A detailed guide

to commissioning

Policy Lab

Summer 2015

About Policy Lab1

2

3

4

5

Working with Policy Lab

Projects to date

Policy Lab support

Summary

Background to Policy Lab

We bring new approaches and tools

to government policy-making; from

data science to user-centred

design.

Policy Lab

Policy Lab

What is Policy Lab?

The Policy Lab is funded by

departments for departments.

We are a small team, supported

by departmental secondees and

external experts.

We work with policy-makers to

help them put policy ideas through

their paces, bringing open policy

making approaches to life on real

projects.

What we do in Lab

We create a neutral space for

policy-makers to collaborate

across departments and engage

with the public and external

experts in key policy areas.

We do this through a rigorous,

collaborative process using a

range of innovative tools and

techniques from data science to

design.

Policy Lab

Practical delivery

The Lab provides a practical space

where policy teams are supported to

identify:

- Insights into the needs of

service users

- Ideas, innovation and

transformational change

- Knowledge and expert opinion

to inform policy development

- Opportunities to enhance the

deliverability of policies through

testing and prototyping

- Efficiencies and cost savings.

Policy Lab

Working

with Lab

Working with

LabHow to get started?

We offer a quick overview of

Policy Lab and an opportunity to

work up a project idea in an

introductory workshop for policy

teams who may be interested in

running a lab project.

Working with Lab

Commissioning Lab

Our projects come from all parts of

government.

We are always open to enquiries

for new projects. We offer a quick

overview of Policy Lab and an

opportunity to work up a project

idea in an introductory workshop

for policy teams who may be

interested in running a lab project.

For more information contact

Beatrice.andrews@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

What we do

Our support is best suited to

tackling intractable, complex,

systemic policy problems that

require fresh thinking that can

lead to potentially transformative

solutions.

To date we have worked with a

range of policy teams who are

interested in developing new skills

and trying out innovative policy

tools.

Working with Lab

Capacit

y

New

Skills

Knowledge

& Tools

Capabil

ity

New

Solutions

Compete

nce

Inspiring

Projects

Improved

Performance

Innovative

PolicyNew

Thinking

Working with Lab

Open policy in action

The Lab provides fresh

thinking, practical support and

an R&D testing ground for

policy innovation across

government.

We draw extensively on the

experience of other innovation

labs around the world, as part

of the global lab network.

Our innovative practices are

described in the open policy

making toolkit and blog.

The Lab offer

What How Impact to date

1. Lab delivers new

policy solutions

Lab policy projects Six projects in year one,

demonstrating the value

of new techniques such

as ethnography and

rapid prototyping.

2. Lab fosters skills

and knowledge

‘Lab Light’ sessions, Policy

Sprints, Policy Schools,

learning and development

training courses.

Over 1,200 Civil

Servants have gained

practical open policy

skills.

3. Lab inspires new

thinking

Talks, workshops,

newsletters, blogs, short

films.

Over 5,000 policy-

makers have seen Policy

Lab material and blogs.

Working with Lab

Working with Lab

Project team and associates

The Lab brings together experts

from inside and outside

government to support projects.

We work with service designers,

ethnographers, data scientists and

subject specialists on our projects.

We can provide a neutral platform

for collaboration with citizens, staff

and key stakeholders.

Lab

projects

World class policy practice

To date we have worked on a

range of cross-departmental

policies from employment support

to mediation of divorce.

We seek to deliver better policy

outcomes at lower cost.

Lab projects

to date

Lab projects

to date

Previous projects

Policing in a digital age

with the Home Office & Surrey &

Sussex Police

Family Mediation

with the Ministry of Justice

National Insurance Numbers

with HMRC & DWP

Employment Support Allowance

with DWP / DH

Free places for 2 Year olds

with DfE

Policy Lab

project support

What kind of

Support?Lab projects

Lab sprints

Short commissioned facilitation to

help teams accelerate projects.

Lab projects

Commissioned policy projects up

to a year long on complex

challenges

Diagnose Discover Develop & Deliver

Lab light Full project

Establish scope & Generate insights

Identify knowledge

Develop, test and refine shared

ideas and proposals

Policy Lab Team with Policy LeadPolicy Lead

Policy Lab full project process 2015

ExternalInternal

Lab project

supportLab Sprints

Lab Sprints provide wrap-

around support for teams over a

short intensive period of time to

accelerate a new or existing

policy project.

Through a series of guided

sessions the Lab provides expert

facilitation, tools and guidance to

enable teams to collaborate, open

up their policy area and explore

and prioritise a range of

opportunities.

Lab project

supportLab Sprints

Lab Sprints can include a range

of tools and techniques such as:

- Building a shared vision

- Clarifying early objectives

- Identifying user-perspectives

- Bringing expert or specialist

views

- Re-framing problems

- Unblocking challenges

- Road-mapping futures.

Optional additional units

Policy Lab Team with Policy Lead

Lab Intro Hopes & fears

Personas / pen

portraits1-3 hours

Rapid Ideas

generation

Asset mapping

As Required

Lab sprint process 2015

PrototypingChallenge Setting

Opportunity mapping

Journey mapping

Research Review

Lab introduction

Lab sprint

Road-mapping

Session write up

Pitches / critique

As Required As Required

Evaluate

3 hours – 3 days

Lab project

supportLab full projects

Lab projects provide bespoke

support for teams for up to a

year to enable policy-teams to

work in new ways. Teams build

new skills through a live project

from strategy to delivery.

Working with a Policy Lab senior

policy advisor, teams get one to

one support and mentoring to

develop policies using world-class

techniques.

Lab project

supportLab full projects

Each project is different and may

include:

- An introduction to Lab

- A project sprint to help frame

the project

- Commissioned external support

- Developing user-insights

through ethnographically

informed research

- Ideas generation

- Testing and trialing options in

action

- Measuring the impact and

sharing best practice.

Engage with sponsor

Commission experts

Citizen insight

Establish governance

Exte

rnal

Inte

rnal

Options appraisal

Test and evaluate

Policy Lab Team with Policy LeadPolicy Lead

Lab Intro

Outline proposal

Prototyping Implement

3-6 weeks

Ethnography and expert input

Evaluate

Advisory group

Expert group

Project group 4-8 weeks

Identify scope Generate insights Develop shared ideas and proposals

Policy Lab full project process 2015

Lab Sprint

As Required

As Required

Lab Report

Co-lab Session

Lab light

support

Lab light

Lab taster sessions

These short sessions provide

introductions to using Lab tools

and techniques. We can tailor

them to suit so can be included in

Policy Schools, departmental

training and away days.

What kind of

Support?

Lab light

Lab taster sessions

The tools are also described in

the open policy toolkit including:

- Hopes and fears

- Challenge setting

- User journey mapping

- Personas

- Generating ideas

- Prototyping

- Service blueprinting

What kind of

Support?

Lab light

Lab experiments

Through our experiments we

have developed a number of

policy ‘firsts’ for government.

Departments can set a

challenge or join us to try our

new ways of working through

one off trials of new and

emergent techniques.

What kind of

Support?

Diagnose Discover Develop & Deliver

Lab light Full project

Establish scope & Generate insights

Identify knowledge and ideas

Develop, test and refine

ideas and proposals

Optional additional units Policy Lab Methodbank

Lab Intro

Hopes & fears cards

Personas / pen portraits

Rapid Ideas generation

Asset mapping

Lab tools and templates

Rapid Prototyping

/ minimal viable

product

Challenge setting

Opportunity mapping

Customer Journey mapping

Research Review

Road-mapping

Review / pitches / critique

Ideation & co-design

Policy Canvas

Discovery cards

Change cards

Setting scope

Design sketch sheets

Ethno-graphy

Options review pages

Service or systems

blueprint

Speculative design

Road-mapping template

Service blueprint

Persona template

User-journey

maps

72 3

5

8 11 12 131

9

Feedback Pages

6

Policy on a page

template

10

Challenge setting cards

4

Background

to Policy Lab

About Lab

We support departments across the

UK from our base at the Cabinet

Office’s Government Innovation

Group.

The Lab offers a ‘pop up’ lab

experience to departments wishing to

build capabilities in-house.

Policy Lab team:

Paul Maltby, Dr Andrea Siodmok,

Beatrice Andrews and Cat Drew.

AHRC Research Fellow, Dr Lucy

Kimbell.

What is policy

Lab?

Policy Lab

Result

In our first year we worked with

over 1,200 civil servants on

practical projects and workshops.

As a result of collaboration and

new insights our policy projects

deliver better outcomes at lower

cost.

To date our projects are estimated

to create over £3m in savings if

implemented at scale.

Work to date:

Demonstration projects: Home Office & Surrey and Sussex Police; Ministry

of Justice; HMRC & DWP; Department of Health & DWP; Policy Profession

Support Unit; Department for Education. Lab sprint projects: Deputy Prime

Minister’s Office, Cabinet Office Horizons Scanning team, GO Science, DWP,

Civil Service Learning and Departmental Policy Schools. Design industry

experts: Uscreates, Innovation Unit, Live-work, Studio InTo, Nonon,

RedFront, Made Open and Public i. Events: Civil Service Live, Institute for

Government.

Advisors, friends and partners: MindLab, GDS, Design Council, Nesta, the

RSA and All Party Parliamentary Group on Design and Innovation.

With thanks to

Lab partners, friends

and industry experts

[Summer 2015]

Policy Lab UKRead more openpolicy.blog.gov.uk

Or follow us on twitter

@PolicyLabUK

Or contactbeatrice.andrews@cabinetoffice.gov.uk