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Blog

Sprinting all over again

4/12/2020

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If you want to skip the background, and straight to the end, we want to talk to transport planners and activists this coming Wednesday about a service we are developing. Links to book a time are at the end of this post.

Before we start - how are you? I hope that you are keeping safe and well during this turbulent time. I hope that your family, friends, and communities are keeping well, and that you feel supported.

For us, we feel like we are in the eye of a hurricane. The chaos is raging, and it is within touching distance. But there is a strange calmness that belies the danger all around. But we are using this calm to do and think anew.

You may have already seen our international research project New Normal? and the work we are doing to support the Transport Planning Society. In this post, I am calling for your help in reshaping what Mobility Lab will look like. We need it, quickly.
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I mentioned in a previous post how we were planning to accelerate our tech development. We kick started this process last week, and very early on came to realise that our original plans were great...for when we originally came up with them. Our entire context had shifted, and so our plans needed a big shift as well.

So I started off a business design sprint. Reviewing our current processes, and our original plans, and mapping out how they work, and whether they still apply in this new world.

Here's a clue: they didn't. Well, kind of didn't. Whilst the processes that many of our potential customers go through is still the same, the feedback that we got was that process on community engagement and transport was being overtaken by events.
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I chose a sprint as the most appropriate method for two reasons, both related to the fact that time is of the essence. Firstly, we want to shift away from our current consultancy focus as this is not applicable in a time when the need for doing good things is great, and finances are stretched. Secondly, there are opportunities for government support to help us create something of immense social value, whilst shifting our operational model, but they close very soon.

So what are we looking to build? Well, I am still in the process of the sprint right now. But the key conclusions that we have identified so far are as follows:

  • Delivering projects does not deliver lasting impact (not to mention that we will be out-competed by the major market players). Delivering services does.
  • This service offering needs to be offline first in how it delivers, but needs a great online service to augment it.
  • Delivering services is not consistent with the traditional consultancy model without significant cost, one that cannot necessarily be sustained by communities on their own.
  • A lot of transport and community services are being developed and launched right now with little more than local passion, a Facebook Group, and spreadsheets. They deserve support.
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This, in a sense, is the problem statement. Previously. an online engagement platform was a very much a digital tool for an analogue age. Whatever the solution is, it needs to be a digitally-analogue tool for a digitally-analogue age.

When I mapped our current service offering, and how we might make significant improvements, it was clear that a shift in the operational model is essential if we are to answer many of the questions posed in this new reality.
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Now, I need your help.

If you are a city or local authority transport planner, or you are an activist, I need to talk to you. All I need is 30 minutes of your time to run the solution idea past you. It is essentially a sense check on what we are proposing, and how we could make it better.

What do you get from it? Is a good feeling not enough :)? In all seriousness, when we develop the final solution, we will give you a discount.

On this coming Wednesday (15th April 2020) we are offering the below 30 minute slots for a chat. All you have to do is book them.

12 - 12:30pm - Book now
12:30pm - 1pm
- Book now
1pm - 1:30pm - Book now
1:30pm - 2pm - Book now
2pm - 2:30pm - Book now
2:30pm - 3pm - Book now
3pm - 3:30pm - Book now
3:30pm - 4pm - Book now


If you have any questions, you can just email us. Otherwise, we look forward to chatting to you.
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  • Home
  • About
    • Meet the Team
  • What We Do
    • Discovery
    • Explore
    • Decide
    • Scenario Planning Training
    • Rapid Fire Trend Briefing
  • Projects
    • Community Projects >
      • Let's keep Flitwick, Ampthill, Maulden, and Westoning Socially Distant
      • Rural Mobility Discovery Project
    • Making a Change >
      • New Normal?
      • #TPSCOVID19RESPONSE
      • Transport Planning Camp
    • Strategy Projects >
      • E-scooters in the Solent
      • Interim Transport Strategy for Southend
      • Future Transport Scenarios for Nottingham
      • Future of Transport 2050
      • Exploring Marine Autonomy
      • Communicating Future Mobility Scenarios
  • Toolset
  • Blog