A “Housing Solutions Lab” brings together stakeholders in a variety of sectors to grapple with sticky problems related to housing challenges and test potential solutions for scaling.
Current Housing Labs:
- Understanding Hidden Homelessness in Saskatoon (started Oct 2022) with the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights
- Shelter in the Storm: Pathways to Generationally-Secure Housing in Southern NB (started June 2022) with OStrategies and team
Completed Housing Labs:
- Family Homelessness Lab: (completed 2021) How might we reduce family homelessness using neighbourhood-based approaches?
- Housing Through an Autism Lens: From crisis to solutions (completed 2021)
- From Prison to Homelessness: Ending a Perilous Trajectory (completed 2021) – with the John Howard Society and others
- Community Data Lab: Community Decision Support Tools for Housing Issues (completed 2022) – with the Canadian Community Economic Development Network
Our team co-designs and facilitates both macro and micro Housing Labs along with client organizations, and use a variety of tools and methods to deliver results.
The National Housing Strategy provides a unique opportunity to bring together the public, private and non-profit sectors to ensure that Canadians have access to affordable housing. The Lab process allows participants to see the housing system from different perspectives, identify key issues and barriers preventing innovation, and jointly prioritize and implement actions. The Lansdowne Consulting Group works directly with groups, organizations, and all levels of government on issues affecting citizens’ well-being.
We apply Labs as a way of organizing people and efforts to create a safe environment and test ideas from lived and shared experience. We have worked on affordable housing issues with builders, policymakers and service delivery organizations through initiatives from the GTA Housing Action Lab to the federal Actions for Housing Now, and Ottawa’s A Way Home initiative.
We have worked with persons who:
- cannot find adequate housing;
- face social and economic barriers;
- struggle to make ends meet financially;
- are integrating or reintegrating into the local community;
- are first responders or deliver security services;
- are developers or builders;
- are public servants who design government policy and programs;
- implement or deliver programs or services.
We offer unique capabilities to engage large numbers of individuals, organizations, and governments on complex issues. Our team includes:
- experienced and energized facilitators who work at the community, institutional and policy level on design, prototyping and implementation of a large number of initiatives;
- subject matter experts in sustainable development, data analysis, gamification, innovation, evaluation, housing security, and Inuit issues;
- internationally recognized researchers;
- experience working extensively with all three levels of government;
- connections to an extensive network of government and not-for-profit organizations involved in housing.
We apply a rigorous project management and risk discipline approach to all initiatives. We have a strong direct experience in both housing and related fields, including skills and training, integration, addictions, conflict with the law, domestic violence, exclusion and minority cultures, security and risk assessment, and science-based sustainability analysis.
We engage people directly to bring ideas to the open innovation processes that Labs promote. Our approach is to ensure that all elements of the system get involved and promote co-created solutions that build on what works.
The purpose of a Lab is to create the space where ideas are nourished as small “safe to fail” experiments that can be scaled into solutions.
We are recognized for our ability to engage large numbers of through distributed and citizen ethnography. We use state of the art narrative software to analyze information. This serves as input to the Lab’s design phase and allows to evaluate Lab outputs throughout the project.
Toolkits – Tools and Methods
Our consortium uses a variety of tools and methods to design and deliver Labs in a way that meets client needs. Our strength is creating Labs and Lab processes that fit the needs of those involved. Below are a few examples:
Understanding the issues:
- Structured and unstructured data analysis;
- Sensemaking Approach to Narrative Research: Distributed ethnography for large scale capture of local experience relevant to subjects of interest;
- Social network mapping using data visualization (Kumu);
- First Principles Thinking Canvas
Ideation and Design:
- Collaborative Transformation, World Café, StrategicPlay® using LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®, Appreciative Inquiry, Unconferences using Transformation Architecture (large group method – +500 participants), Design Thinking, Business Model Canvas, Value Proposition Canvas
Prototyping:
- 3D Modeling using LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®, Design Thinking, Graphic Facilitation, Safe to Fail approach, Rapid prototyping methods
Scaling:
- Evaluation (developmental, formative, summative, collective impact, others); the science-based Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD); e-Engagement and Online Consultations using Survey Monkey, PowerNoodle; Gamification
Other management processes:
- International Association of Facilitators certified; Project Management Institute and Prince2 certified Project Managers, Certified Risk Management Professionals
More questions? Contact us!