Explore the answers to some common questions below. If you can't find what you're looking for, please get in touch

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• 1. How long is the course?

  An Innovating Communities Design Thinking Course can be two different lengths, which we call a Design Sprint, or a Design Marathon. A Design Sprint is 21 hours of Training and/or Mentoring, usually completed over 3 months. A Design Marathon is 42 hours of Training and/or Mentoring, usually completed over 5 months. It's often best to consider the scope of your Challenge and, as a group, decide whether a Sprint, or the more in-depth Marathon, would be best suited.

• 2. What happens if I miss a session, will I be able to continue?

  Of course! You're always welcome back to a course. As a lot can change during one lesson, we do recommend you watch the recordings of any missed lessons before attending the next and/or contacting your Design Thinking Trainer to arrange a mentoring session to go over anything you've missed.

• 3. What is the objective?

  The objective of our Innovating Communities courses is to develop a solution in response to a selected Challenge. We use the Design Thinking process to achieve this, putting Users at the heart of our thinking.

• 4. How many people tend to be on a team?

  This can vary! We aim to have a minimum of 8 participants on a course, but there are often many more! Whether your team is large or small, Innovating Communities courses are spaces where we encourage participation, open listening and collaboration.

• 5. What have the outcomes been from completed courses?

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• 6. Is it a team project or do we work on individual projects under the theme?

  In an Innovating Communities course, you'll work as a team towards a Challenge Solution, or project. There may be times during the course, such as when researching Case Studies, undertaking tasks for Community Engagement, Prototyping and Testing, where you might find it useful to share different tasks across the team. This may mean that different individuals have responsibility for different tasks. If, at any time, you feel overwhelmed by a task or feel you need help, remember that your team and Trainer will be there to support you and share the work more evenly. Additionally, you are always welcome as an individual to research information you feel is useful to the Challenge, but it is important to share this knowledge with your team so that everybody involved is moving forward with similar knowledge in mind.

• 7. Will we have to do work outside the course ?

  Some work is expected outside of the regular, weekly, 2 hour sessions. You will be asked to complete some tasks between each lesson which will help prepare you for each lesson and stage. These tasks will usually only take 20 minutes to complete. Other stages of the course may require more work, which varies from Challenge to Challenge, Group to Group. During the 'Empathise' stage, you'll be asked to complete 'User-centred Research'. This can be looking for Case Studies and other information relevant to your Challenge, as well as undertaking 'Community Engagement' where you'll use different methods to better understand the lived experiences of your Challenge's Users and Stakeholders. During the 'Test' and 'Materialise' stage, there may also be some work to undertake. This can look like creating a prototype, or creating a presentation. The commitment of time this might take will vary depending on your Challenge and projects.

• 8. Will we be taught about the challenge topic?

  In Innovating Communities courses, you'll be supported by a Design Thinking Trainer and Co-Trainer. The Design Thinking Trainer is an expert in Design Thinking, with practical knowledge of applying the process. Your Co-Trainer is also knowledgeable in the Design Thinking process, and will have many additional professional, local and life skills to offer. As Challenge themes can vary so widely, we cannot, unfortunately, be experts in each and so do not train you in the topic itself. We do, as Trainers, work with you to help you acknowledge and work on any gaps in your understanding of the Challenge.

• 9. What is a 'Challenge'?

  A Challenge definition can range. Put simply, it is often an issue we're looking to solve. While the issue could be something we all face globally, or something more local, we aim to select an area of focus that affects our local community. This enables us to develop a solution which will benefit our local community.

• 10. I'm not sure about some of the words/terms we're using?

  No worries, we have a Glossary of Design Thinking Terms: docs.google.com/document/d/1KF6BUDe7zmLQduH4ezOa91RA2aHzNtI4P5z3dzBZ4fM/edit?usp=sharing. If you have any additional questions about any words or terms used in the process, please contact your Trainer who will be happy to help you!

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