Designing FF 2020 Innovations
There are three elements in the design process: (1) inspiration—the need or opportunity that motivates the search for solutions; (2) ideation—the process of generating, developing, and testing ideas; and (3) implementation—the path that leads from the project stage into people’s lives.
Select the most important life issues and spiritual/religious needs of individuals, age groups, families, generations in each scenario that you want to target for the development of new initiatives in faith formation. You can target one or two scenarios that need the most attention. Use the following process a guide for designing each new initiative. Repeat this process for each priority need that you have selected.
Select the most important life issues and spiritual/religious needs of individuals, age groups, families, generations in each scenario that you want to target for the development of new initiatives in faith formation. You can target one or two scenarios that need the most attention. Use the following process a guide for designing each new initiative. Repeat this process for each priority need that you have selected.
Step 1. Select an area for innovation in parish culture and vitality or a target group with a particular and their spiritual/religious needs. What did you learning from your interpretation of the religious and spiritual needs of people today using the four scenarios of Faith Formation 2020?
Step 2. Consult strategies and innovations that are already addressing your need. Consult the 16 Faith Formation 2020 Strategies (in the book or online at: faithformation2020.net). Conduct you own research: What is already being done in this area? Are there churches and synagogues that you can learn from? Are their nonprofit or for profit organizations that you can learn from?
Step 3. Generate ideas for innovative programs, activities, and/or strategies: Defer judgment. Encourage wild ideas. Build on the ideas of others. Stay focused on topic. One conversation at a time. Go for quantity.
Step 4. Evaluate the ideas: Evaluate your ideas and select one or more programs, activities, and/or strategies for the target audience.
Step 5. Design an implementation plan. Describe, in detail, each of your new initiatives (strategy, program, activity, or resource). Develop a plan for each initiative by developing the actions that you will need to take to move from idea to implementation.
Step 6. Implement the initiative through small scale prototyping. Consider a version 1.0 pilot effort (prototyping) of the program, activity, strategy or resource with a small group of your target audience before scaling-up the initiative to reach a wider audience. Through prototyping, you can test the initiative and the implementation plan, get feedback from your target audience, improve the initiative, and then develop plans to reach a wide audience. How you can conduct a small scale pilot effort of your innovation?
Step 7. Implement the initiative with a wider audience and continue evaluation and improvements. After making adjustments based on the pilot, develop version 2.0 and implement the plan with wider audience. Continue to improve the initiative. Communicate the stories and examples of the benefits and blessings that are coming to individuals, groups, families and to your whole church community. Continue to reach new audiences.
Step 2. Consult strategies and innovations that are already addressing your need. Consult the 16 Faith Formation 2020 Strategies (in the book or online at: faithformation2020.net). Conduct you own research: What is already being done in this area? Are there churches and synagogues that you can learn from? Are their nonprofit or for profit organizations that you can learn from?
Step 3. Generate ideas for innovative programs, activities, and/or strategies: Defer judgment. Encourage wild ideas. Build on the ideas of others. Stay focused on topic. One conversation at a time. Go for quantity.
Step 4. Evaluate the ideas: Evaluate your ideas and select one or more programs, activities, and/or strategies for the target audience.
Step 5. Design an implementation plan. Describe, in detail, each of your new initiatives (strategy, program, activity, or resource). Develop a plan for each initiative by developing the actions that you will need to take to move from idea to implementation.
- What are the dates and times?
- What is the location: physical/facility and/or online/website?
- What are the implementation steps and target dates (timeline) for completing each step.
- What resources will you need to implement the initiative.
- How much will the initiative cost?
- How many leaders will you need to implement the initiative, how you will find them, and how you will prepare them?
Step 6. Implement the initiative through small scale prototyping. Consider a version 1.0 pilot effort (prototyping) of the program, activity, strategy or resource with a small group of your target audience before scaling-up the initiative to reach a wider audience. Through prototyping, you can test the initiative and the implementation plan, get feedback from your target audience, improve the initiative, and then develop plans to reach a wide audience. How you can conduct a small scale pilot effort of your innovation?
Step 7. Implement the initiative with a wider audience and continue evaluation and improvements. After making adjustments based on the pilot, develop version 2.0 and implement the plan with wider audience. Continue to improve the initiative. Communicate the stories and examples of the benefits and blessings that are coming to individuals, groups, families and to your whole church community. Continue to reach new audiences.
Download the Design Process and Worksheets.
| ff_2020_design_process.docx |
| ff_2020_design_process.pdf |