Rosenverse

This video is only accessible to Gold members. Log in or register for a free Gold Trial Account to watch.

Log in Register

Most conference talks are accessible to Gold members, while community videos are generally available to all logged-in members.

Incremental Steps to Drive Radical Innovation in Policy Design
Gold
Friday, November 18, 2022 • Civic Design 2022
Share the love for this talk
Incremental Steps to Drive Radical Innovation in Policy Design
Speakers: Sarah Auslander
Link:

Summary

The complex challenges local government is tasked with addressing are often the result of national government policy or lack of one. One such challenge is the high cost of living. While working within the Tel-Aviv-Yafo Municipality, the team was tasked with reducing the high cost of living in the city. In this presentation Sarah will share a design process that engaged residents but left leadership behind, how the team overcame this obstacle to eventually engage city leadership and drive implementation of a radically innovative policy (one where local government picks up the slack in the national policy).

Key Insights

  • Radical policy change can be achieved through incremental, highly visible pilots that build trust and demonstrate feasibility.

  • Cities often resist taking responsibility over areas dominated by national policies due to fears of long-term liabilities.

  • Engaging private sector stakeholders and residents collaboratively uncovers diverse opportunities and fosters empathy in city management.

  • Digital platforms like Facebook groups can serve as effective direct communication channels between residents and city officials, creating community advocacy.

  • Physical public space adaptations, such as pop-up play areas and toy sheds, enable quick, low-commitment interventions that yield community excitement.

  • Embedding a dedicated staff member within city government strengthens cross-organizational collaboration and sustains initiatives.

  • Addressing early childhood needs requires integrating services across city departments like Parks, Community, Education, and Infrastructure.

  • Despite strong initiatives, broader economic factors like housing affordability remain huge challenges largely shaped by national policy.

  • Multi-channel presence—physical and digital—helps reach a wider demographic and amplify impact, although socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods still face barriers.

  • Small investments spread across multiple city projects can secure general manager support by balancing impact and feasibility.

Notable Quotes

"Incremental change was used to drive a radical shift in policy despite initial resistance."

"The mayor and CEO were concerned that if the city stepped in on early childhood education, they'd own it forever."

"Private educators were surprisingly open to collaborating because they were hungry for change."

"Thousands of parents came with their children to play in the pop-up urban play space downtown."

"Quick pilots are low in commitment, highly visible, and get everyone excited while figuring out funding later."

"Having a dedicated staff member created a point of contact for all things early childhood in the city government."

"Digitaf changed the way parents experience early childhood by connecting them to affordable municipal services."

"A Facebook group became a primary communication channel where parents post both praise and complaints."

"Cross-departmental cooperation helped redesign playgrounds with features that support early brain development."

"Small, tactical projects helped us secure political will and organizational capacity needed for systemic policy change."

Ask the Rosenbot
Smitha Papolu
Theme 3 Discussion
2019 • Enterprise Experience 2019
Gold
Raven Veal
Dark Metrics: Illuminating the Negative Impact of Digital Health Design
2021 • Advancing Research 2021
Gold
Cennydd Bowles
Exit Interview #2: Rediscovering the ethical heart of design
2025 • Rosenfeld Community
Nidhi Singh Rathore
Embracing participation to unlock deeper truths in commercial research
2025 • Advancing Research 2025
Gold
Vanessa Varin
Feedback: The Other F-Word
2025 • DesignOps Summit 2025
Gold
Fatimah Richmond
The Future of ReOps as a Strategic Function: A Roadmap for Getting There
2024 • Advancing Research 2024
Gold
Sam Proulx
Prototype Reviews, People With Disabilities, and You
2021 • DesignOps Summit 2021
Gold
John Calhoun
Two Sides of the DesignOps Coin: Teams Ops and Product Ops
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2020
Gold
Cornelius Rachieru
Handling Complexity: Framing a Scale of Design
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold
Jonathon Colman
How to Maximize the Impact of Content Design
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2020
Gold
Jules Monza
Use These Words and Count These Things
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2024
Gold
Bria Alexander
Opening Remarks
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold
Marc Rettig
Discussion
2015 • Enterprise UX 2015
Gold
Billy Carlson
Tips to Utilize Wireframes to Tell an Effective Product Story
2023 • Enterprise UX 2023
Gold
Joshua Noble
Casual Inference
2023 • QuantQual Interest Group
Luke Roberts
Panel Discussion
2024 • Advancing Service Design 2024
Gold

More Videos

Doug Powell

"The user experience will allow us to win."

Doug Powell

Closing Keynote: Design at Scale

November 8, 2018

Mila Kuznetsova

"Sometimes with kids, you just have to get artifactual data or creative outputs because they can’t always articulate."

Mila Kuznetsova Lucy Denton

How Lessons Learned from Our Youngest Users Can Help Us Evolve our Practices

March 9, 2022

Sarah Gallimore

"Artifacts of the future help us envision and grasp the change that we’re hoping to have—it’s not just bullet points or vision statements."

Sarah Gallimore

Inspire Progress with Artifacts from the Future

November 18, 2022

Lada Gorlenko

"Field usability testing showed stakeholders immediately how much value UX can add by catching issues before deployment."

Lada Gorlenko Sharbani Dhar Sébastien Malo Rob Mitzel Ivana Ng Michal Anne Rogondino

Theme 1: Discussion

January 8, 2024

Alnie Figueroa

"Nobody can predict where we’re going, but we can choose to shape the future."

Alnie Figueroa

The Future of Design Operations: Transforming Our Craft

September 10, 2025

Landon Barnes

"Research is not as easy as putting on a shoe and just doing it; it requires careful consideration and alignment with imperatives."

Landon Barnes

Are My Research Findings Actually Meaningful?

March 10, 2022

Emily Eagle

"When you’re talking, it’s easier to learn something new, but if you’re shy and don’t talk, you don’t learn anything."

Emily Eagle

Can't Rewind: Radio and Retail

June 3, 2019

Malini Rao

"Keep a pulse on your team morale because re-platforming journeys can either enrich or burn out your people."

Malini Rao

Lessons Learned from a 4-year Product Re-platforming Journey

June 9, 2021

Asia Hoe

"Collaborate and involve design early and often to better align on user goals and reduce friction."

Asia Hoe

Partnering with Product: A Journey from Junior to Senior Design

November 29, 2023