The
Intervention
Bureau
Bespoke Learning Experiences for Teams & Organisations
CASE STUDY NO. 1
Spotify — Team Learning Day
Team identity workshop & Experience Design crash course
IN COLLABORATION WITH
Steve Usher & Shani Persson of Wonder
SESSION TYPE
Half-day IRL workshop with a group of 25
YEAR | LOCATION
May 2024 | Stockholm HQ, Sweden
CLIENT
Spotify
KEYWORDS
#TEAMIDENTITY #EMPOWERMENT #EXPERIENCEDESIGN
TOOLS USED
Liberating Structures, Collage, 5-E Experience Design Model, Rapid Prototyping
ABOUT THE PROJECT "What is our role in the band called Spotify?" This team's big question was: How do we change the way other Spotify-ers see us? How might we go from 'backstage crew' to stars on the stage? Teams in transition need intentional time together to reflect on the past, make sense of the present, and co-create their vision for the future. In this half-day workshop, we led a creative reflection session on the topic of team-identity, followed by a mini Experience Design masterclass to empower the team with a new toolkit. At the end, each group presented a rapid prototype of an experience they'd designed which was in line with their 'new role in the band'.
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CASE STUDY NO. 2
Nieuwe Instituut (NADD) —
Team-building & Strategic Vision Workshops
Building trust in a new team & charting a strategic course for the next two years
SESSION TYPE
2 Half-day IRL workshops with a team of 5
YEAR | LOCATION
March 2023 | Rotterdam, NL
CLIENT
Network Archives Design & Digital Culture (NADD),
Nieuwe Instituut Museum
KEYWORDS
#TEAMBUILDING #STRATEGICPLANNING #GOALPRIORITISATION
TOOLS USED
Liberating Structures, Sailboat Canvas, Team Persona, Timeline Roadmap
ABOUT THE PROJECT Sometimes a team just needs a north star to help them define their most important goals and prioritise their activities. This was the case for the small and passionate NADD team, who were grappling with overwork and overwhelm resulting from too many projects. Together, in two half-day workshops, we worked on refining their team's mission, building trust, and aligning on their long-term goals as an organisation. The results of this workshop changed the way the team saw themselves and clarified the activities that would actually bring them closer to their biggest goal - structural cultural funding for a national archive of Dutch Design.
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CASE STUDY NO. 3
Butter Learning Playground — The Belonging Brainstorm
Using playful brainstorming to design team rituals that foster belonging
SESSION TYPE
1-hour online workshop
YEAR | LOCATION
June 2023 | Online
CLIENT
Butter Community
KEYWORDS
#BELONGING #TEAMCULTURE #TEAMRITUALS #EMPLOYEEEXPERIENCEDESIGN
TOOLS USED
Madlibs, 5E Model, Rapid Prototyping
ABOUT THE PROJECT The nature of work is fundamentally changing — for the better! We, humans, expect work to be a life-enriching experience, but many organisations aren’t yet stepping up their game. The need for BELONGING takes the #2 spot of what employees find important at work, even above compensation and a flexible work schedule (McKinsey, 2021). But how do we create a sense of belonging? We have to become better experience designers. In this highly interactive session, as part of the Butter Learning Playground, I lead a curious group through a playful experience design process to create their own Belonging Intervention for a team. Participants reflected on what belonging at work means and left feeling empowered to 're-design the game' of the way their teams foster belonging.
CASE STUDY NO. 4
Architecture Institute Rotterdam (AIR) — Urban Games Team-Building Day
A 'breath of fresh air': Outdoor play day to regenerate the team after a busy period
IN COLLABORATION WITH
Salomé Attias
SESSION TYPE
Half-day IRL workshop with a team of 9
YEAR | LOCATION
July 2024 | Rotterdam, NL
CLIENT
Architecture Institute Rotterdam (AIR)
KEYWORDS
#TEAMBUILDING #PLAY #URBANGAMES #WALKSHOP #REGENERATIVECULTURE #IMMERSIVE
TOOLS USED
Urban Games, Sensory Exercises, Collaborative Poetry
ABOUT THE PROJECT After AIR's busiest season, the team needed a morning to regenerate and reconnect before crafting their vision and strategy for the next year. We led them on an immersive and playful tour around a neighborhood of Rotterdam with the intention of reconnecting to wonder, lightness, and seeing the city through different eyes. The urban games we played were a mix of sensory activities, trust building, team puzzles, (mis)communication games, physical challenges, and collaborative writing. The feedback from the team was that it was exactly what they needed to reconnect to the joy of their work and enter their strategy session with an expansive mindset.
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CASE STUDY NO. 5
Endpoint Clinical — 'Upstream' Workshop Series
A bite-sized learning series based on the book Upstream: How to Solve Problems Before They Happen by Dan Heath
IN COLLABORATION WITH
Diana Ying Liu, The SIX
SESSION TYPE
5 x 1-Hour workshops, monthly
YEAR | LOCATION
March-July 2023 | Online
CLIENT
Endpoint Clinical
KEYWORDS
#SYSTEMSTHINKING #PROACTIVEMINDSET #ROOTCAUSE #PREVENTION #EMPOWERMENT
TOOLS USED
5 Why's, Sphere of Influence, Eisenhower Matrix, Re-Framing, Meeting Design
ABOUT THE PROJECT "When you're tired of saving drowning kids from the river, you need to go upstream to understand how they fell in in the first place." This is the premise of the book Upstream, a call for organisations to think more systemically about their challenges and adopt a practice of seeking out root causes. That was the goal of the Upstream Series - a mindset shift towards a more effective way of understanding and solving problems. In a bite-sized 1-hour session each month, everyone in the organisation was invited to join these workshops to practice Upstream Thinking and learn about inspiring case-studies. I translated the insights and lessons from the book into interactive sessions for large groups and matched each chapter with a practical tool that helped participants incorporate these learnings into their way of working.
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CASE STUDY NO. 6
The Learning Museum — at Next Learning Conference
A reflective journey through the past, present, and future of Learning & Development
IN COLLABORATION WITH
Anamaria Dorgo, Julia Stewart, Sara Guagnini
SESSION TYPE
Interactive conference experience
YEAR | LOCATION
April 2024 | Den Bosch, NL
CONFERENCE
Next Learning
KEYWORDS
#FUTUREOFLEARNING #IMMERSIVEEXPERIENCE
TOOLS USED
Personal Reflection, Provocations, Installations, Collage
ABOUT THE PROJECT Everyone has had enough of stale and boring learning experiences. So we created something very different for the Next Learning L&D Conference. The Learning Museum is an interactive experience where your reflections, questions, and dreams become the exhibition. The museum needs YOU in order to come alive, because everyone in the room has the power to shape the future of learning. You start your journey through the museum by reflecting on the past and present of learning & development. Capture your thoughts on what might be ‘stuck in the past’ and then zoom out to the big questions you have about your role as a learning professional. Then, carry your dreams for the future of L&D into the Imaginarium, where we’ll craft a collective vision for what’s next in the world of learning. The Learning Museum is available as a bespoke experience for organisations who want to do L&D differently.
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CASE STUDY NO. 7
Future Flex — Thesis Essay & Workshop Series
A play-based approach to organisational change in the age of uncertainty. Inspired Theory U & Reinventing Organisations.
IN COLLABORATION WITH
Bruno Setola, Playspace
SESSION TYPE
Series of 12 workshops for a fictional team
YEAR | LOCATION
Spring 2017 | Rotterdam, NL
DEGREE PROGRAM
Lifestyle Design / Social Design / Gamification
KEYWORDS
#TEAMBUILDING #PLAY #LEADERSHIPDEVELOPMENT #EMERGENCE #CHANGE #UNCERTAINTY
TOOLS USED
Group Games, Embodiment, Collective Imagination Exercises
ABOUT THE PROJECT How do you bring change models like Theory U and Reinventing Organisations to life? I explored this question in my graduation work, Future Flex, where I asserted that play was the missing ingredient to put change into action and move away from fear-based organisational cultures. I created a workshop series for a fictional leadership team that would take them through the process of Theory U in an embodied and playful way. In the theoretical essay that accompanied this work, I wove together theory on resilience, improv, and self-organising teams and defined 8 principles for "Future Flex Organisations". This project was my entry point into facilitation and organisational change theory, and has acted as a springboard for all the work that has followed. If you're curious about either the essay or the facilitator's handbook of the workshops, just send me an email.
And a few more...
A selection of other notable learning experiences I've co-designed & facilitated:
👂 Global Lead Days Peer Learning Circle for Rituals ✹ in collaboration with Anamaria Dorgo | Handle with Brain
🤝 Intercultural Awareness Training for Source ✹ in collaboration with Sarah Huang | Bureau Tw!st
🔥 Company-Wide Retrospective & Unconference Campfires for Altruistiq ✹ in collaboration with Nat Pearce | The Future Kind
🧘♀️ Return to Work with Confidence & Calm (empowering working mothers)
✹ in advisory to Alice Darbyshire
🗣 Non-Violent Communication Training for WdKA Art Academy staff ✹ in collaboration with Charlie Groen
🔭 How to Future: Strategic Foresight Course at The Dubai Future Academy ✹ in collaboration with Changeist
🛟 Future of Community Resilience in Disasters project for Nesta ✹ in collaboration with Changeist
👯♀️ Feminist Futures Workshop & Train-the-Trainer for IWDA ✹ in collaboration with Changeist
🚢 Leadership Alignment & Visioning Workshop for Virgin Voyages ✹ in collaboration with Motto & Matt Davies
🔎 People & Culture Design Thinking 6-month program for DSM ✹ in collaboration with Nadia Piet
CONFERENCE APPEARANCES
✹ Next Learning Conference 2024
✹ NeverDoneBefore Festival 2022, 2023 & 2024
✹ Rotterdam Architecture Month 2022 & 2023
✹ Playful Creative Summit 2020
✹ Interactive Futures Darmstadt 2020
