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Introduction and contents
Hello,

Welcome to the 2nd edition of The Promise Scotland design newsletter.

In this issue:

  • Virtual Coffee: join the Virtual Coffee network for informal chats and support.
  • Learning Calendar: what’s coming up over the next few months.
  • Design school update- new design school cohorts coming up.
  • Design Nuggets: Hot tips on making the design journey easier for you.
  • Spotlight on Innovation: What amazing innovations are currently happening?
VIRTUAL COFFEE CATCH UPS
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Join us and meet other design thinkers
The Promise Scotland’s Virtual Coffee chats take place monthly, and anyone is welcome to join. Hosted by the Support team, the group chat focuses on design thinking and creative problem solving.



If you’re not already registered, you can register for the Virtual Coffee catch ups by emailing us at promisedesignschool@thepromise.scot



Sign up to here to request a slot at an upcoming virtual coffee. Choose from:

  • Peer to Peer Problem Solving: share a challenge you are working through for facilitated counsel from peers.
  • Design Crit: share your idea or approach visually, to access a 360 perspective from your peers to help you stay curious about the potential and blind spots in your work.
  • Spotlight: access a 15m spotlight to share information you think others would benefit from hearing from your work. Optional additional Q&A.
DESIGN SCHOOL NEWS
2-Day Design Sprint Promise Partnership Fund: challenge series
An opportunity for those considering responding to the Promise Partnership Challenge Briefs with Corra to join an interactive workshop on Tuesday 9th or Wednesday 10th May to reflect on how core principles and tools of service design could enable co-design of their projects focused on what matters most to the people we are here to support.

The sessions will be split according to funding themes:


The Promise Scotland invite small project teams of up to three to participate together in an interactive workshop that allows you to engage with some key concepts in design before having time together to try out some tools that will ground your conversations in your own work. With a focus on:


1. Designing the right thing

2. Organising your thoughts about how and what you know

3. Reflecting on the scope in your proposed approach for voice and choice

For more information on the Promise Partnership click HERE
LEARNING CALENDAR
Learning Calendar - New Learning offers available
The Promise Scotland Learning Calendar is now in its second phase with more learning offers now live. Do get in touch if there is something you would like to see on the Learning Calendar.

If you would like to be part of a focus group to assist with evaluation on this pilot, please contact clarem@thepromise.scot


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Learning Calendar Continued
Tuesday 30th May: Masterclass: Prototyping in Action- IN PERSON
Come along to try out prototyping techniques to imagine and interrogate your ideas. Exclusive to Design School participants past and present.
Rachael Hood, The Promise Scotland REGISTER HERE

Wednesday 31st May: Voices & People: the foundations of the Promise?
Join this innovative and engaging workshop to better understand how to lead participation, create equality within the space and learn about yourself, those around you and then bring together this in a way that helps you move forward with the change you are creating.
Adam Bennett, Project Change REGISTER HERE

Tuesday 6th June: Engaging with co-designers - Benefits and tips of the hybrid format
As someone leading co-design you will be forever thinking about how to hold spaces for your co-designers from all walks of life – both people who experience your service and those who are part of making it happen. It is vital for you to be focused on equality, diversity and inclusion. This session explores what hybrid can offer you. Questions need to be asked with reflection on our new ways of working: Are your services inclusive? Do you create an ease of relationships and chit chat? How do you ensure you do accidentally exclude people?
You will leave this spotlight session with top tips and insights on how to plan and run great hybrid format meetings.
Duncan Wallace REGISTER HERE

Thursday 15th June: Introduction to Framing
The Each and Every Child initiative aims to support people at all levels in the community to shift how they communicate when speaking about care experience, and to change how they think, feel and act. By doing this, the initiative will create the scale that is needed to influence public opinion, build support for the progressive vision of The Promise and make a positive difference to the lives of all of Scotland's children and young people.
Claire O'Hara/ Michael Wield, Each and Every Child REGISTER HERE

Tuesday 22nd June: Creating Service and Experience Blueprints
Jess Gildener brings you an engaging and informative masterclass: A blueprint is a map of how your service or experience works, whether you want to see what's happening now or need to design something new.
In this masterclass we will explore the multiple ways blueprinting can help you make sense of experiences and services at every stage of the design process. During this practical, participatory session you will:
  • Explore how blueprints can help you understand and develop services and experiences
  • Get to know the variety and flexibility of blueprints
  • Create a blueprint
Jess Gildener REGISTER HERE

Wednesday 28th June: Voices & People: the foundations of the Promise?
Join this innovative and engaging workshop to better understand how to lead participation, create equality within the space and learn about yourself, those around you and then bring together this in a way that helps you move forward with the change you are creating.
Adam Bennett, Project Change REGISTER HERE

Tuesday 18th July: Getting to Grips with the hybrid format for your Promise work
Come to Duncan Wallace’s learning session to discuss and work together to adapt a piece of work that you are planning to deliver and facilitate in the hybrid format.

Adapting your activities to work well in the hybrid format means you can include a wider range of people, without everyone having to travel to the same location.

There are all sorts of types of meetings and small events that your work involves in order to collaborate, co-design and use to co-create services that fit the principles of the Promise. This includes network meetings, partnership meetings, workshops, strategy development meetings, training courses, project meetings and program boards.
Duncan Wallace/ Placeswork REGISTER HERE

Wednesday 26th July: Voices & People: the foundations of the Promise?
Join this innovative and engaging workshop to better understand how to lead participation, create equality within the space and learn about yourself, those around you and then bring together this in a way that helps you move forward with the change you are creating.
Adam Bennett, Project Change REGISTER HERE


For the full collection of The Promise Scotland learning events on Eventbrite, VIEW HERE

DESIGN NUGGETS
Sharing our nuggets of gold on design thinking
It was great to hear this book mentioned at the Virtual coffee last month so be sure to check it out…
‘Beyond Sticky Notes’ by Kelly Ann McKercher


Here are a few more books that might be of interest:


‘Change by Design’ by Tim Brown

‘Radical Help’ by Hilary Cottam

‘The Design Thinking Playbook’ by Michael Lerwick


These composite stories were created using some of the Scottish Approach to Service Design tools, which shows design is a great way of telling stories:

Isla’s story Part 1- this is the current state
Islas’ story Part 2- this is what keeping the Promise to Isla could look like
Jack’s Story Part 1- this is the current state
Jack’s story Part 2-this is what Keeping the Promise to Jack could look like


Let us know if you have any ‘design nuggets’ to share!
SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION
Let us shine a spotlight on your innovations
Spotlight session: The Pathfinder Project- Tues 6th June

Community Learning and Development practitioners across Scotland are helping keep the promise in both school and community settings.

During this Spotlight session you will have the opportunity to hear how the Pathfinders Project in South Lanarkshire is supporting outcomes for young people and their families, this will be followed by a chance to share examples of good practice from your own work and settings.

REGISTER HERE



Do you have something you would like to share with others? Book a spotlight session by emailing promisedesignschool@thepromise.scot The team will work with you to create the format that suits your story best and will support you in telling your story.

We would love to hear from you about any exciting innovative work that is happening in your community. The more we share, the more we learn.
HOW TO CONTACT US
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We want to hear from you
What would you like included in this newsletter?

Please send any feedback, queries, ideas and amazing innovations to promisedesignschool@thepromise.scot

We love hearing how we can improve!
Thank you.
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Getting in touch: If you have anything you’d like to share or ask please get in touch at hello@thepromise.scot.