and support all the journeys being adaptive and available especially for those "self-guided moments" that digital experiences and services always have. Simplicity, directness, and relevant contents are the keys so it becomes the support each participant needs when working on their own or in their teams. Most manuals tend to be instructive instead of practical but in this case, the situation demands the integration of both. The final and probably more important element to design has been the final deliverable template that helps teams to realize the transformation process, keep track of the milestones and key elements of the new improved project and make decisions before consolidating one or several derived projects. This template needs to guide them to clarify the next steps, gaps, and achievements. Stages and development for each Project are identified from the very beginning and each project requires specific attention and dedication. Virtual collaboration in a digital environment will replace, in many cases, live interaction with teams. calls, messages, email, and collaboration platforms that help but never replace human interaction. So two types of environments arise here. The full digital environment where you never actually meet and work together and the blended environment where digital and live interaction happens. Each environment requires different planning and will provide different results that depend on the allocated time for the process, number of teams, and resources available to work. Both very powerful formats but a completely different experience design. Remote Consulting and Training is emerging and as long as technological issues (connection, equipment, software, etc) are properly solved it does not mean less quality. but it does mean a completely different path. Digital enviroments contain dofferent qualities and demand a new of interacting and understanding between teams and consultants. Its main advantage is the fast way in which meetings and work sessions can be implemented and show results. Urban planning is a long term and big impact area of work, involving public policy, private investment, and community dialog. Beyond the actual buildings and roads, having an articulated vision is the key Advice may come from many sources and multiple decisions have to be made, so consulting is a constant resourc, where technical and strategic assessment and advice are necessary. Very often urban planning projects are fragmented, executed by different teams in different government periods from diverse political groups, very few of them have a consistent team and policy behind them to achieve long term objectives and monitor impact and transformation, which makes them even more complex at a project management level. Nevertheless, most urban planning projects see the light after many struggles and adjustments, transforming the lives of thousands of people. In the eyes of the citizens only the final result prevails, the way those infrastructures and plans affect them, serve them, or benefit them. The planning process so far has been often non-participative and mostly a trophy for politicians. But this can change if open policies involve more stakeholders and research that make the citizens and private sectors committed to sustainability and impact. The Connective Cities environment is an interesting space for this purpose. It promotes the horizontal exchange between cities, encouraging knowledge and expertise exchange and supporting sustainable practices on governance, integrated infrastructure, economic development, and municipal services among other cross-cutting topics. COVID-19 has transformed the formats as it has transformed everything and put us in a challenging position to adapt to new ways of working, collaborating, and evolving. The amazing and resilient teams that carry out the phases and support the city teams and the technical and city specialists that constantly contribute to this complex fabric of good practices, learnings, and experiences. We are very happy and proud to contribute to this program and thankful for all the good people and learnings that in brings. for more idetails about connective cities please read https://www.designthinkersgroup.club/post/connective-cities-2020

Connective cities es una iniciativa global que busca intercambio de buenas prácticas y la participación horizontal entre municipios, para una gestión inteligente y sostenible de programas y proyectos a nivel de gobiernos local. Estos gobiernos se unen a la red global de participantes y a través de proyectos y eventos, intercambian experiencias, recursos y buenas prácticas, en múltiples temas relacionados con gobernabilidad y gestión local. Nos hemos unido a la iniciativa llenos de entusiasmo, porque es definitivamente el tipo de proyecto que nos gusta; con impacto visible, apuntando a un mejoramiento de la gobernabilidad global podremos poner nuestro grano de arena hacia el futuro. Hemos sido invitados para aportar una soporte directo bajo una mirada innovadora que logre despertar la recursividad y la creatividad de los participantes, ayudándoles a repensar las formas de convocatoria, ejecución y gestión de sus programas y su gobernabilidad. Cada encuentro y cada proyecto contienen oportunidades de innovación y mejoramiento en formatos de intercambio y colaboración que harán que los recursos y experiencias de gobernabilidad circulen a nivel global en eventos regionales y multinacionales. Las ciudades cobran cada vez más importancia internacional y los actores urbanos de todo el mundo se enfrentan a problemas comparables en el desarrollo urbano. Aunque se requieren soluciones locales, cada vez son más relevantes a nivel mundial. Los desafíos apremiantes planteados por la urbanización mundial requieren soluciones eficientes e innovadoras, especialmente en las áreas de Buen Gobierno Urbano, Desarrollo Urbano Integrado, Desarrollo Económico Local y Servicios Municipales, nuestras cuatro áreas temáticas focales. Connective Cities es una iniciativa conjunta entre la Asociación de Ciudades Alemanas (Deutscher Städtetag), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) y Engagement Global / Service Agency Communities in One World. La Comunidad Internacional de Práctica para el Desarrollo Urbano Sostenible cuenta con el apoyo del Ministerio Federal de Cooperación Económica y Desarrollo (BMZ) de Alemania.

Update: June 11th At the peak of the Covid-19 crisis, we embarked on the #globalhumanresearch project, with a strong desire to understand how the lives of different people from all over the world have changed in the new reality forced upon them. Our core belief is that understanding the This map weaved a rich fabric of insights, of behaviors, and of opportunity areas, but most of all, of “brain food”. The research does not cover every topic in-depth and does not presume to predict the future. Its purpose is to help you prepare better for the new future and to discover new opportunities and new paths. We hope that the insights before you, will ignite your curiosity and inspire you with new thoughts about the way we, as individuals, as organizations and as tribes, need to conduct our dialogue with customers, employees, and with our partners in life, to design a better, healthier future. Here is a guide for them, find media examples for this topic following @trendstudies on Twitter. The Need To Communicate  The “Apocalyptic Uncertainty” Families Larger Than Their Homes Renewing Old Connections Lost Islands  Losing Human Contact Unstructured Days Fish Out of Their Ponds COVID-Dating Family Rediscovered  Family Ties, Education re(e)valued Weaving life & work  Recalibrating the toolbox, Bigger gaps between colleagues, The unstructured framework chaos Personal vs. professional at home Digitizing analog professions Home Sweet Home (?) Multifunctional home, Working space control, Doing it by myself Generational Gap  Digital Mingle, A Bigger Gap, The need to reintegrate Digital Interaction Simplicity  Chatsapp, Tech for Love Overwhelming Virtual Services  Stay Busy, Stay Happy Virtual Tribe Club Virtual Saturation Mental Overload  Zoom Intoxication, Monotonous Communication, Juggling Homeschooling, Detoxing on Social Media. Social Essential Food Social and Traditional Food Comeback, Time to Explore Alternative and Customized Diets. Rituals and Habits Regaining Control Over Life by Redesigning Schedules, Keeping Seniors’ Role in the Family Meaningful, Every Moment Counts, Endless Happy Hour. Re-designing my social interactions New opportunities to get closer (and distant), Back to neighbor watching, Coworkers in my dining room. Redefined public spaces Wellbeing in the city, Environmental. Shared Trouble – New Initiatives Collective Well-Being, Must Get Along, A Chain Reaction of Doing Good, Social Sensitivity. Evolution of Tribes Enhancing Fitness for Kids, The New Old Gamers, Digital Athletes, Low Profile Participants. Re-routing Money Redirecting Investments and Slowing the Speed, New Expenses Control. Smart Shopping Small and Local is the “New Black”, Community Economics, Support for the Proximity Produce, Because “I’m Worth It”, Perceptions of Luxury (Expanded and Re-evaluated). No Safety Net Survival of the fittest, Lost and Reinventing, Uncovered and Unassisted. Information Ambiguity & Mistrust Health Anxiety, Government (un)Reliability, Fast Press. Health Services Medical autonomy, Healthcare disengagement, Seniors digitized, Mental needs on the rise, Creative medical staff. Clean is the new white A Higher, Cleaner Standard, Re-learning how to clean, Clean ethics. Socially Stressed Changing protocols in public spaces, My ways to relief, The demand for protection. Body & Soul A holistic approach to body & mind, My Self-awareness signals. A Better Version of Me Pursuing My Passions, Time to Grow, Time to Learn Again. Global Human Research Free Webinars Book your place for our presentation webinars on May 19th (English) Completed June 3rd (Spanish) Completed June 17th (English) Registering  here #covid19 #insights #whiteboard #pandemia #newnormal #globnalhumanreserach

Las crisis son el momento de la verdad para la innovación. El momento cuando nuestra supervivencia está supeditada a nuestra capacidad de transformación y adaptación, a nuestro deseo de mejorar y a nuestra visión de futuro. Ahora mismo no sabemos nada. No entendemos cómo debe funcionar nuestra sociedad o nuestros negocios, quiénes deben ser nuestros líderes, ni tenemos certeza sobre qué es verdad o que es mentira. En resumen, no sabemos en qué dirección orientar nuestros esfuerzos. Lo que sí hemos sabido siempre, es que entender el presente y aprender del pasado es fundamental para  para construir el futuro que queremos vivir. Desde esta idea, hemos logrado que nuestras vidas hagan sentido muchas veces. Y para eso estamos aquí, Porque desde ya, y aunque no nos demos cuenta, lo estamos construyendo. Trabajar en nuestra capacidad de adaptación como personas y organizaciones se vuelve urgente, no para recuperar la normalidad a la que estábamos acostumbrados, sino como una oportunidad de evolución, un comienzo fresco para todos. Se acerca para todos un gran cambio de mentalidad, causado por el cambio de paradigmas que hemos venido afrontando desde hace más de veinte años. Algunas organizaciones y gobiernos estamos trabajando continuamente en fórmulas para hacer más coherente y significativa nuestra presencia en el planeta, con algunos logros, pero aún hoy con muchas negaciones y temas por resolver. Esta es definitivamente una gran oportunidad para alcanzar la coherencia, o por lo menos para divisar una dirección para alcanzarla. Es la oportunidad para reconstruirnos de manera óptima, dejar las manías del pasado y realmente planear vidas y empresas exitosas que fácilmente sobrevivan a pandemias y catástrofes, porque se saben adaptar y reinventarse. Nuestro primer paso ha sido reaccionar rápidamente, y durante la tormenta entender cómo se mueven el mar y los vientos. Entender las señales y patrones de cambio y detectar los grandes riesgos y oportunidades que se construyen con la transición, para ayudar a quienes no tuvieron la oportunidad de analizarlo. Muchos servicios y empresas no resistirán la transición después del COVID19. Muchos serán imposibles, otros irrelevantes o simplemente muy arriesgados. Hemos entendido que el mundo y principalmente las personas ven su realidad de otras maneras y como tal han dejado de lado lo que no consideran esencial. Los servicios personalizados y remotos se tomarán los mercados, los entornos digitales y virtuales nos mantendrán seguros, las relaciones de pertenencia y autenticidad serán las preferidas y nuestra forma de gastar e invertir nuestro dinero será más selectiva y exigente. La dificultad para encontrar seguridad financiera, especialmente en países en desarrollo, creará una deslocalización de talento importante y las grandes multitudes y lo masivo dejarán de ser apetecibles. Hemos visto cómo grandes empresas y marcas se derrumban en pocos días y cómo aquellas que se han atrevido a innovar con visión de futuro, se toman nuestras vidas aportando sentido y valor a nuestro entorno y necesidades, porque es lo que debemos hacer. Mirar al Zeitgeist y su rápida transformación es una tarea inaplazable. Contribuir a construir un mundo del futuro en abundancia y con un sentido de propósito, es una oportunidad que podemos tomar o dejar. ¿Qué tan rápido nos podemos adaptar, aprendiendo de nuestros errores en el presente y construyendo pieza a pieza el futuro?

Anuncio de convocatoria #RetoCascosDeVida Cascos de Vida, el reto para enfrentar el Covid-19 El COVID-19 nos lleva a buscar acciones rápidas, de fácil producción y apropiación que mitiguen el impacto en la salud pública y a nivel socioeconómico. ¿Tienes una idea innovadora que aporte a soluciones urgentes para proteger a toda la población del contagio? Preséntala al #RetoCascosDeVida y contribuye a superar la crisis por la pandemia del Coronavirus Bogotá, marzo 31 de 2020. – La crisis del COVID-19 tiene en jaque al mundo y considerando que la economía del mundo no podrá sostener la estrategia del distanciamiento físico en el largo plazo, nos hace preguntarnos ¿cómo podemos crear soluciones que no pongan en riesgo de empobrecimiento masivo a las personas más vulnerables? ¿cómo aprendemos a convivir con las medidas para protegernos y a la vez reactivar la economía? Por ello el Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo – PNUD- se alió con la Presidencia de la República, la ANDI, la Universidad Ean y Makers Colombia, para abrir la convocatoria #RetoCascosDeVida, que busca activar al ecosistema en su totalidad, desde la inteligencia colectiva de creadores, hasta el rigor científico de la academia, pasando por el conocimiento y la capacidad de escalabilidad y demanda que la industria ofrece. El objetivo es proteger a las personas del Covid19, así como de las consecuencias socioeconómicas que la desaceleración de la economía tendría, sobre todo con las personas más vulnerables. De esta manera, mediante esta convocatoria, se busca generar soluciones que permitan un aislamiento individual y distanciamiento físico, sin necesidad del encierro en casa y al mismo tiempo conexiones entre equipos multidisciplinarios con diferentes maneras de pensar y hacer bajo un propósito común: cuidar la salud de todos y todas, con soluciones innovadoras, para lograr volver a la normalidad de manera segura. ¿Qué soluciones se esperan? Línea 1 Grupo Objetivo: personal médico y o de salud Función: Proteger y evitar el contagio ante la exposición frecuente. Contexto de uso: Hospitales y centros de salud Aspectos para tener en cuenta: fácil reemplazo o desinfección Línea 2 Grupo Objetivo: Pacientes y personas que tienen el virus Función: Respiración asistida. Contexto de uso: Hospitales y centros de salud Aspectos para tener en cuenta: cumplir con altos estándares de calidad y resistencia Línea 3 Grupo Objetivo: ciudadanos y ciudadanas Función: Proteger y evitar contagio provenientes de exposición ante otros, así como ante nuestras propias manos Contexto de uso: Outdoor (Espacio público) Indoor (Espacios laborales como por ejemplo oficinas) Aspectos para tener en cuenta: Asequible; inaccesibilidad a ojos, nariz y boca, salvo extracción de “sistema de protección diseñado para este fin”. ¿Cuál es el premio? Cada categoría tendrá tres ganadores y un premio de US30,000 distribuidos así: Para el primer lugar 15,000 USD Para el segundo lugar $10,000 USD Para e tercer lugar $5,000 USD ¿Cuándo es la fecha y cuál el sitio de inscripción? Los equipos pueden aplicar entre el martes 31 de marzo al domingo 5 de abril de 2020 a las 23:59, a través de un formulario en línea. Registra tu propuesta aquí Más información: descarga la convocatoria en nuestra website o www.co.undp.org Contacto de prensa: Carlos Alberto Rivera C Cel: +573157951440 Comunicaciones PNUD #design #medical #PNUD #RetoCascosDeVida

¿Qué pasa cuando reunes 16 design thinkers en una mansión en Miami Beach, por tres dias consecutivos, repensando los servicios de consultoria y la idea de innovación? Sigue atento a esto y más en nuestras noticias y proyectos para 2010-21. Os vamos a sorprender! #designthinkersgroup #globalalliance #dismanage #global #renovation #miami #innovation

Most of the time we tend to look for a secure way to do things, especially in Business. But after some years of pushing marketing and competition, we realize that more and more, the success of many companies is not only based on the product or service they offer, but in the way in which they execute their processes, maintain their relationships with their users and involve themselves in the transformation of the society that surrounds them. Commercial Wars, Digital Markets, Relocalization of Production and the shift in values and consumption habits make companies rethink not only their processes and strategies but the way we perceive business and how it is done now and in the near future.  Our sometimes fixed mindset focused on productivity or profit sometimes tricks us when we find competitors or new startups suddenly miles ahead from us. Keeping our Business Mindset in shape is as important as keeping sales flowing or revenue being generated. The time we normally allocate to feed our business mindset is usually scarce, we are too busy to “study” or look for reliable sources in a sea of disinformation and fake news, there is always the time-consuming option of summits and crowded congresses that are wide and general perfect for networking and reconnect but weak in content and real substance, useful but not enough. That is why Business Mindsets has been created, to feed your brain with the relevant information you need without the hassle of networking, crowds or commercial saturation around it. Just the exact knowledge and know-how that you need. Business Mindsets will help you explore multiple innovative mindsets and understand which one is best for you or your business. Our expert facilitators have provided their perspective and experience in their presentations to help you innovate and succeed. Business Mindsets is a 20-hour One Week program held in Barcelona every year. Through the contents of in-site and online sessions, you will get the knowledge and concepts to better enjoy the growth of your business and have a wonderful conversation during our workshops and activities when you join us in Barcelona. You can Book  your tickets at https://www.designthinkersgroup.club/product-page/businessmindsets This year we have the fortune to count on some of the most renowned talents in Barcelona, here is our program for 2019 Monday November 18th 17:00-Welcome and Introduction by Jorge Rodriguez DesignThinkers Group & Enric Bayo – ACCIO Business Mindsets Organizers. 18:00 – 21:15  Building Mindsets – Carles Mur – Mind the Gap – “Living on a Customer Journey”.Empathy, enthusiasm and passion to drive through new ways of managing in business and marketing. Tuesday November 19th Wednesday November  20th Thursday November 21st Friday November 22nd 19:15 – Conclusions and Team Results Do join us for discussing all these new ideas, presenting your experiences and networking with interesting like-minded people. Get your tickets at https://www.designthinkersgroup.club/product-page/businessmindsets #clarabartra #transformation #albertriba #mindset #carlesmur #EnricBayó #JordiGriful #marcsanso #AlfonsCornella #JorgeRodriguez

Learnings on the USAID Momentum co-creation lab in Washington Thinking on the possibility of government agencies and other organizations rethinking the way they relate to the organizations they fund, is half a dream come true and half a radical change of mindset in the way organizations relate to their suppliers. According to their website USAID is “…the world’s premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. USAID works to help lift lives, build communities, and advance democracy. USAID’s work advances U.S. national security and economic prosperity; demonstrates American generosity; and promotes a path to recipient self-reliance and resilience…” Procurement processes, tend to be strict, vigilant, competitive and very inflexible. Choosing who to grant a project, funding money or business is definitively a very delicate decision for any company or institution. Nevertheless Procurement processes are not always exact or choose the best options for maximizing spending or acquisition of goods and services. Very often these processes respond only to influence, convenience and other random factors that not necessarily contribute to improve quality or evolve the way organisations invest their money and resources. According to Helen Hysell in The Science of Purchasing, (1922). “The modern purchasing agent is a more important man by far than he was in older days when purchasing agents were likely to be rubber stamps or bargainers for an extra penny. A Purchasing agent of the modern breed is a creative thinker and planner and now regards his work as a profession” Fierce competition derives in tense relationships in the sector, low quality offers, bargaining with the consequence of secretive and political management of funding and investment.  This how for a long time procurement processes in companies and institutions have happened, but it might be time for a change. Frequently procurement interactions between buyers tend to be transactional and distant with very little space for partnership or collaboration, Competition between suppliers and the lack of space for mutual support, create dynamics based on lack of confidence and fear of the other where the quality of the offer matters less than the personal favors, business connections, price or direct benefits suppliers offered to staff. As Procurement becomes more and more strategic in a world of constant change and innovation, where new and more efficient or sustainable ways to cover needs and execute solutions is constantly created,  choosing the right source of supply can determine the progress or retrogress of a whole company or sector. having a deep knowledge of the industry ecosystem and deep understanding of the value exchange suppliers have with our organizations is the key to move forward or stay behind. The co-creations session held in Washington for USAID led by the Designthinkers Group USA team gathered more that 200 stakeholders from the international development sector including prime organizations executing and sub-contracting grassroots and institutions around the world to execute US tax money on development projects. The first important learning about this meeting is how to prioritize and curate the challenges of development to be supported by the 500 million dollar budget the program has. In this case curation comes from congress and public policy. The interests expressed by political parties and the current government show that the response to the question of where to invest, clearly comes vertically. Since this is the situation in many organizations, if the procurement office is not just  transactional or practical of instructions, procurement needs to find strategies to document and connect with those new suppliers or resources that can offer better options for current and future needs. This is no easy task.  But co-creation may be an answer. Generate a permanent bottom up dynamics of information that opens the door to internal initiatives, startups, local suppliers and other opportunities for growth and innovation. This dynamics can be obtained via events, in-company training, publications, HR activities or internal networks of information. Information dynamics needs to consider the active participation of employees and collaborators, with enough room for trials and testing of new initiatives. One strong learning from this and other co-creation labs and sprints is about the power of horizontal interactions between stakeholders, clients and users and how it can create an improved space for better negotiation of  terms and conditions for every transaction and supply. These interactions do not have to necessarily happen simultaneously but constantly making emphasis in transparency of information and improvement of practices and processes. Here lies the key for understanding from a different perspective tools for offers and requests, terms of payment and supply, selection criteria, etc. During the USAID Momentum Co-creation workshops, several challenges raised under the premise of developing self-reliance in developing countries. This framework sets the territory for the different stakeholders of the Momentum program to work together in order to offer the agency non-centric visions to deploy the resources. It was key to address and resolve A breakup with the usual roles: this is one of the hardest things to address, our professional roles and our earned position in a hierarchy pretty much define our identity and none is open to negotiate this. Nevertheless being open to explore other people’s point of view via empathy will not do any harm and being able to relate to other from a new open perspective will provide us with a perspective we never had before, that can make a change. Creating confidence in collaboration: corporate and client-supplier language protocols tend to establish the limits of what can be spoken or discussed and what cannot. Creating a bigger space for the unspoken and securing no reaction to the things we normally don’t tell, enhances the space for confidence and reveals both challenges and opportunities, that can be addressed in a collaborative way. Fear is the worst enemy of shared growth and exchange. Establishing new teams to capture dynamics and relationships: It is true that we like to work with people who are compatible to us and this connection is very important. But more important is be able to exchange and listen to those who are critical to our work or just work in a different way to ours. That is where real learning opportunities arise and where new synergies can be conformed. Rotating members of established team not only refreshes the conversation but also releases the team from routinary rites and roles. Exploring viability and accountability of new proposals. New ideas and partnerships are always exciting and our main fear is that they might not be viable because they are new. This is a common misconception. Good News is not all innovative things are unviable and even many of them may find the support of new partners and stakeholders that share both the risk and the enthusiasm. So, exploring the viability and accountability of new proposals means working hard to make the happen, not trying to find a way to make them impossible because they are new. Creating solid evolved consortiums and partnerships that are more horizontal, collaborative and less afraid of adopting new hierarchies, roles or styles of collaboration has been the key for a very successful process with USAID Momentum. We hope this can happen in your company or organization too very soon! #purchasing #acquisition #procurement #LaboratoriodeCoCreación #funding

Globalization is commonly defined in IB as the process of increasing interdependence among nations (Chase-Dunn et al., 2000; Guille ́n, 2001; Meyer, 2017; Rugman & Verbeke, 2004; Verbeke, Coeurderoy, & Matt, 2018). Accordingly, De-globalization represents the process of weakening interdependence among nations in many aspects of economy, culture and social impact. The field of International Relations in political science has developed two major theoretical approaches that speak to the question of (de-)globalization: liberalism and realism. Liberalism permits a wide range of actors, interests, and forms of power to determine political outcomes. While countries represent the major actors in international politics, possible actors codetermining outcomes further range from the individual to the international, including individuals, firms, non-government organizations (NGOs), and inter- national organizations such as the European Union (EU), the World Trade Organization (WTO) or the United Nations. Liberalism assumes these actors to be rational on average, that is, deviations from rationality are possible. The Realist school narrows down this wide range of possible actors, interests, and forms of power considerably. Actors are sovereign countries, especially great powers. Countries are unitary, rational actors, with domestic politics being irrelevant for their behaviour in the international system. This is because under the additional assumption of anarchy in the international system – the notion that there are ultimately no rules constraining state behaviour as there is no overarching authority that could enforce compliance – securing survival becomes the primary concern of states. The main objective of foreign policy is thus forced on countries by the structure of the international system, and countries permitting themselves to get distracted from the objective of survival by domestic- level political concerns risk their survival.  (1) After the 2008 financial crisis pushed the global economy into fragmentation, markets and regions understood they now  may have enough resources and knowledge to start local initiatives on their own. After the world was divided in economic, political and ideological blocks until the 1980´s when the iron curtain apparently disappeared and “East met West”, the Berlin wall fell and the Perestroika transformed the soviet block,  technology spread in global markets at a very high speed. Information and knowledge was accessed globally, allowing more cultures to know more about each other and learn new ways of living and thinking. The development of the internet and global communications, high international mobility and the instant interconnection of markets, cultures and people spread knowledge. lifestyles and resources across the planet. These factors helped to improve life and access to resources for remote communities in all countries and made them grow. Social and civil rights movements had a stronger global echo and social businesses and activism spread to places like the Arab world and Africa where women, lgbt, environmentalists, and other causes claimed their presence. Movements like gender equality and equal marriage developed a strong importance and established political relevance showing how the world was able to grant more freedom to everyone. Local companies and organizations from the “third world” were able to compete and grow globally and countries like India, Brazil, Korea, Chile, China, Mexico, among many others connected with a world audience and established a massive presence through new multinationals, media consortiums and technology resources. Entrepreneurship and the strat up scene also became a professional destination for the new generations creating new ways to work and being productive.Globalization enabled growth,  expansion and global presence for everyone. But since the 2008 financial crisis a process of Retrogression has been silently taking place. Regional and local blocks of power have appeared in Rusia, Turkey, Brazil, China, North Korea UK (Brexit) and the USA (trade wars) as in many other countries that through extremism captured power among scared voters affected by a new economy of scarcity and precariousness. the impact of the financial crisis took small business and families into bankruptcy and unemployment turning them into easy targets of populist discourse from opportunistic politicians, who now have the power to divide and reign, fragmenting the world to better controll it (Maquiavelo, The Price), in the same way fascism did in the first half of the XX century after another big financial crisis. This process of political and economic fragmentation is called Deglobalization, a complete new scenario where new players are taking control of local and regional economies and cultures (Brexit, Tradewars), but also where local movements and trends are taking place. Each region and market offer culturally diverse reactions, opportunities and risks. At this local level for example, many cities of the planet are witnessing the gentrification of their neighbourhoods as a consequence of foreign investment and the return of local capital to the countries. The high speed of gentrification in cities around the planet constitutes an important signal (also risk and opportunity) that show the flow of capital and the establishment of new lifestyles and class divisions in many societies. Deglobalization and Gentrification are two of the main topics we will be working with during the Trendslab19 in Barcelona, the fifth edition of our annual meeting to discuss and reflect those trends and movements that bring risks and opportunities to governments, organizations and businesses in the near future. To follow the Trendslab conversations you can explore #trendslb19 or #trendslabBCN join us in twitter  or get your ticket for our 20-hour lab here (1) De-globalization: Theories, predictions, and opportunities for international business research by Michael A. Witt, published by the Journal of International Business Studies (2019) INSEAD #trendlb19 #Deglobalization #Gentrification #retrogression #TrendslabBcn