Dr. Sarah Schulman from InWithForward speaks at SDGC19 in Toronto. How do we turn our social safety nets into trampolines? That big, hairy, audacious question led our small social design team from the UK to Australia to The Netherlands to Canada. We knew if we wanted to disrupt social systems, and fundamentally shift outcomes for people most on the margins, we couldn’t do it as fly-in and fly-out design consultants. We needed to be full partners in change. This talk will offer the story of our partnership: how a passionate, idealistic, and at times, naive group of service designers, industrial designers, graphic designers, interactions designers, ethnographers, sociologists, and community developers has worked alongside mid-level managers, frontline workers, non-profit CEOS and bureaucrats to reimagine the social sector. We used to believe it was all about building the capacity of the sector to do research & development. We don’t believe that anymore. Come along to this talk as we share and debunk myths around collaboration, consultancy, and capacity building. Find out what we think it will take to move past incremental reform to disruptive transformation. Become a member! https://www.service-design-network.org Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sdnetwork Or on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2933277 Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ServiceDesignNetwork/ Behind-the-scenes on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/servicedesignnetwork/

1. Building and Building Bridges:
Lessons from five years of deep partnership
to redesign the Canadian welfare state.
Leadership & Business
Guru and InWithForward’s
lead of org change
dr Jennifer
Charlesworth
Sociologist and
InWithForward’s
social impact lead
dr Sarah
SchulmanDr. Sarah Schulman
Founding Partner
inwithforward.com
@inwithforward

2. We are gathered on the traditional territory of the
Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the
Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat
peoples. We honor their past, present and future
stories and learn humility from their resilience.

3. Sarah Jonas Anna
Daniela Natalie Valentina
Jess Melanie Yani
Boyd Peter Gord
Janey Charlotte John
Alysha Shokhan Mischa Jenn
Kelsey
The people of IWF

4. Safety nets Trampolines
Our mission

5. The people of this land
+450 more

6. Meet William

7. Meet James

8. Meet Alexa

9. Meet Haci

10. Meet the Underhills

11. Shame Removal Displacement Low ExpectationsTrauma

12. “Coming to know also requires complex,
committed, consensual engagement.”
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

13. An app A service
A
coordinated
hub
Isn’t enough…
{insert fancy
new thing}

14. What we know
Meaning, purpose, belonging
& love come from relationships,
not from services.

15. Let’s take a look at the relational
history of the welfare state.

16. History of the welfare state
A medical immigration nurse is speaking
with an immigrant mother and her child
Library and Archives Canada, c1965

17. Helper
Beneficiary
1800s Power dynamic

18. Helper
Hierarchical
Paternalistic
Power divides
Charity meets
professionalization
Beneficiary

19. Professional Client
1900s Power dynamic

20. Manager Worker
1950s Power dynamic

21. Design accepts this relationship
1980’s Power dynamic
Manager
consultant Client ‘User’

22. Characteristics of these relationship types
Expert
driven
Non-
reciprocal
Invested in
means over endsCharacteristics

23. Positive deviants flip the script

24. Vulnerability Mutuality Shared endsCo-learner
Alternative relational basis

25. How do you codify & spread this
relational basis when it presents a
threat to status quo power?
Alternative relational basis

26. Processoriented
Solutionoriented
Situated in organizations
Situated in community
Grounded Data
WNH
We’ve experimented

27. Newcomers
Homelessness
Disability
Seniors
Justice system
Unemployment
Mental Health
Children & Youth
City
NGOs
Gov.
Sectors/topcis Initiatives

28. Partnerships
It starts with partnerships that
don’t replicate transactional,
top-down relationships

29. What this looks like
for us in practice
Three case studies

32. Ben books
& goes on
experiences as
a ‘Kudoer’
Frane is a
botanist & hosts
a nature hike
experience
Enabling growth interactions

33. Not passing time interactions

36. Through in-person experiences,
Kudoers build skills, natural
networks, and a greater sense
of self and future.
Meaningful
Employment
More inter-
dependence
Better
mental
health

37. The relational basisThe relational basis
LearnerLearner
To
Community
member
From
Disabled
person

41. The relational basisThe relational basis
LearnerLearner
To
Protector
From
Protected

44. What makes a meraki box?
novelty
connection
Many of the people who will
use your box have lives full
of things they enjoy! The
challenge is introducing NEW
things into their context.
We don’t want these boxes to
be generalized and watered
down- we want them to be
specific and enriching.
Boxes should always help the
users find a new pathway to
community.
This could be a meetup group, a
class or competition, a place
with a collection of content
about your topic, a Kudoz
experience, or maybe a group
challenge.
soul
Meraki boxes are soulful
because they capture the
passion and peculiarities of
their Muses.
When people open up your box
for the first time, we want
them to feel as if they’ve
opened a gift you made just
for them.
stretchchallenge

45. The relational basis
LearnerLearner
To
Service
provider
From
Person
served

46. Structure
It’s not just about process
or solutions; it’s also about
stewardship and structure

47. Tension Compression TorsionShear
Structure
Best practice Next practice

48. Tension Compression Shear Torsion

49. sarah@inwithforward.com
@inwithforward
Get in touch!
Design Director
Vancouver
Innovation Lead
Vancouver
Community Mobilizer
Vancouver
Experience Designer
Toronto
UX/Developer Fellowship
Vancouver
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