The Challenge
Kent County Council needed to become more innovative to meet more complex challenges and higher expectations from residents.
Engine Service Design helped them create the Social Innovation Lab for Kent, which is now recognised as an early and leading example of people-centred policy-making and local public service development, winning awards and featuring in several publications.
The Outcome
The Social Innovation Lab Kent (SILK) is a small team within Kent County Council, established to 'do policy differently.' Their early projects led to the development of a human-centred methodology and toolkit that draws on tools from social science, community development, business, and design.
By working in a participatory manner across sectors and disciplines, the SILK approach addresses seemingly intractable and complex problems, making it applicable to strategy, service design, and sustainable community projects.
Over the years, they have worked within subject areas such as families, housing, reducing re-offending, young people, dementia, and migration.