shelidonSeptember 11, 2024Leave a Comment

Let’s dive into the organization of a workshop following the Enquiry by Design (EbD) Framework we introduced yesterday and let’s focus on the pre-planning stage.

Pre-Planning

Defining the objectives and scope of a 3-day Enquiry-by-Design (EbD) activity is the first critical step in the pre-planning phase, as it establishes the foundation for the entire event. This process requires careful consideration to ensure that all participants and stakeholders are aligned with the goals and boundaries of the activity. By clarifying objectives and setting a realistic scope, the organizing team can create a focused, productive environment where meaningful outcomes are achieved.

Once you have the goals in mind, you need to circulate them and, of course, this means you need someone to circulate them to. This means you’ll have to identify the stakeholders. Some of them will constitute what’s called the Core Team, a concept we’ve also seen is central to the Design Charrette, and makes them different from many activities with LEGO Serious Play, where all participants are deemed equal and we tackle topics on which everyone is allowed a valid opinion. Last but not least, you’ll have to pick a time and a place.

1. Define Objectives and Boundaries

1.1. Clarifying Objectives

The first step is to articulate the core purpose of the activity. This involves clearly defining what the event aims to accomplish. Is the goal to address a specific urban planning issue, such as revitalizing a deteriorating neighbourhood, or to co-create a future vision for a development project? Clarifying this purpose helps to set the direction for all subsequent planning activities. A well-defined purpose ensures that everyone involved understands the central aim of the event.

Eg: the objective might be to generate design ideas for improving public spaces in a downtown area, focusing on enhancing pedestrian connectivity and sustainability.

Once the purpose is clear, it’s essential to outline the desired outcomes. What specific results do you hope to achieve by the end of the 3-day activity? These could range from conceptual designs that address urban challenges to policy recommendations or even stakeholder consensus on key issues. Having a clear vision of the desired outcomes helps guide the planning process and provides a benchmark for measuring success. Beware, however, not to define outcomes in such a way that aims to steer the workshop towards a specific content: it’s dishonest, and it never works.

Eg: a successful outcome might be a set of actionable urban design proposals that balance the needs of various stakeholders, such as improving infrastructure while preserving community character.

To ensure that the objectives are practical, one common trick is to frame them as SMART goals—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This helps to keep the event focused and ensures that the goals are both realistic and aligned with broader strategic efforts.

Eg: a SMART objective might be to produce a draft strategic urban plan that can be presented to the city council within six weeks of the event.

1.2. Defining the Geographic and Thematic Scope

With the objectives in place, the next step is to clearly define the scope of the activity, starting with the geographic focus. It’s essential to establish the physical boundaries of the area under consideration, whether it’s a specific neighbourhood, a development site, or a larger urban district. This helps to ground the design discussions in a particular context, ensuring that participants focus on a manageable and relevant area.

Eg: the geographic scope could be limited to the waterfront district of a city, covering a specific area where redevelopment is being considered.

In addition to geographic boundaries, it’s essential to identify the key themes and focus areas for the activity. These could include topics like transportation, housing, public spaces, economic development, or environmental sustainability. By defining these thematic areas, the organizing team can guide participants toward addressing the most critical issues and opportunities within the scope of the activity.

Eg: the themes for a revitalization project might include enhancing pedestrian pathways, integrating green infrastructure, and promoting mixed-use development.

When defining the scope, it is also crucial to consider any existing boundaries or constraints that could impact the design process. These might include local zoning laws, environmental regulations, budget limitations, or political considerations. Acknowledging these constraints early on helps to set realistic expectations and ensures that the design proposals developed during the event are feasible and aligned with legal or regulatory frameworks.

Eg: participants might need to design within the constraints imposed by nearby environmental preserves or adhere to specific zoning regulations that govern building heights or land use.

1.3. Aligning with Broader Strategic Goals

Another essential aspect of defining the objectives and scope is ensuring alignment with broader strategic goals. This involves linking the activity to existing municipal plans, regional growth strategies, or other overarching frameworks. By tying the objectives of the event to these larger goals, the organizing team ensures that the outcomes are relevant not just for the immediate context but also for the broader strategic direction of the city or region.

Eg: an urban redevelopment project might align with the city’s 2030 sustainability goals, particularly in promoting green infrastructure and reducing car dependency.

It’s equally important to incorporate stakeholder interests into the scope definition, even economic interests, as dirty as this might sound. Engaging with key stakeholders—such as local government representatives, community groups, and developers—during the pre-planning phase helps to ensure that their priorities and concerns are reflected in the event’s objectives. This collaborative approach increases buy-in and makes the event more likely to produce outcomes that stakeholders are willing to support and implement.

Eg: incorporating community feedback into the scope might emphasize the need for more affordable housing or public amenities, ensuring that the designs reflect the aspirations of the people who will be most affected by them.

1.4. Setting Realistic Expectations

Realism is key when setting objectives and defining the scope. It’s important to assess the available resources, timeframes, and expertise to ensure that the goals of the EbD activity are achievable. Overly ambitious objectives can lead to frustration and diminished results. By setting realistic expectations, the organizing team can create an environment where participants feel motivated and capable of achieving the desired outcomes.

Eg: within a 3-day timeframe, it might be more realistic to focus on generating conceptual designs rather than detailed technical plans. The implementation strategies can be developed in later phases once the conceptual framework is established.

Prioritizing outcomes is also essential, particularly if the scope of the activity is broad. The organizing team should identify the most critical issues to focus on during the event, ensuring that the discussions remain productive and targeted. This helps to keep the event manageable and ensures that the most pressing issues receive adequate attention.

Eg: while the event might touch on various urban challenges, the primary focus could be on improving connectivity within a specific district and addressing traffic congestion.

1.5. Documenting and Communicating Objectives and Scope

Once the objectives and scope are defined, it’s vital to document them clearly and communicate them to all participants and stakeholders. Creating a concise briefing document that summarizes the objectives, themes, and geographic focus of the event helps to ensure that everyone is on the same page. This document can be circulated to participants ahead of the event, providing them with the necessary context to engage meaningfully in the discussions.

In addition to written communication, it’s beneficial to hold initial meetings or workshops with stakeholders to discuss the objectives and scope. These pre-event engagements provide an opportunity to refine the objectives based on stakeholder feedback and ensure that the event is aligned with the priorities of those involved. This collaborative approach strengthens the foundation of the activity and increases the likelihood of successful outcomes.

Eg: a pre-event workshop with community representatives might highlight specific concerns or aspirations that need to be integrated into the final objectives.

2. Identify the Stakeholders

The step involves recognizing and engaging all relevant parties who have an interest in or are impacted by the project. The stakeholders should bring a diverse range of perspectives, expertise, and concerns that will inform the design process, making their involvement crucial to creating holistic and widely supported solutions. Correctly identifying and engaging stakeholders early in the pre-planning phase ensures that the event is inclusive, collaborative, and effective in addressing the complexity of urban challenges.

2.1. Break them Down

The first task in this phase is to identify the key stakeholders who need to be involved in the activity. Stakeholders can be grouped into various categories, such as government agencies, community members, business owners, developers, non-profit organizations, environmental groups, and technical experts. Each of these groups will have unique insights and interests that should be represented in the planning and design process.

Eg: in an urban redevelopment project, stakeholders might include local government officials who oversee planning and zoning, community representatives who live in the area and are directly affected by the redevelopment, and developers or investors who have a financial interest in the project’s outcomes. Environmental groups might also be key stakeholders if the project involves green spaces or impacts local ecosystems.

In this phase, it is also important to identify stakeholders who may not be immediately obvious but whose input is critical to the project’s success. For example, if the project involves significant changes to transportation infrastructure, it might be important to involve public transit authorities or regional transportation agencies. Similarly, if the project is located in a culturally sensitive area, engaging with local heritage organizations or cultural groups could be essential. The goal is to ensure that no critical perspective is overlooked and that all voices are heard.

2.2. Double-Check the Groups

Diversity of representation is crucial to the success of an Enquiry-by-Design activity. It is important to ensure that stakeholders reflect the full spectrum of the community, including different demographic groups, socioeconomic backgrounds, and interests, to ensure that the designs and solutions developed during the event are equitable and address the needs of all parts of the community.

Eg: in a neighborhood revitalization project, it is essential to engage not only long-time residents but also newer community members, renters, homeowners, business owners, and youth. 

Engaging a diverse group of stakeholders can also help uncover potential conflicts or trade-offs that need to be addressed during the design process. By bringing these diverse perspectives to the table early on, the organizing team can facilitate a more comprehensive and balanced discussion that considers the needs of all stakeholders.

Eg: while business owners might prioritize parking and accessibility for customers, community members might be more concerned with preserving public spaces or reducing traffic congestion.

To achieve diverse representation, the organizing team should take proactive steps to reach out to different groups. This might involve working with local community organizations, culture-based groups, or neighbourhood associations to ensure that underrepresented voices are included. Additionally, it may be necessary to provide accommodations, such as language translation or childcare, to ensure that all stakeholders can participate fully in the process. The goal is to create an environment where everyone feels comfortable contributing to the discussion, regardless of their background or position.

2.3. Outreach and Engagement

The fact that you’ve identified them, doesn’t mean they will be willing to participate: once the stakeholders have been identified, the next step is to engage them in the process. Early and meaningful engagement is vital to building trust and ensuring that stakeholders feel invested in the outcomes of the activity. This can be achieved through various methods, such as one-on-one meetings, workshops, surveys, or community forums. The type of engagement will depend on the stakeholder group and the level of input required. The trick is to tailor the engagement approach to the needs and preferences of each stakeholder group, ensuring that they have the opportunity to participate in a way that is meaningful to them.

Eg: government agencies and technical experts might be engaged through formal meetings where specific regulatory or technical issues are discussed in detail. In contrast, community members might be engaged through more informal settings, such as town hall meetings or pop-up events in the neighbourhood.

It is also important to clearly communicate the purpose and goals of the activity to stakeholders during the engagement process. This helps to set expectations and ensures that stakeholders understand how their input will be used. Transparency about the process helps to build trust and encourages stakeholders to participate actively.

Eg: the organizing team might explain that the goal of the event is to generate design ideas that will inform future planning decisions, and that stakeholder input will be critical in shaping these designs.

2.4. Balancing Stakeholder Interests

In many cases, different stakeholder groups will have competing or conflicting interests. Balancing these interests is one of the key challenges of an EbD activity, and it requires careful facilitation and negotiation.

Eg: residents might prioritize preserving the character of their neighbourhood, while developers might be focused on maximizing economic returns.

During the pre-planning phase, the organizing team should anticipate potential conflicts and develop strategies for addressing them. This might involve identifying common ground between stakeholders, such as shared goals around sustainability or community well-being, and framing discussions in a way that emphasizes these shared interests.

Eg: while developers and community members might have different priorities, they may both agree on the importance of creating vibrant, livable spaces that attract people to the area.

It is also helpful to establish clear ground rules for the activity that promote respectful dialogue and constructive problem-solving. This helps to create a collaborative environment where stakeholders feel safe expressing their views and are willing to work together to find solutions.

Eg: ground rules might include a commitment to listening to all perspectives, focusing on solutions rather than problems, and being open to compromise.

A hint for later: maintaining Engagement throughout the process

Stakeholder engagement should not end once the 3-day event begins. It is vital to maintain ongoing communication with stakeholders throughout the entire process, from pre-planning to post-event follow-up. This ensures that stakeholders remain engaged and that their input continues to inform the project as it moves forward.

Eg: after the activity concludes, the organizing team might hold follow-up meetings with key stakeholders to discuss how the outcomes of the event will be integrated into the planning process. This could involve reviewing the design proposals developed during the event, gathering additional feedback, and discussing next steps for implementation.

Ongoing engagement helps to build long-term relationships with stakeholders and ensures that the project remains on track to achieve its goals.

This starts in this phase by identifying the right stakeholders, ensuring diverse representation, and engaging them meaningfully throughout the process. The stakeholders’ knowledge, perspectives, and support are invaluable in creating design solutions that are not only innovative but also realistic, feasible, and widely supported by the community.

3. Assemble the Core Team

The core team is responsible for planning, facilitating, and ensuring the event’s overall success. This group brings together a diverse set of skills and expertise, and their ability to work cohesively will directly impact the quality of the event outcomes. Building an effective core team involves carefully selecting the right people, defining their roles and responsibilities, and fostering a collaborative working environment.

3.1. Identifying the Right Team Members

The first step in assembling the core team is identifying the key roles that need to be filled. A successful activity typically requires a multidisciplinary team, bringing together professionals from different fields who can contribute their expertise to the planning and design process. The core team should include urban planners, designers, facilitators, technical experts (such as engineers or environmental specialists), and project managers. The event coordinator plays a critical role in ensuring that all logistical aspects are managed smoothly, from scheduling to materials preparation.

Eg: an urban planner might lead the effort to integrate land use considerations into the design process, while a designer focuses on creating visual representations of ideas generated during the event. Technical experts can provide data and guidance on feasibility issues, ensuring that the proposed designs are practical and can be implemented. 

It is also important to consider soft skills when selecting team members. In an activity where collaboration and stakeholder engagement are central, team members should be strong communicators, good listeners, and skilled at facilitating discussions. These interpersonal skills are just as critical as technical expertise in creating a productive and inclusive environment.

3.2. Defining Roles and Responsibilities

Once the core team is assembled, it’s important to clearly define each member’s roles and responsibilities. This helps ensure that everyone understands their specific tasks and how their work fits into the overall process. Defining roles also helps prevent overlap or gaps in responsibilities, which can lead to confusion or inefficiency.

Key roles in the core team typically include:

1. Event Supervisor. This person is responsible for overseeing the entire EbD activity and it might be the neutral facilitator.
2. Project Lead/Coordinator. They manage the planning process, coordinate between different team members, and ensure that all tasks are completed on time. The project lead is also the main point of contact for stakeholders and participants.
3. Facilitators. They are responsible for guiding the discussions during the event, they ensure that conversations remain productive, help participants articulate their ideas, and mediate conflicts when necessary.
4. Urban Planners and Designers: These professionals are responsible for translating the ideas generated during the event into visual and spatial designs. They work with participants to create maps, sketches, and other visual tools that represent the proposed solutions. Their expertise helps to ground the discussions in practical, real-world design principles.
5. Technical Experts. Depending on the project’s nature, technical experts might include engineers, environmental scientists, transportation specialists, or other professionals with specialized knowledge. They ensure the proposed designs are feasible and align with regulatory, environmental, or technical requirements.
6. Logistics and Administrative Support. This team member handles the practical details of the event, such as securing the venue, arranging catering, managing registration, and ensuring that all necessary materials are available. Their role is crucial in ensuring that the event runs smoothly and that participants can focus on the design process without distractions.
7. Stakeholder Manager. In some cases, having a team member dedicated to managing relationships with stakeholders may be helpful. This person ensures that stakeholder concerns are integrated into the planning process and that there is ongoing communication before, during, and after the event.

3.3. Fostering Collaboration and Communication

Again, building a collaborative working environment within the core team is essential for the success of the event. Even though each team member has a specific role, collaboration and open communication are necessary to ensure that all aspects of the event come together seamlessly. This involves regular meetings, clear communication channels, and a shared understanding of the event’s objectives and scope.

The project lead or coordinator plays a crucial role in fostering this collaboration by facilitating regular check-ins, ensuring that information is shared among team members, and addressing any issues or concerns as they arise.

Eg: regular team meetings can be scheduled to review progress, discuss challenges, and ensure that everyone is aligned on the next steps. These meetings also provide an opportunity for cross-disciplinary collaboration, where urban planners can share insights with designers, or technical experts can advise facilitators on key considerations.

It’s also important to create an environment where team members feel comfortable sharing their ideas and concerns. This open communication fosters innovation and helps the team address potential problems early on.

Eg: if a designer identifies a challenge with visualizing a particular concept, they should feel empowered to bring it to the team’s attention, allowing others to contribute ideas or offer solutions.

3.4. Leveraging External Expertise

In addition to assembling the internal core team, the organizing group should consider whether any external expertise is needed to supplement the team’s capabilities. This could involve bringing in consultants or subject matter experts who can provide specialized knowledge on particular issues that might arise during the event. These external experts can be engaged on an as-needed basis, either as part of the core team or as advisors who participate during specific sessions of the event. Their involvement can add depth to the discussions and ensure that the design solutions are informed by the latest research or industry trends.

Eg: if the activity focuses on climate resilience, it might be valuable to involve a climate scientist or environmental consultant who can provide insights on best practices and innovative approaches.

However, it’s important to integrate external experts in a way that complements the core team’s work, ensuring that their input enhances rather than complicates the collaborative process. Which is easier said than done.

3.5. Establishing Clear Objectives for the Core Team

Finally, it is important to establish clear objectives for the core team itself. In addition to the broader goals of the activity, the core team should have specific objectives related to the planning and execution of the event. These might include ensuring that all stakeholders are effectively engaged, that the logistical arrangements run smoothly, and that the design process leads to actionable outcomes. Setting these internal objectives helps the team stay focused and accountable throughout the pre-planning and event phases.

Eg: the core team might set an objective to complete all pre-event stakeholder engagement within a specific timeframe, or to finalize the event’s agenda by a particular deadline.

4. Practical Stuff

Last but not least, practical stuff includes choosing a venue that is easily accessible to participants, ensuring the venue has appropriate facilities (breakout rooms, presentation equipment, spaces for informal discussions), and securing resources such as the necessary materials (maps, data, design tools, and any digital platforms for virtual collaboration that usually need preparation), budget for things like catering, accommodation and materials.

Tomorrow we’ll take a look at the programme for Day 1, which focuses on framing the problem.

The picture in the header comes from Putting People First – Participatory Urban Planning.