Feed Forward Stories: connecting research, policy and practice The boy who got lost in debts and piles of papers while lacking a postal address to start his debt cancellation procedure, and thus his new life. The policy maker who has good connections but lacks the numbers and stories to take grounded action. The youth professional who bounces back and forth between providing what the boy needs, and what the bureaucratic rules and laws of civic administrator offices ask. The academic who wants to provide meaningful insights but is stuck with an academic ‘publish or perish’ system. All of these people live in one city, but their stories are disconnected. However they all want the same: better lives for citizens. Feed Forward Stories is an inclusive research methodology that connects stories of citizens and stories of people operating in systems (ie. schools, social and public services, municipality) to start new actions. In this talk Marlieke Kieboom (Kennisland) introduces the vision, the work principles and the methodology behind Feed Forward Stories.

1. Opening up policy making & research
connecting lives and systems with Feed Forward Stories
Marlieke Kieboom - KENNISLAND

2. Kennisland: a think- and do tank for social change
16 years old / independent / not for profit / 20 people / 140 projects to make societies smarter
www.kl.nl

3. from a world about content to a world
about context
from inequalities to larger inequalities
from academic & policy experts to laymen
in wise crowds

4. Alex (27) - “when you
are fucked up, you
meet fucked up
people”
Danny (30) - “I got my
life in order now, i only
still need to go to
prison for 10 months
for ‘some things’.”
Nino (22): “I worry so
much about my debts,
it clouds my brain”
Linh (18) - “I found
support at the youth
centre but the age limit
went down, now i’m too
old, but i still need
someone”
Linda, youth policy maker:
“I don’t really meet youth
myself, but the best
workdays are when i do”
Harry, politician: “I want
to help. But I can’t favour
some groups over others.
There are many
problems. How to work
this out?”
Mustafa, youth
worker: “Really want
to help Alex but I’m
stuck in bureaucratic
rules that say I can’t”
Oliver, academic: “I
finished my research but
for some reason no one
engaged with the results
in the municipality.”
From disconnected stories and networks ..

5. Young lives The support system
?

6. Alex (27) - “when you
are fucked up, you
meet fucked up
people”
Danny (30) - “I got my
life in order now, i only
still need to go to
prison for 10 months
for ‘some things’.”
Nino (22): “I worry so
much about my debts,
it clouds my brain”
Linh (18) - “I found
support at the youth
centre but the age limit
went down, now i’m too
old, but i still need
someone”
Linda, youth policy maker:
“I don’t really meet youth
myself, but the best
workdays are when i do”
Harry, politician: “I want
to help. But I can’t favour
some groups over others.
There are many
problems. How to work
this out?”
Mustafa, youth
worker: “Really want
to help Alex but I’m
stuck in bureaucratic
rules that say I can’t”
Oliver, academic: “I
finished my research but
for some reason no one
engaged with the results
in the municipality.”
… to connected stories and networks

7. young lives support systems
collaborate!
try something out!

8. Try out…
what if there was a Ministry of Open Networks?
what if there was a Ministry for Demolition?
what if there was a police force for in- and exclusion?
what if there were ‘cooperative citizen universities’?

9. Feed Forward Stories
dordrecht
amsterdam
nijmegen
hong kong
schiedam

10. Feed Forward in Social LAB
research &
connect
try out action
sustain

11. every lab-team member: learning about innovation, tools & new networks
What does working with FFS deliver?
1. Connecting lives and
systems over conflicts and
collaborations
do we see each other, do we
understand each other, do
we know each other, do we
‘want’ something together?
2. Research and action for
(local) government and
organisations
new processes, new
interactions in / between
organisations,
municipalities and people
3. New action perspectives
for people
new or improved public
services, initiatives,
networks

12. other ways of
making policy
other ways of
gathering
knowledge
other role for the
(local)
government
other ways of
communicating
findings
other ways of
learning together
5 chances voor system round youth in Nijmegen

14. Open: of multidisciplinary team
citizens
civil servants
social work, professionals
policy maker, politician
artists, entrepreneur
teacher, student

15. Outside: an open office (Hong Kong Labschool)

16. ‘How is it to be young in Nijmegen,
what can I learn from you to improve
young lives?
… asking ‘open questions’
Power of learning
on ‘the street …
“what makes you get out of bed
in the morning?”
“You have something to nag about?”

17. Collaborative: of knowledge co-production

18. Action oriented: stories for action

19. License of the image
Power dynamics: a reflection network

20. scouting citizens

21. … publish story
… collecting story……
checking story …

22. 1. Title of this chapter
Optional subtitle of this chapter
collective analysis & networking

23. Power of public prototyping

24. Process to action: prototyping
practice:
prototypes
problems,
evaluate
outcomes
sustainable
collaboration
political
agenda
society
GEMEENTEBELEID, HOE KAN HET BETER?
NAAM:
FUNCTIE:
Waarom?
Wie?
Waarom wordt beleid volgens jou gemaakt? Schrijf op waarom en
voor wie of wat volgens jou beleid gemaakt zou moeten worden.
Wie zouden beleid kunnen maken in de toekomst? Denk na over
wie beleid zou kunnen maken en beschrijf ieders rol.
Actie!
Hoe wil jij zelf invloed uitoefenen in het beleidsproces? Beschrijf
jouw eigen rol en bespreek met elkaar wat er moet veranderen om
deze nieuwe rol goed te kunnen uitoefenen. Waar zou je vandaag
nog mee beginnen?
Hoe? Teken!
Hoe ziet een nieuw of beter beleidsproces eruit? Wat moet er jou volgens jou veranderen? Teken het nieuwe beleidsproces.
Denk aan: wie hebben invloed? Wanneer hebben zij invloed?
Iconenvanwww.thenounproject.com,CCBY3.0US:
“People”doorBenjaminHarlow,“Businessman”doorCarlosDias,
“Team”doorStephenBorengasser,"Question"doorJessicaLock,
"Tool"doorMaciejŚwierczek,"Rocket"doorSimonMettler.
DezeposterisgelicenseerdondereenCreativeCommons
Naamsvermelding-licentie(CCBY4.0)
Ontworpen door Kennisland - www.kl.nl
in het kader van het project JongLAB -
www.medium.com/jonglab-nijmegen
Gebaseerd op de infographic over beleid
maken, gemaakt door Lisa Hu.
inwoners organisatiesambtenarencollege b&w wijkraadgem. raad

25. 1. Who are your ‘co-s’?
Where and with whom to
start? Your outcomes depend
on where you start your co-
knowledge productionLicense of the image

26. License of the image
2. Do your ‘co’s actually want to work together?

27. how to survive the social
sector conference? …
License of the image License of the image
3. What do your co’s normally do?

28. Do they make / use this…
License of the image

29. …. or this?
License of the image

30. License of the image
Do they work here….

31. License of the image
…. or here?

32. 4. How to support co-knowledge production practices?
License of the image

33. connect!
“Where to start a collaboration? Well… not with mental
parasites in the system, where people keep playing their roles.”
Birger Lindberg Moller - Head of centre for synthetic biology,
University of Copenhagen. In: “Collaboration – On the Edge
of a New Paradigm?” www.collaborativesociety.org
Contact! Kennisland - Marlieke Kieboom mk@kl.nl
Deze presentatie is gelicenseerd onder een Creative Commons Naamsvermelding-licentie.
This presentation is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license.

34. • Make groups of two, assign roles: one note taker, one interviewer + take a photo
• Go out of the room, and generate a story from someone who in this neighbourhood. Try to be
creative: someone from the street, someone in a shop
• The main focus: what is this person experiencing: what does it mean for him/her to live well in
this neighbourhood and how could it be better?
• Come back in 30 minutes, Write a very short story that goes. This is Maria, she is 37. She works
in …
• 15 minutes exchange with another group, tell the story and exhange experiences
• Discuss plenary: experiences in working with stories, how does this methodology for social
experimentation differ from your own methodologies? what works well, what do you find
more complicated?
Surprise surprise, today you are the lab-team