Sunderland City Council thinkathon

Sunderland City Council is keen to think differently about connecting young people with opportunities in the area. Key to this plan is the development and recognition of employability and ‘soft’ skills. Together with education providers and a consortium of SMEs, Bryan Mathers and Doug Belshaw from We Are Open Co-op spent a day thinking collaboratively, with the aim to kickstart a process leading to an Open Badges-related pilot.

We began the day with an icebreaker, visualising the career paths we in the room had taken up to this point. From this point, and after using this as a way to introduce ourselves, we looked at ‘moments of transition’ and what had helped us.

From this point, we ‘stepped into the shoes’ of those the project aims to help. This was a basic ‘persona’ exercise that allowed us to discuss what kind of credentials would benefit individuals, local businesses, and the City of Sunderland. These weren’t conjured out of thin air, but from the experience of those in the room.

After lunch and going through our Bluffers Guide to Open Badges, we used the ‘Badge Drawsome’ activity that proved such a success at MozFest. Participants were encouraged to think through badges that would encourage the kind of behaviours we wanted to see in young people. For example, badges that would lead to increased participation, confidence, and widening a young person’s network.

Next, we discussed mission alignment, i.e. how to combine the incentives that drive the activities of each organisation represented within the room. For example, those within the SME consortium are ultimately incentivised by financial considerations, whereas educational institutions have to report to Ofsted and other statutory bodies.

Finally, we considered funding options, ways to take next steps, as well as who would be leading the project into the next phase. We’re looking forward to following up on this soon, so watch this space!

We Are Open Co-op works to spread the culture, processes, and benefits of openness wherever we can.

We are experts in facilitated thinking in a process we call the Thinkathon. Find out more by getting in touch with us for a friendly chat!

Email: thinkathons@weareopen.coop