WICKED PROBLEM SOLVING
How can we solve the deeply political and social issues that exist in cities and elsewhere, and realize systemic change? I am driven towards wicked problems such as these, and I believe I can make a difference. Wicked problems that cannot be solved with existing approaches. Ma.ak020 gives me the opportunity to design new ways to resolve them.
About Ma.ak020
Ma.ak020 is a social initiative in Amsterdam that aims to make the city more just, social, and equal. It consists of a growing network of bottom-up initiatives and city makers. Their main challenge is to overcome the divide between two domains: 'the system-world' of city officials, and the 'living-world' of inhabitants and all other people in the city. In 2019, Ma.ak020 realized the 1st social agreement for Amsterdam, in co-creation with city officials. Since then Ma.ak020 drives initiatives to realize what’s written in that social agreement.
A collaborative systems oriented design tool
Wicked problems cannot be solved with existing approaches. So then: How? What are the new ways? And how do we change current behavior? Together with an Urban Management professional I developed a tool and methodology called Ma.akbanken. All the knowledge I’ve built up about creative problem solving, collaboration, design for complexity and systems oriented design comes together here.
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The Ma.akbanken tool aims to:​
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address the large differences in belief systems that people have,
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build trust and new alliances between people,
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map the deeply rooted problems and invisible systems that prevent current solutions from having impact,
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frame the wicked problem in new ways,
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create shared ownership of the wicked problem,
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result in innovative system interventions,
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and achieve systems-level change.
Ma.akbanken
Ma.akbanken are now happening in Amsterdam. There was one about where to place wind-turbines within city limits, and one about poverty among employed citizens. The early results are promising and more Ma.akbanken are on the way. I am involved whenever I can, bringing my expertise and skills. There are many others involved as well. Together we learn how to make Ma.akbanken successful, and how we can get better at solving wicked problem. This is collaborative learning.
