A Policy Lab UK method bank and toolkit in pictures. The Lab has been testing new tools and techniques for policymaking in the UK government - from user centred design to datascience and here is a selection from some of our work to date.

1. Policy Lab
method bank
and toolkit
Summer
2015

2. Diagnose Discover Develop & Deliver
Lab light Full project
Establish scope & Generate insights
Identify knowledge
Develop, test and refine shared
ideas and proposals
Policy Lab Team with Policy Lead
Policy
Lead
Policy Lab full project process 2015
ExternalInternal

3. Diagnose Discover Develop & Deliver
Lab light Full project
Establish scope & Generate insights
Identify knowledge and ideas
Develop, test and refine
ideas and proposals
Optional additional units
Policy Lab Methodbank
Lab Intro
Hopes &
fears cards
Personas /
pen portraits
Rapid Ideas
generation
Asset
mapping
Lab
templates
Rapid
Prototyping
/ minimal
viable
product
Challenge
setting
Opportunity
mapping
Customer
Journey
mapping
Research
Review /
Evidence
Safari
Road-
mapping
Review /
pitches /
critique
Ideation &
co-design
Policy
Canvas
Discovery
cards
Change
cards
Setting
scope
Design
sketch
sheets
Ethno-
graphy
Options
review
pages
Service or
systems
blueprint
Speculative
design
Road-
mapping
template
Service
blueprint
Persona
template
User-
journey
maps
72 3
5
8 10 11 121
9
Feedback
Pages
6
Ideation
template
13
Challenge
setting
cards
4
Paper
prototype
templates
14

4. Policy Lab tools
and techniques

5. Visioning
workshops
help teams
build a
shared view
of the policy
area
Tools & Techniques
Diagnose: Setting scope

6. ‘Hopes and
Fears’ cards help
teams develop a
shared vision
Tools & Techniques
Diagnose: Sharing vision

7. ‘Challenge setting’
pages are used to build a
shared understanding of
a problem
Tools & Techniques
Diagnose: Challenge

8. ‘Change cards’ These
cards change the scope
of the problem, by
prompting new
perspectives – download
a set here
Tools & Techniques
Diagnose: Challenge

9. ‘Design ethnography’
builds insight by shadowing
users or spending time with
them discussing their lived
experience in real contexts
Tools & Techniques
Discover: User’s experience

10. ‘Personas’ are
used to represent
different end users
Tools & Techniques
Discover: User’s experience

11. ‘Journey mapping’
looks at a service
from a user’s point
of view
Tools & Techniques
Discover: User’s experience

12. ‘Asset Mapping’
Assumes nothing
starts from a blank
page so looks at a
what knowledge,
skills, resources,
intellectual property
already exist and how
they are configured.
Tools & Techniques
Discover: Asset Mapping

13. ‘Policy on a page’
This template
captures a snapshot
of a policy area. It
follows a similar style
to a business model
canvas.
Tools & Techniques
Discover: Policy scope

14. Rapid ideas generation is
a quick fire technique for
teams to co-create new
ideas
Tools & Techniques
Develop: rapid ideas

15. Co-design workshops
enable different people to
come together and share
ideas
Tools & Techniques
Develop: Ideation

16. ‘Touch points’ mark
the physical
interactions with a
service
Tools & Techniques
Develop: Areas for improvement

17. Collaborative
workshops help
teams generate
shared
ownership and
actions
Tools & Techniques
Develop: Priorities

18. Paper
prototyping
Rapidly sketch
out an example
of how a service
might work using
software apps
like POP
Tools & Techniques
Develop: Concepts

19. ‘Table top prototyping’
helps visualise a service to
quickly test assumptions
Tools & Techniques
Develop: Prototypes

20. ‘Speculative design’ helps
visualise a future product and
use this to build a future
scenario. For example a
future newspaper headline,
or an object from the future
can stimulate new thinking.
Tools & Techniques
Develop: Designs

21. Co-design sessions enable
end-users and policy-makers
to come together use their
collective wisdom to develop
options.
Tools & Techniques
Develop: Co-design IMAGE FROM EXPORT JAM

22. Opportunity Mapping, lays
out key concepts and ideas
so that teams can discuss
and prioritise together.
Tools & Techniques
Develop: Opportunities IMAGE FROM DOTT

23. Road mapping helps build a
shared plan of action using
visual assets and milestones
Tools & Techniques
Develop: Roadmapping

24. Service blueprints reveal the
intended service delivery
across different channels e.g.
digital, face to face, print.
Tools & Techniques
Deliver: Blueprints

25. A ‘jam’ is where different
people come together in
small groups, simultaneously
networked around the world
to share insights, generate
new ideas, build concepts
and present them, all in a
limited amount of time. For
example check out this video
from Northern Futures
Other tools & techniques

26. Policy Lab
approach

27. Optional additional units
Policy Lab Team with Policy Lead
Lab Intro Hopes &
fears
Personas /
pen
portraits
1-3 hours
Rapid
Ideas
generation
Asset
mapping
As Required
Lab sprint process 2015
PrototypingChallenge
Setting
Opportunity
mapping
Journey
mapping
Research
Review
Lab introduction
Lab sprint
Road-
mapping
Session
write up
Pitches /
critique
As Required As Required
Evaluate
3 hours – 3 days

28. Engage with sponsor
Commission experts
Citizen insight
Establish governance
ExternalInternal
Options appraisal
Test and evaluate
Policy Lab Team with Policy Lead
Policy
Lead
Lab
Intro
Outline
proposal
Prototyping Implement
3-6 weeks
Ethnography and
expert input
Evaluate
Advisory
group
Expert
group
Project
group 4-8 weeks
Identify scope Generate insights Develop shared ideas and proposals
Policy Lab full project process 2015
Lab
Sprint
As
Required
As
Required
Lab
Report
Co-lab
Session

29. Working with Lab
Commissioning Lab
Our projects come from all parts of
government.
We are always open to enquiries
for new projects. We offer a quick
overview of Policy Lab and an
opportunity to work up a project
idea in an introductory workshop
for policy teams who may be
interested in running a lab project.
For more information contact
Beatrice.Andrews@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

30. Policy Lab UK
Read more openpolicy.blog.gov.uk
Or follow us on twitter
@PolicyLabUK
Or contact
beatrice.andrews@cabinetoffice.gov.uk