Recipes for Systemic Change - Helsinki Design Lab

Subsection117The Final ReviewPresenting the Studio’s outcomes in a review setting givesthe team a chance to receive feedback on their work andgives you, as the host, a way to attract stakeholders who willbe important to any subsequent implementation efforts. It isabout enhancing the robustness of the strategic frameworkand beginning to explore next steps.The ‘final review’ as a format is based on a concept commonto academic design studios. The culmination of thedesign school semester is a final review where students presenttheir projects to a panel of 4-6 professors who offer a critiqueof the work, discussing the highlights as well as openlyidentifying areas of necessary improvement. This discussionis where the ideas of the semester are teased out, comparedand tested and it is where ideas gain their full richness. Inthe case of the Studio Model the team is working as a singleunit, but using the same template of presenting to a panel ofinformed guests, followed by a group discussion.PeopleProcessProblemPlaceReview GuestsMonths before the Studio starts you want to start securinga group of about five guests who have a deep understandingof the big picture, or key parts of it, and are positioned tobecome champions of the work. At Sitra we look at issues on anational level, which means we recruit Studio critics who seethe challenge from a local, national and EU-wide perspective.Having an audience that is both committed to the topic andacutely aware of the nature of the challenge is very importantbecause it positions them to be good critics, and ultimatelygood champions. In general it helps if the review guests areseasoned so that they can respond with experience, yet areopen-minded to having their own wisdom challenged.Start StrongOnce everyone has arrived and settled in, it is time for thehost to give a very brief introduction that orients the gueststowards the Studio and its intended goals. The purpose ofthis is to manage expectations by explaining the nature ofa sketch and its emphasis on getting the relationships right,rather than nailing each of the details with 100% accuracy.Following this introduction, the Studio gives a presentationof 30 minutes or less, typically with the Design Lead inthe role of MC and the other team members making specific