Kaisa Lahteenmaki-Smith - Towards an experimental government - Smart Energy Transition - Annual Seminar - 15.2.2017 - Prime Ministers Office - Aalto University

Towards an experimental

government?

Smart energy transition via experimentation: What

have we learned so far? By Eva Heiskanen,

University of Helsinki

Comments by

Kaisa Lähteenmäki-Smith

15th February 2017

I Valtioneuvoston kanslia I vnk.fi

1. Experiments at the heart of both a) knowledge creation and b) governance

Experimentalist governance (e.g. Sabel & Zeitling: “…distinctive mechanisms for accountability, monitoring, and compliance enforcement respond to the demands of a world in which precise policy goals and methods of achieving them can not be determined ex ante, but must instead be discovered in the course of problem-solving…”)

Individual’s role? Behaviour, its drivers and the systemic approach of social marketing

2. ”Experiments as strategic niches for system innovation”

3. Accelerating the learning process

4. The Finnish model, including “A place to experiment” digital platform

Main comments


1. Innovative solutions and improvements in services

2. The promotion of individual initiative and entrepreneurship

3. Strengthening of regional and local decision-making and cooperation & making use of citizen-driven operating practices

4. Improving foresight capacity and solving social problems’

3

Government Programme:

Goals


Expectations and visions

Learning processes

Social networks

4

Strategic niches of system innovation

and processes of niche development

Source: Johan Schot & Frank W. Geels 2008: “Strategic niche management and sustainable

innovation journeys: theory, findings, research agenda, and policy”, Technology Analysis & Strategic

Management, Vol. 20, No. 5, September 2008, 537–554.

I Valtioneuvoston kanslia I vnk.fi5

Service design

Experience is overtaking product and

price as the most important factors in

influencing behaviour, bringing into

focus the individual and his/her

behaviour, participatory prototyping and

collaboration with clients as key

processes for success

Service Design Thinkin

g

Co-create

Holistic

Evidencing

User Centered

Sequencing

Insight informed

Source: Professor Jeff French at

”Experimental breakfast meeting”

31st January 2017, Helsinki,

presentation:

”Social Marketing

Fostering Citizen informed

Experimentation”

Available here

http://kokeilevasuomi.fi/artikkeli/-/asset_publisher/yhteiskunnallinen-markkinointi-kokeilukulttuurin-tukena-kokeiluaamukahvit-31-1-2017


1.Evidence, Data & Insight informed

2.Citizen focused Value production

3.Systematic planning, objectives setting and evaluation

4.A full intervention mix

5.Co-production and delivery

6

Learning processes / elements of

effective practice (source: French 2017)


EASY

• Make it easy, people are much more likely to do something when if it’s easy and low-hassle.

• Simplify Friction: remove or add it to inhibit

• Defaults: set the easy path as the healthiest, safest, option.

ATTRACT

• People are drawn to that which catches their attention and is attractive to them.

• Personalise: use recipient’s name; make relevant

• Salience: make key point stand out

• Messenger: experts and named individuals beat anonymous or distrusted sources

• Lotteries: make incentives more attractive

SOCIAL

• People are strongly influenced by what others are doing or have done.

• Norms: what are others actually doing

• Networks: a friend or colleague recommends Reciprocity and Active commitments: promises Reminders of others: faces and eyes

TIMELY

• Interventions are more effective before habits are formed, or behaviour has been disrupted for other reasons.

• Habits: intervene before they become established

• Key moments: when behaviour is disrupted

• Priming and Anchoring: the power of what came just before

• Time Inconsistency: discounting the future

Communication and steering: putting the individual and his/her choices,

motivations and behaviour at the centre

*Halpern, David (2015): Inside the Nudge Unit, How Small Changes can make a big difference, London: WH Allen.


• (The promotion of) experimentation a political goal in its own right

• ”A culture of experimentation will be introduced” (PMO 2016)

• Combines transition thinking (cf. The Netherlands) with behaviouralistapproaches (UK in particular) and policy trial tradition (cf. The Anglo-American countries)

8

The Finnish Model?



Different experimental settings

(Adapted from Nesta, 2015)

Rapidexperiments

Design experiments

Researchexperiments

Explorativeexperiments, searchingquick solutions to a given challenge step-by-step.

Experiments optimizing thequality of information

gained from experimenting. Meticulous design of the

experimental setting a prercondition

Experiments building on aninitial research/ co-

creation phase. Suitable for e.g. service design.


Knowledge production

• Does a new planned measure

work (if not, why not?)

• What are the expected results

and impacts?

• Objective: high quality

information for decision-

making

Experiments Can Be Implemented For Various

Reasons (Annala et al. 2016)

Changing thinking and behaviour

• How does the proposed measure change the way people think and act?

• Objective: a broader change within the target group

• Means: empowering and involving people

Expanding the impact

• How to expand the positive impact?

• Objective: scaling up of what works

• Means: resources (funding, networks, knowledge, information)

Structural change

• What does the lesson learnt imply for our current system?

• Objective: improving legislation, business models, working culture

• Means: challenging, inviting in


Digital Platform for Experiments• We need a tool for

• Funding small experiments

• Enabling crowdsourcing of resources

• Enable sharing of LESSONS learned

• Enable accelerating good solutions, copying and SCALING UP of what works

See (and co-create!) : https://www.kokeilunpaikka.fi/

12


The User Can

• Create own profile• Funder, experimenter, facilitator,

decision-maker, interested public

• Give input: like, discuss, throw ideas or challenges, share information, etc

• Create an accelerator: channel for sponsorship -> embed to own website

• Search and follow content, also from other websites

13


The Experimental Finland Team

Skills in the team:

- Scientific study

- ICT

- Innovation

- Open

Government

- Cultural Change

and Leadership

Thank you!

kokeilevasuomi.fi@Kokeilevasuomi#kokeilut #[email protected]

Government & Nonprofit

Kaisa Lahteenmaki-Smith - Towards an experimental government - Smart Energy Transition - Annual Seminar - 15.2.2017 - Prime Ministers Office - Aalto University