Posts tagged Learning
Discovering what matters to communities when researching mental health
Discovering what matters to communities when researching mental health

This Mental Health Awareness Week we’re exploring our role as researchers and designers in projects that centre mental health and wellbeing for young people.  We are particularly curious about how we establish the right conditions for exploring these issues with our partners in the work – and how we can best share our lessons with others.

In this blog, we focus on three areas that have become especially important to us at Dartington:

  • the beginning of the projects and our own standpoint as we begin,

  • the process of establishing strong relationships that can hold complexity and trust, and

  • the sustainability and impact of our shared work on mental health. 

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News, ReflectionBLOGequity, Learning, mental health, research, Design, Catherine-rose, alice, Rachel Lily, Alice Hewson
One year on – sharing learning from our anti-racism work
One year on – sharing learning from our anti-racism work

In the summer of 2021, Dartington Service Design Lab published a position paper: ‘Embedding an anti-racist approach in research and design’. This included our initial assessment of some of the ways in which racism manifests in research and design and a summary of some actions and commitments that we, organisationally, undertook.

One of these commitments was to share reflections and learning on this journey, and progress against actions. This blog is one such way of doing this.

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NewsBLOGAnti-racism, equity, diversity, inclusion, Learning, Anti-racist approach
Using an Appreciative Inquiry Framework: Bridging ‘what is’ to ‘what could be’
Using an Appreciative Inquiry Framework: Bridging ‘what is’ to ‘what could be’

Comic Relief’s Rise and Shine programme funds organisations supporting early childhood development for vulnerable families in the UK and globally. Earlier this year, grantees came together for a day of reflection and learning, facilitated by Dartington Service Design Lab, the Learning Partners for the fund.

The goal of the learning event was to create a space where UK Rise and Shine grantees could reflect on what they’ve learnt to date, to inform their planning for the future as the funding programme nears its conclusion.

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News, ReflectionBLOGEvidence, research, Associates, Comic Relief, Rise and Shine, Parents, families, evaluation, Design, SarahFrost, DawnHart, AppreciativeInquiry, Reflection, Learning, Learning Partners
The mirror, the mentor and the midwife: What makes a good Learning Partner?
The mirror, the mentor and the midwife: What makes a good Learning Partner?

As we’ve explored and reflected on Learning Partner contracts, we’ve identified three roles that a Learning Partner takes; The mirror, the mentor and the midwife. Each role blends the “learning for” and “learning with” elements that we described previously, and in our experience, Learning Partners need to be confident shifting between the three as learning needs and capacity changes.

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ReflectionBLOGCollaboration, Service Design, Learning, Learning Partners, evaluation, services, funders, funding, impact, Keira
Getting Learning Partnerships right – the building blocks
Getting Learning Partnerships right – the building blocks

In our last blog, we looked at the motivations behind Learning Partnerships. In this one we examine some of the conditions we think are necessary for success – building on our experience, and that of our partners at Renaisi, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. In particular, we look at taking time to set the project up, develop consensus about aims and being explicit about creating the conditions for learning to happen and be acted upon.

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ReflectionBLOGCollaboration, Service Design, Learning, Learning Partners, evaluation, services, funders, funding, impact, Keira
The importance of nature for mental health
The importance of nature for mental health

Nature is an important and well-evidenced mechanism for supporting mental health for both children and for adults (WHO, 2014). We’ve explored this in our work on potential interventions for enhancing the mental health and wellbeing of children and young adults in the Midlothian area of Scotland.

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ReflectionBLOGService Design, Learning, Nature, mental health, children, families, wellbeing, emotional wellbeing, environment, Maxwell
The unstoppable rise of the Learning Partner
The unstoppable rise of the Learning Partner

It’s perhaps unsurprising that we have been drawn to the concept of the Learning Partner and all the term suggests; that is, working with organisations to enable learning and improvement, and doing so collaboratively. Having carried out several roles badged in this way, we wanted to reflect, as a team and with peers, on what the role can look like, what skills it requires, and what it can contribute to organisations, and to the sector more broadly.

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ReflectionBLOGCollaboration, Service Design, Learning, Learning Partners, evaluation, services, funders, funding, impact, Keira
Catalyst Collaborative: embedding learning into digital transformation at scale
Catalyst Collaborative: embedding learning into digital transformation at scale

The COVID-19 emergency is demanding radical changes in how public systems, communities and civil society organisations support those in need across the UK. Funders, Government and Civil Society are rallying in support. With so much activity taking place at an unprecedented pace, it is imperative we learn from elsewhere and each other. We’ll be working with the Collaborative to bring learning from the outside in, and learning from the inside, out. Here we provide a brief overview of how we expect this will look and evolve.

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Reflection, PublicationsBLOGTim, Collaboration, Catalyst, Learning, Digital