The document provides an overview of Policy Lab, which brings new approaches like data science and user-centered design to government policymaking. It summarizes the key activities of Policy Lab, including: 1) Working with policy teams on projects to identify user insights, new ideas, and opportunities to test policies. 2) Providing different levels of support ranging from short workshops ("Lab Light") to longer term projects. 3) Having completed several projects so far to test innovative techniques, with over 1,200 civil servants gaining new skills as a result.

1. A detailed guide
to commissioning
Policy Lab
Summer 2015

2. About Policy Lab
1
2
3
4
5
Working with Policy Lab
Projects to date
Policy Lab support
Summary
Background to Policy Lab

3. We bring new approaches and tools
to government policy-making; from
data science to user-centred
design.
Policy Lab

5. Policy Lab
What is Policy Lab?
The Policy Lab is funded by
departments for departments.
We are a small team, supported
by departmental secondees and
external experts.
We work with policy-makers to
help them put policy ideas through
their paces, bringing open policy
making approaches to life on real
projects.

6. What we do in Lab
We create a neutral space for
policy-makers to collaborate
across departments and engage
with the public and external
experts in key policy areas.
We do this through a rigorous,
collaborative process using a
range of innovative tools and
techniques from data science to
design.
Policy Lab

7. Practical delivery
The Lab provides a practical space
where policy teams are supported to
identify:
- Insights into the needs of
service users
- Ideas, innovation and
transformational change
- Knowledge and expert opinion
to inform policy development
- Opportunities to enhance the
deliverability of policies through
testing and prototyping
- Efficiencies and cost savings.
Policy Lab

8. Working
with Lab

9. Working with
Lab
How to get started?
We offer a quick overview of
Policy Lab and an opportunity to
work up a project idea in an
introductory workshop for policy
teams who may be interested in
running a lab project.

10. Working with Lab
Commissioning Lab
Our projects come from all parts of
government.
We are always open to enquiries
for new projects. We offer a quick
overview of Policy Lab and an
opportunity to work up a project
idea in an introductory workshop
for policy teams who may be
interested in running a lab project.
For more information contact
Beatrice.andrews@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

11. What we do
Our support is best suited to
tackling intractable, complex,
systemic policy problems that
require fresh thinking that can
lead to potentially transformative
solutions.
To date we have worked with a
range of policy teams who are
interested in developing new skills
and trying out innovative policy
tools.
Working with Lab

12. Capacit
y
New
Skills
Knowledge
& Tools
Capabil
ity
New
Solutions
Compete
nce
Inspiring
Projects
Improved
Performance
Innovative
Policy
New
Thinking
Working with Lab
Open policy in action
The Lab provides fresh
thinking, practical support and
an R&D testing ground for
policy innovation across
government.
We draw extensively on the
experience of other innovation
labs around the world, as part
of the global lab network.
Our innovative practices are
described in the open policy
making toolkit and blog.

13. The Lab offer
What How Impact to date
1. Lab delivers new
policy solutions
Lab policy projects Six projects in year one,
demonstrating the value
of new techniques such
as ethnography and
rapid prototyping.
2. Lab fosters skills
and knowledge
‘Lab Light’ sessions, Policy
Sprints, Policy Schools,
learning and development
training courses.
Over 1,200 Civil
Servants have gained
practical open policy
skills.
3. Lab inspires new
thinking
Talks, workshops,
newsletters, blogs, short
films.
Over 5,000 policy-
makers have seen Policy
Lab material and blogs.
Working with Lab

14. Working with Lab
Project team and associates
The Lab brings together experts
from inside and outside
government to support projects.
We work with service designers,
ethnographers, data scientists and
subject specialists on our projects.
We can provide a neutral platform
for collaboration with citizens, staff
and key stakeholders.

15. Lab
projects

16. World class policy practice
To date we have worked on a
range of cross-departmental
policies from employment support
to mediation of divorce.
We seek to deliver better policy
outcomes at lower cost.
Lab projects
to date

17. Lab projects
to date
Previous projects
Policing in a digital age
with the Home Office & Surrey &
Sussex Police
Family Mediation
with the Ministry of Justice
National Insurance Numbers
with HMRC & DWP
Employment Support Allowance
with DWP / DH
Free places for 2 Year olds
with DfE

18. Policy Lab
project support

19. What kind of
Support?
Lab projects
Lab sprints
Short commissioned facilitation to
help teams accelerate projects.
Lab projects
Commissioned policy projects up
to a year long on complex
challenges

20. Diagnose Discover Develop & Deliver
Lab light Full project
Establish scope & Generate insights
Identify knowledge
Develop, test and refine shared
ideas and proposals
Policy Lab Team with Policy Lead
Policy
Lead
Policy Lab full project process 2015
ExternalInternal

21. Lab project
support
Lab Sprints
Lab Sprints provide wrap-
around support for teams over a
short intensive period of time to
accelerate a new or existing
policy project.
Through a series of guided
sessions the Lab provides expert
facilitation, tools and guidance to
enable teams to collaborate, open
up their policy area and explore
and prioritise a range of
opportunities.

22. Lab project
support
Lab Sprints
Lab Sprints can include a range
of tools and techniques such as:
- Building a shared vision
- Clarifying early objectives
- Identifying user-perspectives
- Bringing expert or specialist
views
- Re-framing problems
- Unblocking challenges
- Road-mapping futures.

23. Optional additional units
Policy Lab Team with Policy Lead
Lab Intro Hopes &
fears
Personas /
pen
portraits
1-3 hours
Rapid
Ideas
generation
Asset
mapping
As Required
Lab sprint process 2015
PrototypingChallenge
Setting
Opportunity
mapping
Journey
mapping
Research
Review
Lab introduction
Lab sprint
Road-
mapping
Session
write up
Pitches /
critique
As Required As Required
Evaluate
3 hours – 3 days

24. Lab project
support
Lab full projects
Lab projects provide bespoke
support for teams for up to a
year to enable policy-teams to
work in new ways. Teams build
new skills through a live project
from strategy to delivery.
Working with a Policy Lab senior
policy advisor, teams get one to
one support and mentoring to
develop policies using world-class
techniques.

25. Lab project
support
Lab full projects
Each project is different and may
include:
- An introduction to Lab
- A project sprint to help frame
the project
- Commissioned external support
- Developing user-insights
through ethnographically
informed research
- Ideas generation
- Testing and trialing options in
action
- Measuring the impact and
sharing best practice.

26. Engage with sponsor
Commission experts
Citizen insight
Establish governance
ExternalInternal
Options appraisal
Test and evaluate
Policy Lab Team with Policy Lead
Policy
Lead
Lab
Intro
Outline
proposal
Prototyping Implement
3-6 weeks
Ethnography and
expert input
Evaluate
Advisory
group
Expert
group
Project
group 4-8 weeks
Identify scope Generate insights Develop shared ideas and proposals
Policy Lab full project process 2015
Lab
Sprint
As
Required
As
Required
Lab
Report
Co-lab
Session

27. Lab light
support

29. Lab light
Lab taster sessions
These short sessions provide
introductions to using Lab tools
and techniques. We can tailor
them to suit so can be included in
Policy Schools, departmental
training and away days.
What kind of
Support?

30. Lab light
Lab taster sessions
The tools are also described in
the open policy toolkit including:
- Hopes and fears
- Challenge setting
- User journey mapping
- Personas
- Generating ideas
- Prototyping
- Service blueprinting
What kind of
Support?

31. Lab light
Lab experiments
Through our experiments we
have developed a number of
policy ‘firsts’ for government.
Departments can set a
challenge or join us to try our
new ways of working through
one off trials of new and
emergent techniques.
What kind of
Support?

32. Diagnose Discover Develop & Deliver
Lab light Full project
Establish scope & Generate insights
Identify knowledge and ideas
Develop, test and refine
ideas and proposals
Optional additional units
Policy Lab Methodbank
Lab Intro
Hopes &
fears cards
Personas /
pen portraits
Rapid Ideas
generation
Asset
mapping
Lab tools and
templates
Rapid
Prototyping
/ minimal
viable
product
Challenge
setting
Opportunity
mapping
Customer
Journey
mapping
Research
Review
Road-
mapping
Review /
pitches /
critique
Ideation &
co-design
Policy
Canvas
Discovery
cards
Change
cards
Setting
scope
Design
sketch
sheets
Ethno-
graphy
Options
review
pages
Service or
systems
blueprint
Speculative
design
Road-
mapping
template
Service
blueprint
Persona
template
User-
journey
maps
72 3
5
8 11 12 131
9
Feedback
Pages
6
Policy on a
page
template
10
Challenge
setting
cards
4

34. Background
to Policy Lab

35. About Lab
We support departments across the
UK from our base at the Cabinet
Office’s Government Innovation
Group.
The Lab offers a ‘pop up’ lab
experience to departments wishing to
build capabilities in-house.
Policy Lab team:
Paul Maltby, Dr Andrea Siodmok,
Beatrice Andrews and Cat Drew.
AHRC Research Fellow, Dr Lucy
Kimbell.
What is policy
Lab?

36. Policy Lab
Result
In our first year we worked with
over 1,200 civil servants on
practical projects and workshops.
As a result of collaboration and
new insights our policy projects
deliver better outcomes at lower
cost.
To date our projects are estimated
to create over £3m in savings if
implemented at scale.

37. Work to date:
Demonstration projects: Home Office & Surrey and Sussex Police; Ministry
of Justice; HMRC & DWP; Department of Health & DWP; Policy Profession
Support Unit; Department for Education. Lab sprint projects: Deputy Prime
Minister’s Office, Cabinet Office Horizons Scanning team, GO Science, DWP,
Civil Service Learning and Departmental Policy Schools. Design industry
experts: Uscreates, Innovation Unit, Live-work, Studio InTo, Nonon,
RedFront, Made Open and Public i. Events: Civil Service Live, Institute for
Government.
Advisors, friends and partners: MindLab, GDS, Design Council, Nesta, the
RSA and All Party Parliamentary Group on Design and Innovation.
With thanks to
Lab partners, friends
and industry experts
[Summer 2015]

38. Policy Lab UK
Read more openpolicy.blog.gov.uk
Or follow us on twitter
@PolicyLabUK
Or contact
beatrice.andrews@cabinetoffice.gov.uk