Working together with residents, families and fellow professionals
“The future of elderly care is, above all, a challenge for society as a whole,” says social designer Mieke Fiers of design studio morgenmakers. “That is precisely why it is so interesting to use design to look at these kinds of systems.”
The Co/Lab was initiated by ActiZ, the Dutch trade association representing around 350 elderly care organisations. Over a period of two years, ActiZ, design studio morgenmakers and the care organisations CuraMare, Coloriet and Archipel Zorggroep worked together on a central design question: What if caring communities existed in which people lived together reciprocally? What would that mean for the role of professionals in elderly care?
Henriette Neuteboom of ActiZ explains: “It was important to us that this would be a long-term programme involving several ActiZ members, and that it would not only generate ideas but also broad support across the sector.” For that reason, the collaboration focused not only on imagining change, but also on developing practical tools that professionals could use immediately.
The power of design
Throughout the Co/Lab, care professionals worked closely with the social designers from morgenmakers. For many participants, this way of collaborating was entirely new.
“I was really curious about the collaboration between healthcare and designers,” says Saskia Kluin of Archipel Zorggroep. “I had not expected such surprising outcomes, or that you could approach a care question in such a completely different way.” According to Kluin, this is exactly the value of design. “In healthcare we are not always used to thinking beyond existing solutions. Designers challenge you with new questions and encourage you to explore different directions.”
The project was equally distinctive for the designers themselves. Most design projects involve working with a single organisation or within one specific context. This Co/Lab was different. “We were working on behalf of an entire sector,” says Fiers. “Because the question came from ActiZ, all of its members were effectively our clients.” That required a different design approach. Rather than creating a solution for one organisation, morgenmakers needed to develop something that would work across many organisations and contexts. This led to an important design principle: the solutions should not depend on designers being present. They had to be tools that professionals could use independently. Fiona Jongejans of morgenmakers adds: “Care professionals already have enough on their plates, so the focus has to be on what can change today.”
From insight to practical tools
The collaboration resulted in two tangible design outcomes: Taking Space (in Dutch: Ruimte pakken) and Do it together (in Dutch: Doe het samen). Both focus on strengthening professionals and supporting them in their changing role within the transition of elderly care. How can professionals themselves be empowered to help shape that transition? In doing so, the project addresses a perspective that often receives too little attention in discussions about caring communities: the role of care professionals.
“Many initiatives around caring neighbourhoods focus primarily on what residents or society can contribute,” says Fiers. “But far less attention is paid to the changing role of professionals, even though they are right at the heart of this transition.”
Care professionals already work under considerable pressure, leaving little time to reflect on the future. The tools were therefore designed to fit naturally into everyday practice. They encourage ways of thinking and working that enable professionals to contribute to the transition in care today, rather than sometime in the future. This became a key design principle: the outcomes had to be immediately applicable and firmly rooted in day-to-day practice.
Taking Space
The first design, Taking Space, helps care teams organise their work differently. It encourages professionals to recognise opportunities in their daily practice and develop them together.
“Many routines continue simply because that is how they have always been done, even though there are often better ways,” says Kluin. “Taking Space helps teams identify these opportunities, discuss them together and decide whether and how to take an idea forward.”
Taking Space provides practical guidance that helps professionals identify opportunities, share them and test new approaches. In doing so, it supports stronger collaboration with residents and families, while also helping to reduce workload. In this way, teams create space together to change the way care is organised.
At the heart of the method is an opportunity board, displayed prominently within the department. It serves as both a communication and collaboration tool, allowing team members to post ideas for doing things differently using example cards or Post-it notes. Colleagues can respond, and ideas are discussed during team meetings, enabling them to progress from initial concept to implementation. Because the board is visible to residents and relatives, it also creates new conversations about how care can be organised together.
Do it together
The second design, Do it together, focuses on collaboration across organisations and professional domains. It helps professionals discuss issues that often remain implicit, such as interests, expectations and responsibilities when working together.
Many neighbourhoods already involve a wide range of organisations working on elderly care, wellbeing, housing and liveability. Collaboration is increasing, which is a positive development. At the same time, an important question remains: do organisations truly understand one another? Do they know what matters to the other party? And are mutual expectations aligned? Do it together helps professionals address these questions before misunderstandings arise.
At the core of Do it together is a framework consisting of six themes. It enables participants to quickly identify whether they are aligned and where further discussion is needed. Rather than focusing solely on what they will do together, the tool explores why and how they collaborate, whether they speak the same language and which interests are at play.
“The toolkit opens up conversations about topics we would normally overlook,” says Kluin. “That is exactly why it contributes to stronger and more successful collaboration: it allows important issues to be addressed before they become problems.”
Designing for an entire sector
One of the Co/Lab’s guiding principles was that its outcomes should benefit not only the participating organisations but the sector as a whole. That meant continually returning to the essence of the challenge. “Because the solutions had to work broadly, we were constantly forced to strip the problem back,” says Jongejans. “What is really at the core? What do professionals across many different situations actually need?”
According to Neuteboom, the project demonstrates the value of design in addressing complex societal challenges. “Design helps you look at an issue from a different perspective. It brings imagination into the process and helps translate a complex challenge into practical tools.”
What is next?
Although the Co/Lab has officially concluded, its impact continues. New organisations are joining, the tools are being further developed and the insights from the programme continue to be shared with partners across the sector.
ActiZ is currently working with ten care organisations in a community of practice to further develop Taking Space in a community od practice. Particular attention is being given to implementation: what do organisations need in order to adopt the method successfully, and how can it be embedded more widely within teams?
In addition, together with the Dutch Association for Disability Care (VGN) a programme is launched to adapt Taking Space for use within disability care.
Do It Together is also finding its way into practice. The toolkit has been packaged in a compact case and distributed by ActiZ as a Christmas gift to all its members. The professional association AO VVT has commissioned additional sets, making the tool available to a wider audience.
The framework is now being used by a growing number of organisations in a variety of collaborative settings. Morgenmakers has also been invited by several organisations and partnerships to facilitate collaboration projects using the framework.
The insights generated during the Co/Lab have been shared with ActiZ and with partners working on activation and communication campaigns around elderly care, ensuring that the knowledge continues to inform future initiatives.
According to everyone involved, Co/Lab: Caring Neighbourhoods demonstrates that meaningful change often starts with small, practical steps that contribute to a much larger transition.
“Design helps make complex systems manageable,” says Fiers. “You do not have to change the entire system overnight. You can start with one concrete step that is possible today.”
Neuteboom believes that is precisely where the value of the project lies: “The wonderful thing is that all the participating organisations are enthusiastic about both the process and the outcomes. Board members, project leaders and care professionals have developed something together that they can genuinely build on.”
Read the ActiZ articles about the collaboration with DDF and DDW here. A partnership connecting elderly care and the creative industries.