I’m lucky enough to be out in sunny Amsterdam on a study visit with the Disruptive Innovators Network (DIN) who work to open our eyes to new possibilities - and get organisations to look at innovation happening outside our sector or country. It is being hosted by CorpoNet (the Dutch equivalent of DIN) to showcase the very best in innovation in the Netherlands.
Today’s session took place at Fashion for Good Museum (FFG) . This is an initiative set up to tackle one of the most wasteful and sometimes exploitative industries in the world. Like technology, we buy and dispose of clothing at an alarming rate. It was set up to encourage the transition to a safe then circular fashion industry. FFG seek to advance a beneficial fashion system based on the Cradle to Cradle Circular Economy and the Five Goods framework: Good Materials, Good Economy, Good Energy, Good Water and Good Lives. The Five Goods represent an aspirational framework that goes beyond ‘take, make, waste’ and instead focuses on ‘take, make, remake.’
In fact, one of the themes that came out of the day for me was how much of what our organisations do is simply waste. Wasted colleague time, wasted process, wasted materials, wasted customer time. I won’t name the delegate who put it at 30% but I wouldn’t bet against them.
Some highlights:
Could a 35,000 home housing association go key less - and get customers to check in with their phones like you can in some hotels? Could they never have to do another lock change? Entrepreneur Warner Thijssen (Lieven de Key), and HA leader René Stamer (Guest Compass) the manager of their 2000 student accommodations thought they could and students were the ideal people to experiment with.
Bear in mind I’m dumbing down the story here of what is six years of continuous testing and iteration. Initially it didn’t work. The technology worked out about 2000 euros per property once you factor in number of locks. Over two years they got the cost down to 700 euros and now down to 350 euros. Problem is , it relies on a very tech savvy audience such as getting students to register their phones. But , by the end of next year they will completely keyless and will begin to look at other customer demographics they can roll it out to. So, yes the future could be completely keyless and lock changes will be done at the touch of a button - just not quite yet.
How many organisations with this level of commitment to a vision? I’ll tell you - hardly any. Traditional transformation programmes are a busted flush: the future unfolds one step at a time and is best approached through a relentless focus on experimentation, implementation and iteration.
What does a truly digital housing community look like?
For me the fascinating talk of the day came from Phil van Gorp, Area of People on the concept of micro villages which is very much in tune with our Bromford coaching vision. Instead of seeing the homes as the asset the community itself is seen as the unit of change to be built around.
“You build a community by getting the community to help build it”.
Every building or area has its own app to facilitate bookings , communication and connecting with each other and service partners.
Get this: the old community model was organise nice things for residents. Communities were ‘done to’. The new model is where residents can find and help each other. Where intrinsic motivation exists and the place functions on the basis of self organisation. Some good case studies are here https://www.areaofpeople.com/cases-ontwikkelaars
Biggest take away from Day One for me is that it’s clear that the Dutch sector seem to have a level of trust in community and the tenant that sometimes appears absent in the UK.
But what is the true cost of this lack of trust? Is it the 30% waste? And why are incumbent organisations still unwilling to harness disruptive technologies?
Let’s see what Day Two brings…