Northumbrian Water Innovation Festival sprint facilitation
How I helped lead a design sprint at the Northumbrian Water Innovation Festival, sponsored by Net Zero North East.
With exceptional support from collaborators Jess Cook who played a key role in organising the event, we facilitated a series of workshops that led to the creation of a carbon and social value marketplace.
The project is now being developed further, and the sprint was a great success in bringing participants together to tackle sustainability challenges.
“Jamie was absolutely amazing to work with over the course of our 4-day design sprint.
He is so knowledgeable and well connected in the sustainability space, and he was able to quickly adapt as the sprint developed, ensuring we worked towards the best possible outcome. An absolute pleasure!”
— Jess Cook, Net Zero North East
Starting line: Setting the challenge
I was asked by a colleague at Innovation Super Network to be the lead facilitator for a design sprint at the Northumbrian Water Innovation Festival. Typically, Innovation Festival design sprints take place over a 4 day period, and this time round was no different.
The sprint, sponsored by Net Zero North East (part of the North East Combined Authority), focused on exploring how carbon offsets could deliver positive social and environmental change in the northeast region.
Given my interest in sustainability and social impact, I was excited to take on the challenge, working alongside Jess Cook from Net Zero North East, and members of the Northumbrian Water Sustainability team. We all played a crucial role in developing the sprint.
Sprint strategy: Defining roles and goals
As the lead facilitator, my task was to ensure the sprint ran smoothly, meeting the goals of both Northumbrian Water and Net Zero North East. This involved planning and structuring the workshop sessions to engage participants effectively and create a space for open collaboration.
Jess was instrumental in ensuring that the logistical side of the sprint was meticulously planned, from securing high-quality speakers to ensuring the sprint planning was going to focus on the subject area, without being too specific.
Hitting full speed: Collaboration in action
In the lead-up to the event, we worked closely together as a team. While I focused on designing the workshop flow to foster engagement, Jess worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure every element of the sprint was in place.
We created a number of canvasses that participants would work into, allowing us to capture people’s knowledge, insights and ideas along the way.
During the festival itself, hosted by Newcastle Racecourse, we used helpful tools like headphones and a microphone ball to allow participants to engage fully despite the festival’s lively environment.
Each day, the team of organisers held retrospectives to review the day’s progress and adjust our approach for the following session.
This flexibility helped ensure that the sprint remained dynamic and responsive to the participants' input, while keeping on track with what each organisation wanted to achieve.
Crossing the finish line: Outcomes and next steps
The sprint culminated in the development of a concept for a carbon and social value marketplace, where organisations can offset carbon while delivering social impact aligned with their values.
This idea is now being taken forward by Net Zero North East, and I remain involved in its development. The sprint was a success, everything ran smoothly and participants were fully engaged throughout the week.