“We are not going to solve these problems from the office towers in The Hague. That is why we are heading outwards, seeking out to the people who are directly affected. We involve designers because they think differently. They can help us move towards new kinds of solutions.”
Doing and seeing together what already exists
Eric Bezem, director-general for Sanctions and Protection at the Ministry of Justice and Security, opened the event with a welcome address. Moderator Tabo Goudswaard spoke with him about the crucial role of a design-led approach in building a resilient society.
Going outside
“We need innovative solutions to tackle the enormous challenges we’re facing,” said Eric. “Take youth protection and care, for example. One report after another is published, all telling us that the system is not functioning properly.”
“We are not going to solve these problems from the office towers in The Hague. That is why we are heading outwards, seeking out to the people who are directly affected. We involve designers because they think differently. They can help us move towards new kinds of solutions.”
Unlike politicians, who “want to move quickly towards a solution,” designers embrace the problem, Eric continued. “The Hague is often in love with the solution rather than the problem. What excites me are solutions that we had not even imagined, ideas we could not have come up with on our own.”
Eric’s welcome address was also an open invitation to anyone with ideas for improving youth protection. “We really need all the brainpower we can get.”
Integrating Design DNA
Social designer Eva de Bruijn, from design studio We Are Social Rebels, wove design DNA into the DNA of the Municipality of Maastricht. In a Co/Lab (formerly known as the What if… lab), the studio began collaborating with the municipality in 2019 on the design question: What if local residents could help combat subversive crime in their neighbourhood? Together with her fellow designers, municipal officials, and end users, Eva explored the question behind that question. They actively involved the target group, which led to the creation of the project Onderschat , a project that has been scaled up to the Municipality of Venlo.
During the talk show, Eva invited the audience to take part in an interactive intervention that she developed with young people in Venlo, using brightly coloured “false” and “true” cards.
“Als je een strafblad hebt voor je 18de dan wordt die zodra je 18 wordt kwijtgescholden” “false” “Als jij je pinpas uitleent aan een vriend of vriendin en die pleegt er fraude mee, ook al weet je dat niet, mag je 8 jaar geen nieuwe bankrekening openen” “true” “Als je naaktfoto’s door stuurt ook al heb je ze niet zelf gemaakt, is dat strafbaar” “true”.
If you have a criminal record before turning 18, it is erased when you reach 18.” “false” “If you lend your bank card to a friend and they commit fraud with it, even without your knowledge, you are banned from opening a new bank account for eight years.” “true” “If you forward nude photos, even if you did not take them yourself, that is a criminal offence.” “true”
It’s not just about finding solutions for the here and now, Eva continued. “We also want to contribute to systemic change, to long-term impact. It’s important to us that the clients we work with learn to think in a design-driven way and can apply it themselves.”
Recently, the Municipality of Maastricht integrated the design-led approach into its own safety strategy. Eva explained: “Going into the neighbourhoods and giving a face to the local safety network really paid off. There were tangible results, such as the dismantling of a cannabis plantation. But there were also softer outcomes, like residents inviting the community police officer over for a cup of coffee, to truly talk about what is happening in their area.”
Under pressure
Current challenges include healthcare fraud and subversive criminal activity within the care sector. Monique van Beers from the Education Inspectorate, Laura van der Wal from the Public Prosecution Service, and Bas Wijnen from the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) explained how they are addressing these issues through Fieldlabs.
“In recent years, there has been an increasing number of people working in healthcare without the proper qualifications,” Monique explained. “People at patients’ bedsides with no experience whatsoever. Or individuals seeking access to highly vulnerable groups, such as those in youth care, disability care, or elderly care, with criminal intentions.”
“The underworld, the core of subversive organised crime, has infiltrated the care sector,” Bas emphasised. He uses the term care-related crime. “Following its own investigations, the police state that there is currently not a single criminal network without some form of link to the care sector. Just let that sink in: healthcare has become a business model for the criminal underworld.”
In Fieldlabs, the police, ministries, municipalities, and other organisations work together to tackle so-called wicked problems, such as healthcare crime and fraud.
Interdisciplinary teams consisting of eight experts from across the entire chain work collaboratively. “We really do this under pressure,” said Laura. “They must quickly arrive at a problem analysis, going beyond the boundaries of their own organisations. They then develop an intervention, and we push them to take action. In doing so, they develop the courage to engage in something they find challenging. And all of this happens within one hundred days.”
Monique participated in a Fieldlab aimed at preventing the purchase of fake diplomas. “We came up with ways to shut down part of the fraudulent internship companies,” she said. This led to a wealth of information concerning sixty companies that the team has serious concerns about. The team shares this information with the Cooperation Organisation for Vocational Education, Training and the Labour Market (SBB), which issues certificates for accredited internship providers. “We want to encourage the SBB to take action.”
For Bas, the Fieldlab method is highly valuable. “It achieves things that we, within government, would normally never manage to accomplish together. I would very much like this method to become standard practice.”
Social emergency kits
From healthcare fraud and subversive crime to NATO’s target of five per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) for security. This involves investments not only in defence but also in related areas such as infrastructure and societal resilience. How can we strengthen that societal resilience? Artist and composer Merlijn Twaalfhoven shared his perspective on security.
According to Merlijn, it is all about the way the story is presented to us. “Take, for example, the image of emergency kits. You are told to prepare seventy-two hours’ worth of water, to stock up on tins of beans, to buy a hand-cranked torch and a power bank. This story conveys a certain worldview: you are on your own, you can only trust yourself, you do not need to help anyone, no one will help you, you must survive.”
Merlijn referred to this as Doomsday Prepping: “It is all about collecting supplies for an emergency. You only need them then.” But there is another narrative: Neighbourhood Prepping, which might involve a social emergency kit. “What would it mean if you ensured that you were part of a structure in which people can help one another? Where mutual dependence is allowed? Where you can collectively explore what tools are available and what you can do for each other? The key difference is that what then develops and takes shape is useful not only in an emergency, but also immediately valuable in everyday life.”
Untapped innovation potential
Following Merlijn’s contribution, Lieutenant Colonel Boy Nefkens-Reiniers spoke about MINDbase, part of the MIND division – Military Innovation by Doing. The RDM site serves as the home base for MINDbase. “Within MINDbase, we seek connections with start-ups in order to explore how technological innovation can be relevant for defence.” In addition to Rotterdam, there are also MINDbase locations in Groningen, Eindhoven, and Enschede.
Speaking in a personal capacity, Boy expressed his support for the idea of mutual self-reliance. “As the armed forces, we have a very specific duty: to protect society. In a crisis situation, the military must act against the aggressor. The question then becomes whether we have the manpower and capabilities to also provide support within local communities.”
Connecting with the market and society remains a challenge, Boy noted. “Defence is used to operating behind closed doors. ‘We do exciting things,’ but it is unsafe, and people are not allowed to share information. The war in Ukraine has made it clear, among other things, that as a defence organisation and as a country, we cannot do it alone. We must work together with the market and industry in order to make progress.”
Boy also observed that there is a great deal of untapped innovation potential within society. “I meet many people who genuinely want to contribute, but do not know what to do or how to do it.” Together with the design agency Muzus, Boy is working on “coming up with something that enables everyone in the Netherlands to help strengthen national defence.” Neele Kistemaker, designer at Muzus, has been given complete freedom in this process: “We can truly start from the ground up and explore where the problem actually lies.”
Countermovement
Patrick van der Hijden, programme lead for a resilient society atj De Publieke Ontwerppraktijk (PONT) aims to use a design-led approach to shape the 3,600 emergency support points that are to be established across the Netherlands: places where people can go for basic necessities during a crisis. The outgoing cabinet has allocated sixty-five million euros for this initiative in the Spring Budget Memorandum.
Patrick explained: “We do not yet know how to give form to these support points, but somewhere there are sixty-five million euros set aside. And intense negotiations are taking place. Meanwhile, people within society have already started thinking about what such an emergency support point could be.” Tabo added: “And we have just heard that the defence sector is focusing on other matters. So how are we going to address this together with local communities?”
According to Patrick, that is the key question. Merlijn added: “This is also a moment when things can go wrong. If people who have already taken the initiative are bypassed, they will feel unseen. That is how a counter-movement can arise.”
Designer and strategist Malique Mohamud, from Concrete Blossom, has extensive experience in recognising, involving, and immersing himself in the perspectives and daily realities of others. He agreed with Merlijn: “An opposing movement can emerge if the government fails to take seriously what is already happening within society.”
Concrete Blossom operates on the belief that street culture continuously transforms society. In projects such as the NiteShop, a laboratory disguised as a local shop and barber’s, Malique and his fellow designers immerse themselves in the lives of others. “People drop by, have a chat. You are not required to do anything.”
"What is beautiful about our organisation is the sense of brotherhood and sisterhood. You go through fire for one another, under extremely difficult circumstances, with people you may have known for only two or three weeks. When things get tough, you depend on each other. We can carry those lessons into existing social structures.”
Six-lane driveway
Returning to the topic of emergency support points: how can connections be strengthened between the military and civilians, and among citizens themselves, in times of conflict but also in times of peace? Boy said, “What is beautiful about our organisation is the sense of brotherhood and sisterhood. You go through fire for one another, under extremely difficult circumstances, with people you may have known for only two or three weeks. When things get tough, you depend on each other. We can carry those lessons into existing social structures.”
Merlijn compared social connection to the infrastructure needed in an emergency, like a six-lane driveway. “Let us invest as much time and resources in building this social connectedness as we do in physical road networks.”
To conclude, Olof Schuring from the Ministry of Justice and Security distributed a publication written by the Makerscollectief in collaboration with Twynstra Gudde. “It presents our vision of the design-led approach within the field of security. I would very much like to discuss it with you, so that together we can build a safe and just Netherlands.”
The next talk show will take place during Dutch Design Week, on 23 October, a wonderful opportunity to continue the conversation.
