Service Design + Social Science: A weekend with InWithForward

Hello Service Designer,

Tired of working on projects that don’t really go anywhere? Want to see what it takes to implement ideas that can prompt real change? Curious about how to design interactions that actually shift behaviors for the folks living on the margins? Want to be part of an energetic team who doesn’t just talk about work, but actually does it?

This is what characterizes our work:

1. We combine service design + social science. That means we look at existing research and apply a lot of hard-core theory to our design research.
2. We go deep, versus wide. So we spend a lot of time with end users: months, not days. We prototype by building small-scale versions of solutions – not just by mocking up things on paper, or with Lego.
3. We build partnerships, and try and implement from the inside-out. We think for change to stick, it’s got to be done with existing services.
4. We have a clear value set for what makes a ‘good’ solution. We don’t confuse ‘good’ and ‘innovative’.
5. We are constantly trying to improve our practice. Our approach is called ‘Grounded Change’. It’s hard. We don’t have it all figured out.

Sarah Schulman and Jonas Piet both have a bunch of experience combining social science and service design in projects around the world. They started InWithForward to build on lessons learned from project work on homelessness, disability, family crisis, and domestic violence in Australia, the UK, the Netherlands, and Canada.

But, we’ve really only just begun. We’ve got big ambitions: finding ways to build & support great teams all over the globe. Doing that requires sourcing interesting talent. In the last year, we’ve worked with designers from Chile, Indonesia, Scotland, and France. We’re looking for folks ready to plunge into something different – maybe you?

We’re looking for service designers who want to join us for the weekend of August 29th in Paris. We’ll kick off in the afternoon of Saturday 29th, have a lovely dinner in the evening. On Sunday 30th, we’ll spend the morning to get to know each other better.

You’ll..

• Get introduced to the theory that underpins our work, including Mechanisms of Change and social career theory.
• See what happens when you combine social science with service design.
• Have a tour through our current prototypes in Canada: Kudoz and Fifth Space. Find out what we’ve got cooking for the next year!
• Try some activities & exercises to see if you’re a good fit for the way we work

We’ll cover the cost of the workshops on Saturday and Sunday. You’ll need to cover your travel expenses, accommodation, and food.

If you like what you experience, you could join us on-the-ground as a Fellow Service Designer. Be part of our team for at least three-months between October 2015 and June 2016 in Vancouver or Toronto, Canada. We’ll pay travel costs and a living stipend.

We’re looking for Fellows to support a range of ongoing work:

• Developing & prototyping an online booking system & mobile app for Kudoz (see www.kudoz.ca)
• Supporting staff from the disability sector to apply service design to their daily work (see www.fifthspace.ca)
• Prototyping new staff roles, face-to-face interactions, and data measurement systems with folks living on the streets & with drug addictions
• Prototyping a new neighborhood network within a high-rise building
• Documenting our learning with film, podcasts, behind-the-scenes tour

As a fellow, you’ll go through an ‘on-boarding week’ and then a dive deep. There will be training by immersion, plus ongoing direction and feedback from Sarah, Jonas, and the InWithForward crew. We’re looking for people with experience with service design, working with different user groups.

Design Entrepreneur. We’re on the hunt for someone with experience launching and growing a start-up, who gets design methods, and is driven by a strong aversion to social inequality. You’re fascinated by big and small systems, and are intrigued by working inside, outside, and between them.
Service Designer.
We’re also looking for seasoned service designers with experience with social projects. You’ll have prototyped service interactions with end-users as well as with professionals. In the real world, not just on paper. In this role you’ll work a lot with other people, and you may do some service design coaching.

If you like what you’re reading, or if you want to know more? Drop us an email at
[email protected] and we’ll get back in touch! Also if you can’t make the weekend in Paris, we’d still like to hear from you.