Shared mission and vision for ten entities of Woongaard
The challenge
There was a huge need for “together”, but the “how” and a concrete “why” were still missing. It was precisely this challenge that Woongaard presented to Flatland. The question to Flatland was whether we could help Woongaard create one common story, balancing the individual regional autonomy of each corporation while providing clarity to house seekers and cooperation partners. Topics such as service provision, housing allocation and cooperation strategies are part of this complex whole.
''It was an energetic process and there was real collaboration.''
The solution: drawings as a bridge between policy and practice
Working with Woongaard’s core team, we spent an afternoon outlining the context before proposing an approach. Together, we identified all stakeholders and assessed their degree of influence and involvement. This allowed us to give each stakeholder an appropriate role in the process design. Support from the ten corporations was of course central to this design process.
Getting started
Our starting point in the brainstorming process was to explore the wishes and dreams of employees of the ten corporations for the future of Woongaard. For example, there was a lot of discussion about how to clearly communicate where “the cut-off point” is between Woongaard’s services, and then renting a property from one of the ten corporations. Also discussed were topics such as Woongaard’s team spirit, the use of different IT systems (and how accessible they are) and the pleasure of using the platform.
We visualised these insights and then used them as a basis for testing ideas with house seekers. What do they consider essential? The insights obtained were extremely engaging and significantly strengthened the drawing.
The result
Result
The final phase of our process involved retesting the drawing with the staff. Although they were kept informed of progress throughout the process, we wanted to challenge them one more time to critically review the drawing. With this final feedback, we finally established the final version of the visual. Want to take a closer look at it? You can find it in higher resolution here.
Reflection
Together with the core team, we looked back on the entire process. Since the team members work at different corporations, we were able to hear the effects from various perspectives. What is particularly striking is that the drawing and strategy not only provide direction and clarity, but that the greatest gain lies in the feeling the process has evoked. Margriet Gruiters, Strategy and Policy Advisor at Bazalt Wonen, summarises: “You notice that people talk in the ‘we’ form at the coffee machine. We feel much more like a collective than ever. Where before we thought we all wanted something different, it turns out we actually all want to work towards the same goals.”
Want to know more about a visual tool for your issue?
Get in touch with Nanne. She will be happy to tell you about it!
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