Thinkpublic: public service
and communication design

Letters are currently flying between friends and family from and to my nan and I. We have designed a flyer asking everyone where they would like us to go on our trip and why.

There has been a lot of interest about the nan project, and its creating a lot of buzz which is really exciting and encouraging. Clearly the idea is addressing a need.

A lot of people say that they would love to do such a thing with their relatives. I think once the nan project has been piloted we could create a ‘take your nan on holiday’ kit to encourage and enable others to do a similar trip.

One of the ideas that we had at the last Social Lab around ‘ageless conversations’ will be prototyped as a product and tested on the trip. This product will help my nan and I talk on a more equal level about issues and interests that are common to us both, like the NHS or the skateboarders on the south bank. Rather than the more traditional conversations of ‘when I was your age…’ or ‘back in my day…’.

If there’s anything else you think that we should be testing please let me know.

If you would like to suggest a place for us to visit then please comment here and tell us where and why. On the 13th September we will be collating all the feedback and deciding our route.

This weekend I was unfortunate enough to attend A&E.
At thinkpublic we often visit hospitals and work with patients and staff to design better services. It was interesting to experience the service as a patient rather than an observer, I found myself noticing a number things about key touchpoints. It reminded me of the importance to speak to service users and providers when designing any improvements.

The three main things I noticed were:
1: Arrival
I was playing football when I was injured so I didn’t have any cash on me, this meant that I had to park away from the hospital because of the pay and display car park. A particularly painful walk!
2: Reception
When I arrived at reception I was greeted by a very nice lady but felt slightly odd about some of the questions I was asked. For example, why did they need to know my profession? A simple explanation about some of the questions would have been useful.
3: Waiting
The waiting room had all of the sunday papers, I don’t know whether these had been brought in by patients during the day? It certainly made for a more pleasant wait.

The treatment I received was really high quality and I can’t thank the staff enough, it made me feel really proud of the NHS, It’s fantastic that you can walk in off the street and receive treatment like this for free.

According to UK sport, our recent haul of medals in Beijing is down to more than just great athletes, it’s down to a streamlined 5 step process: A simple step by step guide by Daisy Waugh, head of UK sport, explains how to find and develop gold medal athletes.

Step 1: Find it
Look at your talent pool and consider transfers from other sports, don’t limit on where you look.
Step 2: Confirmation
Determine whether the athlete has real potential. Put them in an environment which is as close as possible to the elite level and try to validate that they have got it.
Step 3: Selection
Have conviction in separating the wheat from the chaff
Stap 4: Development of excellence
Develop talent in the right way, You have to know what you are going to do with it once you’ve found it.
Step 5: Maintenance
The talent search has to be unrelenting.

How could we apply this process to other areas of public life?
In what areas could you see this working? brain surgery? social work? teaching?

My name is Emily Cutts and I work as a Psychology Researcher for the Centre for Confidence and Well-being in Glasgow, Scotland. I also study Positive Psychology part time on the MSc at The University of East London. For the past week I have been working with Thinkpublic doing some writing.

The Centre for Confidence and Well-being is a charity funded by the Scottish Government and has an ambitious aim to transform Scottish culture to support more positivity. For example, by cultivating more optimism (for self, others and Scotland) or Self-belief (an important ingredient in the ‘can-do’ attitude). We do this in several ways, one of which is disseminating the findings from Positive Psychology, and beyond, so that people can use the science to improve practice.

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Yesterday I watched Paul Watson’s documentary “Rain in My Heart”. Toni, a 27 year old alcoholic from Medway in Sheffield says “If I’m not the best advertisement for why not to drink then I don’t know what is.” He’s right, I’ve never seen something that has so powerfully portrayed the negative medical effects of alcohol. Two of the film’s four characters die during the making of the film.

The fantastic clinical care of the NHS is steadfast throughout the documentary, but is not shown to be supported by social services or psychiatric care. The characters are intent on destroying themselves through drink. Watson documents this destruction, while reflecting on his role as a film maker. He hopes that the value of the film as a deterrent will outweigh any potential interventions that he could have made while making the film.

I wonder who this film would work best as a deterrent for, and what would make them watch it? We need to find ways of integrating this type of work into the places/systems in which they can be most effective. What are the ethical implications of hospital staff having tools like this on hand, and would patients watch something like this if it was offered to them?

We’ve just launched The Good Gym website.

The Good Gym aims to connect people who want to get fit with good causes in a way that is mutually beneficial. The site aims to encourage people to engage with the idea and to allow organisations and individuals from within Tower Hamlets to get involved.

Last weekend Jeorg came over from Berlin to do a video piece for Der Spiegel. This has resulted in some students wanting to set up the project in Germany. Exciting stuff. I hope it works!

If you live or work in Tower Hamlets and think this is something you might be interested in, please get in touch.

On Thursday 23rd-Friday 24th July I attended the 2008 Britdoc Documentary Film Festival at Keble College in Oxford. It was a lovely, sunny and friendly affair, packed full of people bursting with documentary ideas they wanted to make happen.

I was particularly excited to watch the “Good Pitch”, offering filmmakers to pitch socially focused films and associated campaigns, aiming to result in real social change. Eight filmmaking teams pitched their projects to an invited audience of observers, comprising film funders, NGOs, campaigners, advertising agencies, brands and media.

Whilst there were many great ideas pitched at the festival, there was a particular buzz over “Erasing David”; a personal and funny film, directed by David Bond, who hopes to wake people up to the potential dangers of Britain’s surveillance culture.

I am also intrigued to follow the progress of Marc Silver’s multimedia project “Resist”, which aims to explore resistance to social injustices around the world. The film will be on-the-road with Gael Garcia Bernal as he goes on a quest to find the alternative utopia that follows resistance. Good luck to them, I say; I hope they can tell us all how to get there!

Yesterday I volunteered for The Friends of Arnold Circus charity, and helped set up a sharing picnic event. It was filled with carom, donkey rides, music, picnic blankets and punch & judy shows!

It was an exciting day, and it was great to feel the buzz of the circus community. I think what The Friends of Arnold Circus are doing is inspiring. While the roads were closed for a few hours, it was exciting to see the local community come together and make the most of such a fabulous bandstand, in the middle of a roundabout!

Last Friday I sent an invitation to my grandmother asking her to join me on a “UK Road Trip Holiday”. The plan is to share stories, time and skills, some cooking, visits to memorable places, learning from each others company and any local people that we may meet along the way!

My recent trip to Crofton Park Local Assembly and seeing the film Gallivant has made me really interested in how we can create better intergenerational relationships that harness the knowledge and expertise of different people.

In response to the invitation, I received the most amazing letter from my nan last night! She has accepted the invite and is overwhelmed by the proposition! I’m so pleased that she is up for the adventure!

Our next step will be to think about exactly (or not exactly!) what we are going to do and where we going to go. We are also thinking about how we can get other people involved in planning and shaping our journey. I will be documenting the planning of the trip over on my personal blog, www.aliceosborne.com. Any ideas or suggestions would be gratefully received!

On Wednesday 2nd July 2008, I attended Crofton Park Local Assembly in Lewisham, London. Adopting the same format as the Brockley Local Assembly in May, the event (attended by at least 100 people), was dynamic and full of ideas to solve problems in the local community.

Sitting around tables, the attendees were challenged to discuss issues they wanted to change or improve in the Crofton Park community. Pleased to be surrounded by a group full of big ideas, my group challenged potential solutions for two key problems; the ‘lack of activities or amenities for teenagers and young people’, and the apparent ‘lack of respect between different generations’.

Over the course of an hour, my group discussed ideas for how to get younger and older generations respecting one another. We develop an idea to design a space (clinic/park etc), where people of all generations could come and share their stories, skills or knowledge with others. We felt this idea could also impact other problems realised at the assembly meeting, such as litter, dog mess and conflict between young people. You can read more about these and other themes raised at the assembly over on the Brockley Central community weblog.

Whilst at the assembly, I also signed up as a Crofton Park Volunteer Co-ordinator, meaning I will now be a part of the steering group that puts the assembly ideas into action. I look forward to the months ahead, and will keep you all updated!