CILLA T. BENJAMIN 4. Findings and Analysis This section commences with a simplified depiction of a major health institution of T&T in Figure 4. The institution is centred around departments. The multi-‐purpose facility is built for flexibility and able to treat with any type of ailment presented since the patient would simply be routed as and where needed. Figure 5 shows the typical path of an undiagnosed diabetes mellitus patient through the system. Figure 4 Simplified depiction of a major local hospital 50
Healthcare Facilities -‐ Inefficient by Design? Wait Wait Tests Dept 1 Return Wait another Day Triage Return Wait Collect Consult Wait another Day Return Results Move another Day Diagnose/ Schedule Wait Wait Treat Tests Return Wait another Day Exit System Pre-‐Tests Move Collect Tests Dept 2 Results Wait Consult Return Wait another Day Figure 5 Analysis of the path of patient with complications related to diabetes mellitus Screen Test Consult Diagnose Test Exit / Treat System Figure 6 Ideal future state reflecting only value adding activities 51
CILLA T. BENJAMIN Analysis of Vital Statistics The Health Status Report Card of 2011 cites the leading causes of deaths in 2006 as being due to chronic, non-‐communicable diseases (CNCDs). Individuals more susceptible to CNCDs include persons who maintain unhealthy lifestyles characterized by poor eating habits, lack of exercise, smoking and excessive consumption of alcohol. According to the report, up to 60% of deaths are attributable to CNCDs. See Table 1 Table 1 Death by Cause in 2006 Cause of Death % CUM Disease of the Heart 24.60 % % Malignant Neoplasms 24.60 13.70 % Diabetes Mellitus % 38.30 Cerebrovascular 13.60 % Disease % 51.90 External Causes 9.00 % % Total Other Causes 60.90 10.60 % % 71.50 28.60 % % 100.1 0% Source: Central Statistical Office, Population and Vital Statistics Figure 7 Average deaths per year in T&T by cause 52
Healthcare Facilities -‐ Inefficient by Design? Figure 8 Top Causes of Mortality Malignant neoplasms (cancer), diabetes mellitus, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, pneumonia and HIV/AIDS were further analyzed using control charts which are able to indicate whether variations in death rate were due to natural or assignable causes. In a production plant, special attention is given in situations where assignable causes are present. Based on a review of the control charts for the diseases resulting in the most deaths annually, from 1995 – 2005 diabetes, cancer and HIV/AIDS were those diseases with ‘out-‐of-‐control’ status. The study therefore chooses to focus attention on these three diseases. More up-‐to date information for deaths over the most recent 10 years should be used to construct the control charts which would lead to a recommendation of which diseases should be isolated for special attention via treatment in linked cells. The charts indicated that for the most recent period available, deaths due to three (3) of these diseases were exhibiting trends that needed urgent attention. These included: Malignant neo-‐plasms (cancers) Diabetes mellitus HIV/AIDS 53
CILLA T. BENJAMIN Normal variation was found in cerebrovascular disease, heart disease and pneumonia. The exercise should be repeated when the next vital statistics report is available. Figure 9 p-‐chart deaths due to malignant neoplasms 54
Healthcare Facilities -‐ Inefficient by Design? Figure 10 p-‐chart deaths due to diabetes mellitus Figure 11 p-‐chart deaths due to HIV/AIDS 55
CILLA T. BENJAMIN 5. The Future State The research is mainly based on secondary sources of information. The Toyota Production System seeks to convert the situation on the left hand side of Figure 11 with that on the right. The design of facilities, layout and processes also figure prominently in the transition. The two systems are based on entirely different philosophies so change management is also critical. Human beings tend to naturally prefer to operate under the job shop (scenario 1) as opposed to the lean (Scenario 2) philosophy. Systematic efforts need to be made by all stakeholders to achieve the ideal future state where all the nine (9) types of waste as defined by the Seattle Children’s Hospital are eliminated or drastically reduced. Strong project champions and sponsors are also required. Current Situation Ideal Situation Wait Wait Tests Dept 1 Return Wait Screen Test Consult Diagnose/ Test Exit Triage Return Wait another Day Treat System Wait another Day Return Consult Move Schedule Collect Pre-Tests Tests another Day Results Diagnose/ Wait Wait Wait Wait Treat Move Collect Return Consult Results another Day Exit System Return Tests Dept 2 Wait another DayFigure 12 Changing from process focussed (Current Situation) to lean (Ideal Situation) system On what should we focus to even design the ideal situation? Firstly we need to; determine those critical areas for designing fully self-‐contained cells. These should cater to the majority of the individuals seeking attention at the public healthcare institutions. The exceptions would be areas where trends show unnatural causes present, indicating that special attention is needed. Even though HIV/AIDS is not one of the top causes of illness for which treatment is sought or leading cause of death, statistical analysis of deaths due to HIV/AIDS indicates that special attention may be needed in the area to reverse the ‘out-‐of-‐control’ trend. This is a situation that is commonly encountered on the production floor in a manufacturing plant, when intervention is needed to bring a process back into conformance. As such, HIV/AIDS would be selected as one of the conditions for which an all-‐inclusive special purpose unit should be built. The new health institution may therefore be constituted as shown in Figure 12: 56
Healthcare Facilities -‐ Inefficient by Design? Figure 13 New configuration of public healthcare institution Eliminating waste. The physical design of each self-‐contained unit is only part of the solution. There needs to be a shift in approach and a sustained effort at identifying and eliminating waste from the system. Examples of how this may be done are suggested, primarily based on studies at two major health care institutions in T&T (Mathura, 2010; St. John, 2010): Inventory – batching of people and services is prevalent leading to ‘inventory’ of paperwork, diagnostic tests, patients etc throughout the system. This is extremely costly; Mistakes/rework – processes, administrative and otherwise have not been ‘poka yoked’ or ‘mistake proofed’; Movement – of people to different departments for supplementary services is prevalent; Over-‐processing – is done as patients traverse the system and team consensus as to treatment is minimal leading to excessive tests and too many separate, non-‐productive visits to the institution; Over-‐production – batching means that certain processes are completed before they are needed whilst others may be delayed. Traditional healthcare forces/encourages batching of people and processes; Transport -‐ tests, reports, laundry are frequently moved long distances. This adds no value whatsoever; Waiting – endless queues for main and supplementary services, even for making appointments for certain tests which can go into months – or the next year at times; & 57
CILLA T. BENJAMIN Underutilized people – (what it is/is not) where are our nurse practitioners that can assist in improving flow through the system with patients dealt with as they arrive? Alternative viewpoint Hospital discharges are an indication of the burden on the system. The most recent data available concerning hospital discharges was also analysed for the Port-‐of-‐Spain General Hospital (POSGH) and the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH). Outpatient clinic visits were also profiled to give an indication of the type of patient seeking services in each institution. Further investigation is required into hospital discharges to determine the top sub-‐categories of ailments or injuries for which treatment is sought. There were some broad general areas which were too non-‐specific/generic for analysis. Notwithstanding, the following specific areas were isolated: POSGH broken bones/physical injury, heart disease/hypertension, genitourinary complaints SFGH heart disease/stroke, abdominal pain, genitourinary complaints These results would suggest that the POSGH should have special units, in addition to those in Figure 12, for dealing with broken bones and other physical injury as well as genitourinary complaints. SFGH should add units addressing abdominal pain (further details needed) and genitourinary complaints. The main outpatient areas for both institutions were a lot less ambiguous with Eye, Orthopaedic and Ante-‐natal services being the top three (3) separate areas in demand. Figure 14 POSGH Outpatient visits 58
Healthcare Facilities -‐ Inefficient by Design? Figure 15 SFGH Outpatient visits 6. Conclusion This basic study of healthcare facilities was somewhat hampered by the information available. Statistical information from both the Central Statistical Office and the Ministry of Health’s head office were not current and while the information may give a god indication of trends and patterns, any decision made should be based on real-‐time information. Real-‐time information is also necessary to create baseline indicators and track improvements as has been done wherever some version of the TPS was adapted for used in the healthcare system. This is especially important for T&T since should the system be adopted here, it may be the first case within a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) and would therefore become a model for other island nations to deal with the rising demands and costs of healthcare on their increasingly strapped economies. This study concludes by noting the following: There is more waste than value added activities within the T&T public healthcare system. Examples of the eight (8) types of waste existing within the system were given; Public healthcare in T&T is dominated by specific diseases/complaints which make it a prime candidate for implementing TPS; 59
CILLA T. BENJAMIN Areas for special attention may be determined by extending the analysis herein with more recent vital statistics and hospital discharges data; Moving from the current situation to the ideal situation requires a change in thinking or a rearrangement of values to embrace lean philosophy which demands accepting only what adds value in the design of physical space and processes; Specialized units eg Oncology, HIV/AIDS, Maternity can achieve better flow but physical and process DESIGN is important; Sharing services such as labs and imaging with other ‘departments’ defeats the whole purpose REGARDLESS of any economies of scale achieved; & TPS is not based on economies of scale but economies of scope but performance is still better and cheaper in the long run. Quality is also much improved. Process improvement systems can contribute to filling the gap between the expectations of the public and the performance of the system. Management of the wastes within the system creates room for increased volume or quality of service without higher levels of spending References AAMC-‐VMMC. Virginia Mason Medical Center: Applying LEAN Methodology to Lead Quality and Transform Healthcare. Washington D.C.: Association of American Medical Colleges, 2014. Black, J T., and Steve L. Hunter. Lean Manufacturing Systems and Cell Design. Michigan: Society of Manufacturing Engineers, 2003. Cosgrove, Toby. The Cleveland Clinic Way: Lessons in excellence from one of the world's leading healthcare organizations. Kindle Edition: McGraw-‐Hill Education, 2014. Fraser, Mark. “$891m approved for cancer centre.” Daily Express. 2013 йил 20-‐August. http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/891m-‐approved-‐for-‐cancer-‐centre-‐ 220287951.html. GBD. The Global Burden of Disease Study. Seattle: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, 2010. Goldratt, Eliyahu, and Jeff Cox. The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement. Michigan: North River Press, 2004. GORTT. Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Budget Statement 2015. Port-‐of-‐Spain: GORTT, 2014. Mathura, Hannah. Is there opportunity for improvement of patient care delivery at the Computer Tomography Clinic of the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex? Thesis Report: Unpublished, 2010. MOF. “Budget Statements.” Ministry of Finance and the Economy. 2014 йил 3-‐ September. http://finance.gov.tt/category/budget-‐statement/. MOH. Ministry of Health Annual Statistical Digest. Port-‐of-‐Spain: Ministry of Health, 2006. 60
Healthcare Facilities -‐ Inefficient by Design? Netland, Torbjørn. “Exploring the phenomenon of company-‐specific production systems: one-‐best-‐way or own-‐best-‐way?” International journal of production research 51, no. 4 (2013): 1084-‐1097. OPM. “Feature address at the launch of the National Oncology Project.” The Office of the Prime Minister. 2014 йил 9-‐July. http://www.opm.gov.tt/media_centre.php?mid=14&eid=594. Solomon, Jerrold M. Who's Counting? A lean accounting business novel. Indiana: WCM Associates, 2003. St. John, Michelle. Process improvement in the San Fernando General Hospital's linen cycle using lean management . Thesis Report: Unpublished, 2010. Wayne, Alex. Health System in U.S. Plagued by $765 Billion in Waste . 2012 йил 6-‐ September. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-‐09-‐06/u-‐s-‐health-‐ system-‐must-‐be-‐re-‐engineered-‐iom-‐panel-‐says. Womack, James P., and Daniel T. Jones. Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in your Corporation. New York: Free Press, 2003. Womack, James P., Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos. The Machine that Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production. New York: Harper Perennial, 1990. 61
Ministry of Design -‐ From Cottage Industry to State Enterprise University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad & Tobago May 28 – 29th, 2015
Ministry of Design -‐ From Cottage Industry to State Enterprise University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad & Tobago May 28 – 29th, 2015 Ministry of Design Formatting Guidelines Daren MAYNARD Shared Services Portfolio Management Office, Shared Services Organisation (SSO), Novus Tech Limited & F1RST.com [email protected] Abstract: The government of the day has to execute its political mandates. This is done via ministries -‐ an organisation headed by a politically-‐appointed / publicly-‐ elected leader and staffed by a cadre of civil servants. The allocation of a ministry's portfolio of responsibilities is often a guessing game in the Westminster-‐Whitehall style of parliamentary democracy like in Trinidad and Tobago. The decision resting with the whims and fancies of the Prime Minister of the day. This paper looks at designing a model for the efficient allocation of ministerial portfolios based on complementary areas in core portfolios; the ability to share services and the potential collaboration among the various ministries. This paper looks at the establishment of 14 permanent ministries and supported 3 shared services organisations with the aim of the consolidating the myriad of ministries that have been propagated in the past and current administrations in Trinidad and Tobago. This design uses the concept of super-‐ministries to consolidate like areas with the use of shared services organisations to drive organisational efficiencies in these state-‐sanctioned organisations. Keywords: political, design, portfolio, allocation,
DAREN MAYNARD Introduction In political systems, a political leader would have a council of policy advisors, which is called the cabinet. These advisors would be assigned portfolios of responsibilities and through this cabinet exercises political power (Foster 2004). These portfolios are executed via a cadre of professional public / civil servants arranged in teams, which can be called by a number of terms -‐ offices, bureaux, departments, divisions, agencies and ministries. For some political systems -‐ these teams are arranged by their political masters -‐ via their legislatures or via their executives. The question arises whether or not are these assignment of portfolios efficiently done. These portfolios are often offered as political prizes and not taking into consider potential competence of the portfolio political leader. The design of this council of policy advisors should be of concern because of the operating costs associated with each political bureaucracy; especially in the common administrative services. A Ministry of Design if established would look at how the nation’s political portfolios are designed for greater efficiency. In fact after it is done – it is should dismantle itself in keeping with the efficiency mode of the design. This paper is divided into different sections. Section Error! Reference source not found. covers the introduction to and rationale for the paper. Section Error! Reference source not found. looks at the research methodology that influenced the data collection and analysis, which follows this section. While sections 0 and 0 looks at the academic writings on political cabinets and shared services. Section 0 provides the data collected to be used for analysis in sections 0 -‐ 0. The paper is concluded in section 0. Research Methodology & Methods The Purpose of the Conference Paper This conference paper was written in response to the Call for Papers from the Visual Arts Unit of the Department of Creative and Festival Arts for it colloquium entitled: “Ministry of Design – from cottage industry to state enterprise”. This CFP looked at how (Visual Arts Unit 2015): “What if the government of Trinidad and Tobago directed substantial financial investment towards design initiatives on a national level? If there were a Ministry of Design in Trinidad and Tobago, how could this Ministry encourage and stimulate design, and create an awareness of its importance among the general population and other Ministries?” This paper decided on the topic of designing state ministries for efficiency. The fact that a suggestion was made for a Ministry of Design be created just to manage financial investments towards design initiative warrants a look at how state ministries are created and managed. So the author’s research paper looked at answering the following questions to help determined how he would conduct the research in terms of a research methodology and methods: 1. What if there was a way to design for state ministries? 2. Why is there a need for efficient portfolio allocation for ministries? 64
Ministry of Design Formatting Guidelines 3. Who will participate in this research? 4. Where will this research be conducted? 5. When will this research be conducted? The answers to questions 1 and 2 were established in the following chapters. The answers to the other questions are given below in this chapter. The research was conducted by the author himself. The research was desk-‐based because of where the majority information is located and time constraints on the author’s time. The majority of the research was conducted in the month between abstract acceptance and paper submission deadline. Although, it must be pointed out that the author has been percolating with the idea long before the design colloquium. Research methodology The methodology for this research paper was crucial as it determined what research methods were selected (Dawson 2002, Rugg and Petre 2007). The author had to consider what the research was about, how to go about studying the topic, the constraints, potential problems any ethical issues that could arise while doing the research. The author decided to use a hybrid approach combining the qualitative and quantitative methodologies to influence the research. The qualitative methodology was required as it looked the organisational design in a political organisation i.e. the designing for efficient state ministries. This methodology was useful as it help to understand the behaviours and attitudes of the political system under study (Dawson 2002, Rugg and Petre 2007). Furthermore, the Grounded Theory approach of qualitative methodology was selected as the influencing methodology (Dawson 2002). This was used as the author was aggregating data from journal papers, government publications, consultancy brochures, news articles and practitioner experience to develop the necessary designs for the government ministries. In addition, the quantitative methodology influenced the selection of numerical methods to collect and display the relative sizes of political cabinets in various countries. Trend analysis was used to show how this varied according to the different countries. A number of journal articles presented statistical parameters to describe the stabilities of political systems (King, et al. 1990). Research Methods – Data Collection With the selection of a hybrid research methodology, the various research methods will be applicable from each of the constituent research methodologies. The authors will use a mixture of primary and secondary sources to study the political systems. Literature Review The author accessed the necessary journal articles that wrote extensively on cabinet appointments and stability, political reforms, portfolio allocation and shared services in the public sectors. This was sourced from the online journal archives such as JSTOR and Business Source via the University of Warwick’s Alumni Research Hub (University of Warwick 2015). In addition, research papers, consultancy reports and brochures were pulled on Shared Services written by the consultancy firms and shared services peer 65
DAREN MAYNARD organisations – Accenture, Deloitte, Enerst & Young, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoppers and the Shared Services Outsourcing Network (SSON). This research was conducted as part of the author’s own research as he develops and rolls out a Shared Services Organisation (SSO) within his company. Websites The author pulled content from official government websites as it relates to the political assignments. Most government maintain a Gazette / Official Register that was used for official publications of government notices in terms of ministerial appointments. In addition, news websites were reviewed on their reporting of political cabinet re-‐shuffles. In addition, these websites would have recordings / full text copy of the speeches made by the politicians. Professional Experience The author has professional experience in organisational design as it relates to shared services. In additional, the author had been conducting readings into political systems and constitutional design. This experience was honed over the years at various constitutional reform fora hosted by successive governments. Focus Groups The author has attended numerous focus groups associated with constitutional reform to have gauged the interested public sector interest in the topics. At these focus groups, the author made note of the crucial points raised by the participants as part of his research and notes. Research Methods – Data Analysis The data analysis methods for this paper were guided by the hybrid approach of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Content Analysis As the majority of data were from written sources, content analysis was necessary. This analysis technique looks at what is said in a text, how it is said, and how often it’s said (Rugg and Petre 2007). A multi-‐pass approach was used that consisted of verbatim analysis, gist analysis and superordinate analysis, respectively (Rugg and Petre 2007). This allowed the author to generate a baseline of what the general themes in the literature as they related to cabinet appointments and stability and shared services in the public sector. Discourse Analysis This technique is similar to content analysis but is used to analyse who says what, about what, to whom, and in what format (Rugg and Petre 2007). This technique was used to analysis the statements said at the focus groups and news interviews as it related to cabinet assignments. Knowledge representation 66
Ministry of Design Formatting Guidelines This form of analysis was used to put together the findings and recommendations for the design of the different clusters of ministry according to their core and shared services portfolios. This was selected because it gave the formats, structures and concepts for making sense of knowledge (Rugg and Petre 2007). The schemata used throughout the sections 0-‐8, which were the output of this analytic technique. This chapter looked at the research methodology and methods that influenced the research being conducted in this paper. The next chapter looked at the review of the literature on cabinet ministerial appointment, its risks and political risks. Academic Thoughts on Cabinet Ministerial Assignments, its Stability and Political Risks The political appointment of the cabinet minister is crucial as it represents the crucible of political power in democratic institutions as it directs and leads the actions of the executive government departments (Neto and Strøm 2006, Foster 2004, King, Riddlesperger Jr. and Riddlesperger 1984, Huber and Martinez-‐Gallardo 2008). The size of the cabinet can affects its operating efficiency as if it consists of ministers of inconsequential ministries, which can make decision making longer as everyone wants to speak. It is better to have a smaller size cabinet of consequential ministries who had a better view of the government (Brookshire 1981). While the cabinet can consist of ministers with portfolio, it can also consist of ministers without portfolio to chair cabinet committees and oversee ministerial coordination (Brookshire 1981). The use of inner cabinet when applicable has been proposed where large cabinets were unavoidable (Brookshire 1981). The literature on cabinet duration is considered to be divided into two camps – it depend on attributes of the system or it depends on the critical events in the system, which is a random probabilistic process (King, et al. 1990, Diermeier and Stevenson, Cabinet Survival and Competing Risks 1999, Diermeier and Stevenson, Cabinet Survival and Competing Risks 1999, Schleiter and Morgan-‐Jones 2009, Strom, et al. 1988, Grofman and Roozendaal 1997). Whatever the causal effect – the prime minister / convenor of the cabinet would have to select a new cabinet. Whether or not s/he would do a shuffle of the already established ministry adds some inefficiencies to the government as the new ministers would have to learn their new portfolios as well as the civil servants have to be torn apart and reassembled into new organisations (Gupta 1988, Huber and Martinez-‐Gallardo 2008). This can take between a few days to a few months to get back up to running efficiency in terms of execution of government policies or reforms (Wilenski 1986, Gupta 1988, Huber and Martinez-‐Gallardo 2008). If this re-‐shuffling takes place frequently – imagine how much work actually gets done because of the length of time it takes to get back up to an efficient running pace. In addition, the uncertainty that comes with re-‐shuffling means that ministers are caught up worrying about their job security and changing portfolio focus. The fact that the ministers and civil servants just get moved around so frequently; that they are unable to get a sure footing of what they are responsible for delivering in the public sector. This can lead to reduced performance (Gupta 1988). 67
DAREN MAYNARD Administrative reforms by governments are often as a result of public demands, commissions of inquiry and political pressures (Wilenski 1986). Before it was directed at the efficiency of the civil services but now they were also directed at better political leadership and accountability of these bureaucracies (Wilenski 1986, Neto and Strøm 2006). The reform would change the balance of power and change person’s path to the top of the power ladder, which breads resistance to these changes (Wilenski 1986, Neto and Strøm 2006, Brookshire 1981). The frequent re-‐shuffling of ministries can be a cause of the resistance to performance as this would see the bureaucratic empires being changed every time a shuffle occurs. A set design ensures that the bureaucracy is develop for efficiency but performance management is used for promotions, rewards and benefits. The responsibilities for carrying out this reform of the various ministries may very well be the proposed ministry of design, who would exist as a projectised reforming agency (Visual Arts Unit 2015, Wilenski 1986). The use of legislation, which requires that ministries / executive departments must be authorised /established and by extension the number of Ministers appointed to be approved by an Act of Parliament. This practice is done in the United States as it related to its Federal Executive Departments and in the United Kingdom as it relates to the maximum pay that is granted for Ministerial salaries (Toronto Sun 2015, House of Commons Information Office 2011, Legal Information Institute n.d.). The parliamentary power of investiture may be applicable in approving the appointment of the cabinet minister may as well be considered (Legal Information Institute n.d.). The next section looks at how shared services are applicable to the public sector. Academic Thoughts on Shared Services and its impact on the Public Sector Shared Services is considered an internal outsourcing for business entities and this can be extended to public sector organisations as well. Generally, the administrative back offices are selected first as they have the most to gain from consolidation of their activities. The shared services model is new to the government as some ministers and civil servants may see it as a loss of power but it can be seen as cost saving, organisational re-‐design, knowledge management and efficiency measures (Wilson 2005, Wang and Wang 2007). The shared services would be concentrated on the non-‐core functions such as IT and Finance for the various ministries (Datamonitor 2007, Hall, Cabinet Office calls for government departments to move to shared services model 2011, Hall, How public sector can save millions with standardised shared IT services 2012). The government would execute the shared services via various formats – a single authority taking lead, an authority taking shared leads on various components or a third party service provider arrangement (Hall, How public sector can save millions with standardised shared IT services 2012). The decision to go to shared services must not be made in haste but with evaluation and discussion to ensure the best design is made (Deloitte n.d., PricewaterhouseCoopers 2008, Wang and Wang 2007). 68
Ministry of Design Formatting Guidelines The impetus to move to a shared service model depends on the government of the day to have the political fortitude to implement such as a far reaching reform (Wilson 2005). The success of the shared services would not just depend on political capital but also operational governance. This operational governance is established by service level agreements (SLA) (Colman 2006, Deloitte n.d., PricewaterhouseCoopers 2008, Mercer 2011). This SLA establishes the level of discipline that is required to manage the relationship between the service provider (shared services centre) and the client government agency (Colman 2006, Mercer 2011). In the Australian experience, the Shared Services model was explored after the amalgamation model of local governments where municipalities were merger to form bigger polities (Dollery, Akimov and Byrnes 2009). The shared services approach gave a different perspective to the consolidation efforts in terms in promoting effeciencies in local government delivery of services. The public sector bodies would form a consortia / networks to gain from the financial and non-‐financial benefits of shared services. The figure below give some characteristics of organisations where shared services can work. Mul�ple, dispersed loca�ons Unnecessary local administra�ve presence Non-‐standard processes Duplica�on of work across sites Incompa�ble informa�on systems between loca�ons Limited access to enabling technology Sites that do not share best prac�ces Development of local or temporary solu�on(s) at each site Rising support cost Sites that struggle with their support level Figure 16: Characteristics of organisations that benefit from Shared Services (Accenture 2012, Deloitte n.d., Deloitte 2011, Ernst & Young 2013, KPMG 2012, PricewaterhouseCoopers 2008, Datamonitor 2007, Maynard 2015) The benefits of the Shared Services approach for public sector organisations are outlined below: 69
DAREN MAYNARD Consolidated of cost of opera�ons for the cons�tuent Shared Services Centres (SSC) in the SSO Harmonisa�on of common process Acquisi�on integra�on -‐ workforce specialisa�on -‐ with new ac�vi�es, the SSO can leverage workforce specialisa�on in the various Shared Services Centres Innova�on – knowledge management -‐ the SSO can promote new ways of approaching various func�ons Performance excellence – standardisa�on, automa�on and improvement Figure 17: Benefits of the Shared Services concept on organisations (Deloitte n.d., Deloitte 2011, KPMG 2014, KPMG 2014, PricewaterhouseCoopers 2008, Datamonitor 2007, Mercer 2011, Maynard 2015) In addition, some of the core function executed by government, had identified the characteristics of transactional processes that work for the transactional shared services. This is shown below in the figure. Nevertheless, some of the activities would be assigned to Shared Services centres of excellence to focus on specialised professional services like project management and legal services (Datamonitor 2007, Mercer 2011, Dollery, Akimov and Byrnes 2009, Maynard 2015). Remote •cC oannt athcte o prr obcye psrso bveid cinogm rpelmetoetde w aictcheosust t “oi n th pee drsaotan/“ informa�on? Repeatable & •iC mapnl e am steanntdeadr dtois hedan, rdulele tsh-‐bea tsreadn s paocl�icoyn f?r a mework be Rules-‐based High Volume •oI sf t shcearlee? s ufficient volume that would drive economies Figure 18: Characteristics of transactional shared services centres (Accenture 2012, Accenture 2014, Maynard 2015, Dollery, Akimov and Byrnes 2009) The next section looks at the data collected on political cabinets – their sizes and portfolios. Data Collection on the sizes of Political Cabinets 70
Ministry of Design Formatting Guidelines Figure 19: The varying size of cabinets (1975-‐2013) in various countries of democracies (Theodore 2013) Office of the Prime Minister Foreign Affairs Local Government Sport Attorney General Gender, Youth and Child National Diversity and The Arts and Communications Multiculturalism Development Social Integration Tertiary Education and Skills Community Development Health National Security Education Training Housing and Urban People and Social Tobago Development Environment and Water Development Development Resources Justice Tourism Planning and Sustainable Trade, Industry and Energy and Energy Affairs Labour and Small and Micro DevelopmentFinance and the Economy Enterprise Development Investment Public Administration Transport Food Production Land and Marine Resources Public Utilities Works and Infrastructure Legal Affairs Science and Technology Figure 20: The 33 current ministries in Trinidad and Tobago (Office of the Prime Minister 2015) Figure 21: Cabinet Size vs New Ministries Created in Trinidad and Tobago (christchild22 2013) 71
DAREN MAYNARD Figure 22: Expenditure on Cabinet Salaries by Classification in Trinidad and Tobago (christchild22 2013) 72
Ministry of Design Formatting Guidelines Figure 23: India Cabinet size and China resizing (India Today 2014) Ministry design – portfolio allocation In the design approach, the various ministries are allocated based on common areas features. These portfolio are designed to create super-‐ministries that execute their remit with as much consolidation as possible (Brookshire 1981, Gupta 1988). Then they were clustered together in nodes with their respective cluster shared services centres. The new designs of the portfolios are given below in various diagrams. Executive Office Cluster This cluster consists of the two prime ministries i.e. The Office of the Prime Minister and The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. However, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister also has his/her own cluster to manage i.e. Human and Social Development. 73
DAREN MAYNARD Office of the Prime Minister Community Development Ministry of Design Housing and Urban Planning Development Local Government Public Administration Tobago Development Figure 24: The revamped Office of the Prime Minister -‐ the Executive Cluster The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) is absorbs the Ministries of Planning & Sustainable Development, Public Administration and would host the proposed Ministry of Design. It will still have responsibility for the Civil Service via the Ministry of Public Administration. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister fuses the Ministries of Local Government, Tobago Development, Housing & Urban Development, and Community Development, respectively. Since these Ministries looked at the internal political and community development of the constituent islands in the republic, it made sense to combine them into one portfolio. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is new creation because a designated second-‐in-‐command Minister is needed. Justice and Security Cluster This cluster is the legal and security arm of the government. This cluster of ministries are charged with the civil and military protection of the country. It hosts the investigative and prosecutorial organs of the State. The Office of the Attorney-‐General absorbs the Ministries of the Attorney-‐General, Justice and Legal Affairs, respectively. It did not make sense to have three separate ministries when it can be combined into one Ministry. The Ministry of National Security remains as is with responsibility for Civil Defence, Civilian Investigation and National Intelligence. 74
Ministry of Design Formatting Guidelines Attorney General National Security Justice Legal Affairs Figure 25: The Justice and Security Cluster with the revamped Office of the Attorney General Economic Affairs & International Relations Cluster This cluster oversee the economic engines of the country and its international relations. Since the economy is tied to external forces – it makes sense to include the foreign affairs portfolio in this cluster as well. This cluster consists of seven (7) ministries. The Ministry of Finance remains as it with dropping of The Economy portfolio. The Economy portfolio is divested into a super-‐ministry called the Ministry of The Economy, which combines the old Ministries of Trade, Industry Investment, Micro and Small Enterprises Development, and Tourism, respectively. The Communications portfolio is recombined to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to form the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry of Labour falls under this cluster with Micro and Small Enterprises Development component going to The Economy Ministry. The Energy Ministry remains the same but drops the Energy Resources from its name. The Agriculture, Environment & Natural Resources combines the various sustainable development ministries like Food Production, Land & Marine Resource, Water Resources & The Environment and the Sustainable Development into one super-‐ministry. The Ministry of Infrastructure & Transport recombines this iconic ministry from its two halves –Works & Infrastructure and Transport with the addition of the Public Utilities Ministry. Finance and the Economy Trade, Industry and Transport Environment and Water Energy and Energy Affairs Investment Works and Infrastructure Resources Tourism Labour Public Utilities Food Production Small and Micro Enterprise Land and Marine Resources Development Sustainable Development Foreign Affairs Communications 75
DAREN MAYNARD Figure 26: The Economic Affairs and International Relations Cluster with seven revamped ministries Human and Social Development Cluster This cluster looks after the human and social development of the nationals. It combines some of the smaller ministries into super-‐ministries. The Ministry of Education, Science & Technology is combination of the old ministries of Education, Science, Technology, Tertiary Education and Skills Training. It becomes the education, science and research arm for the State. The Ministry of Culture, Sports & Social Development combines many of smaller portfolios like Gender, Youth and Child Development, Sport, Culture, National Diversity & Social Integration, The People & Social Development, respectively. This Ministry looks at the social net for the country. The Ministry of Health remains the same with its remits being a super-‐ministry in its own right. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister joins this cluster as it handles Housing and Community Development as part of its remit. Gender, Youth and Child Health Development Community Development Education Housing and Urban Science and Technology National Diversity and Development Tertiary Education and Skills Social Integration Local Government People and Social Training Development Tobago Development Sport The Arts and Multiculturalism Figure 27: The Human & Social Development Cluster with two revamped ministries Assignment of political head While political leadership is often given to partisan politicians, with constitutional reform – non-‐partisan heads can be appointed to head to the super-‐ministries with the sub-‐portfolios being headed by partisan heads. Or it can be reversed with the sub-‐ministerial posts being headed by non-‐partisan heads but the substantive minister is a partisan head. Whichever approach is taken, it can lead to a level of organisational efficiency (Neto and Strøm 2006). The head of the ministry is crucial to the execution of government policy and should be taken a certain level of care in terms of their leadership, management, geographic, socio-‐economic status, cultural identifiers and education (Gupta 1988, King, Riddlesperger Jr. and Riddlesperger 1984, Huber and Martinez-‐Gallardo 2008). Assignment of public service head The use of non-‐tenured professional head of the ministry is useful approach to introduce talent into these ministries at the level of Permanent Secretary, Deputy-‐Permanent Secretary and Administrative Officer V level. This was done in the Australian reforms (Wilenski 1986) where professional managers / ministerial advisors / consultants where hired from outside of the public sector. 76
Ministry of Design Formatting Guidelines Portfolio execution The ministry design is focused on portfolio execution. The non-‐core function is divested to its shared service cluster. The design of execution is similar as well with a Minister as the Chief Executive of this state organ. A Deputy Minister / Minister of State can be assigned where applicable as these Ministries have large portfolios e.g. Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. A Permanent Secretary (PS) and a number of Deputy Permanent Secretaries (DPS) are assigned to each ministry. Where the various ministries were combined from smaller ministries – their Permanent Secretary would keep the PS-‐grade. However, one of the Permanent Secretary would be given the title of First / Principal Permanent Secretary signifying that s/he is the most senior PS in the ministry. The Ministry would be aligned along the core functional areas headed by the permanent secretaries and political offices headed by the ministers. The political offices would have the respective communications units. The next section looks at the design for the shared services organisations that serve these ministerial clusters. Ministry design – shared services execution The shared services concept is used extensively in private organisations and have spread to public sector organisations. The shared services is popular in Commonwealth jurisdictions like in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, and non-‐Commonwealth countries like the United States (Mercer 2011, Hall, Cabinet Office calls for government departments to move to shared services model 2011, Hall, How public sector can save millions with standardised shared IT services 2012). For this shared service model to work in the public sector, the rationale must consider the economic and political benefits of doing so (Dollery, Akimov and Byrnes 2009). The shared services centres would handle the non-‐core executional items that are common to all bureaucracies and organisations, which are outlined in Figure 28 and the potential scope of services in Figure 29. Administration Finance Human Resources Facilities & Property Management Information Technology / Services Internal Audit Legal Procurement & Supply Chain Project Management Figure 28: Cluster Shared Services Organisation 77
DAREN MAYNARD Figure 29: Scope of shared services (Accenture 2012) The Shared Services Centres provide centralised and decentralised services. In decentralised centres, their specific Service Partners assigned to the ministry to oversee the execution of the shared services at the assigned ministry. The centralised services would have handled the combined responsibilities. For example, the Internal Audit SSC would audit each ministry on an individual basis (decentralised) but it would do so using guidelines provided by the Director of Internal Audit at the SSC level. Another example is the Administration Shared Services Centre handles the general clerical, office management, library services and security for the Ministries. It maintains a general pool of clerical and office management staff, who are assigned to the various ministries. If there are surplus staff in one of the Cluster Administration SSC -‐ the staff can be assigned to another Cluster Administration SSC to be deployed in another ministry. With the Shared Services approach, the various ministries in the cluster can focus on their portfolio execution while the Shared Services Centres focuses on the non-‐core areas. The Cluster Shared Services Organisation (C-‐SSO) are headed by a Director-‐General, who is of Deputy Permanent Secretary-‐rank and each of its constituent Shared Services Centre (SSC) is headed by a Director, who is off Administrative Officer V-‐rank. The staff in the SSC are civil servants, who are hired by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago through the SSC. They are assigned to the various Ministries by their respective SSC. Staff can move around the different ministries in a cluster or across clusters to share the necessary experience and professional development. However, the SSC are separate from the core Ministry personnel and are part of a different organisation (Wang and Wang 2007). The Shared Services Directorate (consisting of Directors-‐General, Directors and their Deputies) look after the strategy, planning, organisational design (services process, workflow, human resources) design, cost distribution allocation, implementation, and governance systems for their respective cluster shared services (Wang and Wang 2007). Together will form a Government Shared Services Management Council (GSSMC) that would harmonise and facilitate cohesion in the network of SSCs across the Government. This Management Council would develop the 78
Ministry of Design Formatting Guidelines necessary organisational charters, financial funding and monitoring of the various SSCs and C-‐SSOs. Government Shared Services Management Council Administration Administration Administration Finance Finance Finance Human Resources Human Resources Human Resources Facilities & Property Management Facilities & Property Management Facilities & Property Management Information Technology / Services Information Technology / Services Information Technology / Services Internal Audit Internal Audit Internal Audit Legal Legal Legal Procurement & Supply Chain Procurement & Supply Chain Procurement & Supply Chain Project Management Project Management Project Management Figure 30: The network of Shared Services Organisations per cluster The next section looks briefly at the inter-‐ministry cooperation as a result of this cluster design. Inter-‐ministry cooperation & coordination With the clusters – the Ministries were designed to work together in terms of having shared resources. The use of Cabinet committee also helps to focus inter-‐ministry cooperation and to recognise any issues not being handled by the clustered ministries (Brookshire 1981). The clusters can be chaired by a senior cabinet minister without portfolio so as they were not burdened by day to day department portfolios and bring clarity to areas where the Prime Minister may not have knowledge of on a day to day basis. (Brookshire 1981). For example, in the Justice and Security cluster – the Ministries should have shared databases as one ministry provides the legal framework and prosecutorial services and the other ministry provides the enforcement, investigation and punishment services as part of the arms of justice. The ministers should be seen as partners and not rivals. The Economic Affairs and International Relations Cluster is important to our competitive advantage and should work together to enhance it .From the shared databases to simplified regulations, which would make the ease of doing business in Trinidad and Tobago better. Harmonisation of regulations across the ministries and advanced at an international level ensures that our international economic policy has a consistent voice as the foreign affairs and communications team are in the loop based on the cluster information sharing agreements. The shared services already provides for non-‐core cooperation and coordination. The policy coordination are handled by the political offices of each ministry at cluster policy conferences. These conferences ensure the ministry are harmonised with each other. Poor policy coordination can result in inefficiencies in the execution of services to the public. At the end of the day, we expect our public sector services to be run efficiently. 79
DAREN MAYNARD Conclusion The design proposed in this paper looked at the establishment of fourteen super-‐ministries that were clustered into four nodal groups. These nodal groups were the core portfolio functionalities of each political bureaucracy. They were supported by three shared services organisations aligned to each cluster. This design provides the basis of efficient ministry cooperation and coordination. The aim of the design was to reduce the duplication of effort in the different ministries in terms of their non-‐core functions as well as their dilution of impact because of insignificant portfolio assignments. The design is a conceptual one for the Trinidad and Tobago political environment. References Accenture. 2012. Shared Services 101. Presentation, Accenture. Accessed Dec 17, 2014. Accenture. 2014. Trends in Shared Services: Unlocking the Full Potential. Research Report, Accenture. Accessed Dec 17, 2014. Brookshire, Jerry H. 1981. \"Clement Attlee and Cabinet Reform, 1930-‐1945.\" The Historical Journal (Cambridge University Press) 24 (1): 175-‐188. Accessed Apr 10, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2638911. christchild22. 2013. Cabinet Sizes in Trinidad and Tobago. Oct 28. Accessed May 05, 2015. http://public.tableau.com/profile/christchild22#!/vizhome/CabinetSizesinTrinid adandTobago/Figures. Colman, Robert. 2006. \"Service level agreements: a shared services cornerstone.\" CMA Management, May: 37-‐39. Datamonitor. 2007. \"Government spend on shared services projects in US and Europe rising.\" MarketWatch: Global Round-‐up, Oct: 173-‐174. Accessed Apr 10, 2015. Dawson, Catherine. 2002. Practical Research Methods. 1st. Oxford: How To Books. Deloitte. n.d. Shared Services Handbook: Hit Road. Consultancy Report, Deloitte. Accessed Nov 18, 2014. Deloitte. 2011. Shared services: From “if” to “how” Insights from Deloitte’s 2011 global shared services survey. Survey Report, Deloitte. Accessed June 29, 2014. Diermeier, Daniel, and Randy T. Stevenson. 1999. \"Cabinet Survival and Competing Risks.\" American Journal of Political Science (Midwest Political Science Association) 43 (4): 1051-‐1068. Accessed Apr 10, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2991817. Dollery, Brian, Alexandr Akimov, and Joel Byrnes. 2009. \"Shared Services in Australian Local Government: Rationale, Alternative Models and Empirical Evidence.\" The Australian Journal of Public Administration (National Council of the Institute of Public Administration Australia) 208–219. Accessed Apr 10, 2015. Ernst & Young. 2013. Shared services optimisation. Consutancy Report, Ernst & Young. Accessed Dec 17, 2014. Foster, Christopher. 2004. \"Cabinet Government in the Twentieth Century.\" The Modern Law Review (Wiley) 67 (5): 753-‐771. Accessed Apr 10, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3699224. Grofman, Bernard, and Peter van Roozendaal. 1997. \"Modelling Cabinet Durability and Termination.\" British Journal of Political Science (Cambridge University Press) 27 (3): 419-‐451. Accessed Apr 10, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/194124. Gupta, Bhabani Sen. 1988. \"Cabinet-‐Making and Unmaking.\" Economic and Political Weekly (Economic and Political Weekly) 23 (6): 230-‐233. Accessed Apr 10, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4378068. 80
Ministry of Design Formatting Guidelines Hall, Kathleen. 2011. \"Cabinet Office calls for government departments to move to shared services model.\" ComputerWeekly.com. Jul 29. Accessed May 03, 2015. http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240105204/Cabinet-‐Office-‐calls-‐for-‐ government-‐departments-‐to-‐move-‐to-‐shared-‐services-‐model. —. 2012. \"How public sector can save millions with standardised shared IT services.\" ComputerWeekly.com. Apr 24-‐30. Accessed Apr 10, 2015. House of Commons Information Office. 2011. Ministerial Salaries. Factsheet, London: House of Commons. Huber, John D., and Cecilia Martinez-‐Gallardo. 2008. \"Replacing Cabinet Ministers: Patterns of Ministerial Stability in Parliamentary Democracies.\" The American Political Science Review (American Political Science Association) 102 (2): 169-‐ 180. Accessed Apr 10, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27644509. India Today. 2014. Smaller than UPA 2 but the same size as Vajpayee cabinet. May 31. Accessed May 04, 2015. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/smaller-‐than-‐upa-‐2-‐ but-‐the-‐same-‐size-‐as-‐vajpayee-‐cabinet/1/364553.html. King, Gary, James E. Alt, Nancy Elizabeth Burns, and Michael Laver. 1990. \"A Unified Model of Cabinet Dissolution in Parliamentary Democracies.\" American Journal of Political Science (Midwest Political Science Association) 34 (3): 846-‐871. Accessed 4 10, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2111401. King, James D., James W. Riddlesperger Jr., and James W. Riddlesperger. 1984. \"Presidential Cabinet Appointments: The Partisan Factor.\" Presidential Studies Quarterly, (Wiley) 14 (2): 231-‐237Published. Accessed Apr 10, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27550069. KPMG. 2014. \"Shared Services & Outsourcing Advisory Services.\" KPMG International Cooperative. Accessed Dec 17, 2014. —. 2012. \"Shared Services and Outsourcing Advisory.\" KPMG. Accessed Dec 17, 2014. Legal Information Institute. n.d. 3 U.S. Code § 301 -‐ General authorization to delegate functions; publication of delegations. Accessed May 04, 2015. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/3/301. Maynard, Daren. 2015. Shared Services Status Report. Project Status Report, Shared Services Portfolio Management Office, Maraval: unpublished. Mercer, Monte. 2011. \"Shared services & cost-‐saving collaboration deserve respect.\" Public Management, May: 8-‐12. Neto, Octavio Amorim, and Kaare Strøm. 2006. \"Breaking the Parliamentary Chain of Delegation: Presidents and Non-‐Partisan Cabinet Members in European Democracies.\" British Journal of Political Science (Cambridge University Press) 36 (4): 619-‐643. Accessed Apr 10, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4092386. Office of the Prime Minister. 2015. Government Ministries. Accessed May 05, 2015. http://www.opm.gov.tt/prime_minister.php?mid=12. PricewaterhouseCoopers. 2008. How to design a shared service center that works. Consultancy Report, PricewaterhouseCoopers. Accessed June 29, 2014. Rugg, Gordon, and Marian Petre. 2007. A Gentle Guide to Research Methods. 1st. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press. Schleiter, Petra, and Edward Morgan-‐Jones. 2009. \"Constitutional Power and Competing Risks: Monarchs, Presidents, Prime Ministers, and theTermination of East and West European Cabinets.\" The American Political Science Review (American Political Science Association) 103 (3): 496-‐512. Accessed Apr 10, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27798518. Strom, Kaare, Eric C. Browne, John P. Frendreis, and Dennis W. Glieber. 1988. \"Contending Models of Cabinet Stability.\" The American Political Science Review (American Political Science Association) (82): 923-‐941. Accessed Apr 10, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1962499. 81
DAREN MAYNARD Theodore, Christian. 2013. \"In Trinidad and Tobago: Cabinet Growth, Fiscal Decay?\" The Caribbean Open Institute. Sept 26. Accessed Apr 7, 2014. http://dj.caribbeanopeninstitute.org:8081/trinidad-‐and-‐tobago-‐cabinet-‐ growth-‐fiscal-‐decay. Toronto Sun. 2015. Former Tory MP introduces bill to limit cabinet size. Apr 30. Accessed May 04, 2015. http://www.torontosun.com/2015/04/30/former-‐tory-‐mp-‐ introduces-‐bill-‐to-‐limit-‐cabinet-‐size. University of Warwick. 2015. Research. Edited by Peter White. Feb 17. Accessed May 03, 2015. http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/alumni/research. Visual Arts Unit. 2015. \"Call for Papers.\" Ministry of Design – from cottage industry to state. St. Augustine: Department of Creative and Festival Arts, The University of West Indies. 1-‐2. Wang, Shouhong, and Hai Wang. 2007. \"Shared services beyond sourcing the back offices.\" Human Systems Management (IOS Press) 26: 281–290. Accessed Apr 10, 2015. Wilenski, Peter. 1986. \"Administrative Reform -‐ General Presciples and The Australian Experience.\" Public Administration (Royal Institute of Public Administration) 64 (Autumn): 257-‐276. Accessed Apr 10, 2015. Wilson, David A. 2005. \"Learning to share.\" www.americancityandcounty.com. Apr. Accessed Apr 10, 2015. http://americancityandcounty.com/mag/government_learning_share. 82
Ministry of Design -‐ From Cottage Industry to State Enterprise University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad & Tobago May 28 – 29th, 2015 Design and Small and Medium Enterprises
Ministry of Design -‐ From Cottage Industry to State Enterprise University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad & Tobago May 28 – 29th, 2015 Furniture design as a tool for social inclusion Angélica Rodríguez BENCOSME * [email protected] Abstract: Furniture design is part of a broader field, industrial design, which has inadvertently permeated practically every aspect of our lives (i.e. cell phones, tablets, smart watches, etc.); hence brought attention to its significance and transcendence. More than serving for physical comfort or decorating our homes, furniture can also serve as a tool for social inclusion. Unlike other industrial products, it can be created using local materials, doesn’t require state of the art automatized processes or expensive machinery, can serve to promote local culture and traditions, among other reasons that catapult its potential as a tool for social inclusion. That is, furniture’s design and manufacturing can foster social capital. If governments would direct resources “towards design initiatives on a national level”, furniture design as a tool for social inclusion should be considered for being easy to approach and implement; perhaps being easier to comprehend than other branches of design whose products are intangible. Furthermore, it encompasses several aspects of interest in this colloquium: design for the home, for social good, for development, urban and sustainable design. Keywords: furniture design, social inclusion.
Furniture design as a tool for social inclusion This paper is an introduction to furniture design as a tool for social inclusion. Based on this idea, I will analyze different reasons for which furniture design and its production could become a culturally relevant project that advances design practices in Trinidad and Tobago. Thus the paper has two parts: the first is mostly research and analysis; the second briefly presents examples of ideas on how to put this into practice. Furniture design can be defined as the mental processes that take place before, during and after its manufacturing. It is part of a broader field, industrial design, which has inadvertently permeated practically every aspect of our lives (i.e. cell phones, tablets, smart watches, etc.); hence brought attention to its significance and transcendence. Through the use of objects, humans are unusual among animals because humans create systems with a feedback loop between the human organism and the culturally shaped world (Birth 2012, 2). For example, in such a “behavioural environment”, as Hallowell would call it, the alarm clock has more significance than the sunrise (Birth 2012, 2). Figure 1 I wake up when the alarm goes off whether or not the sun has risen. Source: Chatterjee, Soumyaroop (2011). In a related manner, in this part of the world the idea of “home” without furniture is inconceivable; it sets the stage for the actions to take place in each particular area of the space we call home. Just when it seemed to have pretty much died out, the idea of function has recently made a rather spectacular comeback with a key role in the many explanatory models, based on evolution, that are becoming prevalent in both archaeology and anthropology (Miller 2010, 45). However, if our social and cultural customs were indeed, in any way, connected to such functions that would have produced a relatively homogenous humanity whose variations correlate largely with differences in its environment (Miller 2010, 45). If one were to compare the differences in the furniture of distinct societies, for example Japanese furniture and its Trinbagonian counterpart, it becomes apparent this is not the case. What homes look like, what they contain, how they are inhabited, and how they are represented are always functions of the totality of social practices that constitute culture at particular times and places (Logan 2002, 299) and not solely functional needs. 85
ANGÉLICA RODRÍGUEZ BENCOSME Figure 2 What homes like responds to social practices and not solely functional needs. Source: PoshSurfside.com (2005). Material objects are a setting; they make us aware of what is appropriate and inappropriate (Miller 2010, 50). However, the cues that tell us how to interpret behavior are usually unconscious (Miller 2010, 49). When this message is carried, not by a hectoring voice, but well hidden within the mere substance of apparent silent stuff, we are less likely to sense our disempowerment (Miller 2010, 82). Moreover powerful social groups who control diverse kinds of social interactions are able to impose their visions of social reality on other less powerful groups (Brown 2004, 84). Taking this further, conflict theorists argue that entire groups act in self-‐interest, often consciously against the interests of other groups (Brown 2004, 96). Dominant economic classes maintain their power partly because they are highly organized—they think of themselves as a group, and act accordingly (Brown 2004, 107). The reason why particular economic groups develop distinctive cultures is because this practice helps them to exercise their dominance without subordinates’ recognition that power lies behind their success, and consequently without resistance (Brown 2004, 107). For example, a very real, symbolic part of being successful is looking successful because appropriate cultural symbolism facilitates smooth interactions between parties i.e., the cultural similarities help perceive that they occupy common ground (Brown 2004, 187). Differences in rank and position, and the relative power and privilege of various departments are culturally represented in the very physical layout and objects of workplaces (Brown 2004, 187). Oppression deepens when sometimes, the very groups who occupy subordinate social structural positions (e.g., class, race/ethnicity, or occupation) come to view their own cultural inventories (e.g., language and idioms, dress, food, and home décor), and themselves, as inferior to other groups (Brown 2004, 133). Here, I would argue, a group’s cultural inventory has become an instrument for social exclusion. We think that we, human subjects, are free agents who can do this or that to the material culture we possess but as Miller writes: things do things to us and not just the things we want them 86
Furniture design as a tool for social inclusion to do (2010, 94). Unfortunately blindness to power and its machinations may reflect a sort of innocence, but just as surely those who ignore the nuances of power relations unknowingly will suffer their consequences (Brown 2004, 144). On the contrary, social inclusion can be defined as the processes by which certain groups are brought from the margins of society to participate more fully through the removal of the barriers to them by virtue of poverty, low education, inadequate life-‐skills and/or low recognition and status in terms of cultural identity and contribution (National Economic and Social Forum 2007). The last part of this definition “low recognition and status in terms of cultural identity and contribution” is crucial and closely related to the preceding ideas concerning social exclusion. In a sense, it is paradoxical; these excluded groups are the ones that come to constitute what we recognize as popular culture. A way of defining popular culture is as mass culture (Storey 2009); here in relies their contribution to “cultural identity”. What we recognize as popular culture usually does not have an elitist value; its power depends in its prevalence among many. Known concepts of popular culture and how they emanate and belong to the masses are its strength. This is how they become tools of social inclusion once these characteristics are combed through, sorted and applied to a product or service. For example, if Trinbagonians identify hammocks as a typical furniture piece common to their culture because most homes have one or it is a common reference in popular literature and imagery (paintings, pictures, ephemera, postcards, etc.), aside from serving for physical comfort or decoration in our homes, producing this furniture can be a tool for social inclusion for those who recognize in it an object common to their local culture and in whose production they can partake creatively. Other reasons for which furniture design can serve as a tool for social inclusion are: It can be created using local materials that reinforce a cultural identity Expensive machinery is not essential; furniture can be built with small electric tools sold in hardware shops (low end technology). Furniture doesn’t require state of the art automatized processes, which makes its manufacturing more accessible Unlike other industrial products, it is among those whose design could have a rustic finish, becoming reachable and affordable for artisanal manufacturing Since furniture is a tangible product found in most households, producing it has a relatively low learning curve for elders, children and differently abled people being easier to comprehend than other branches of design whose products are intangible and foreign Contemporary designs are found online and in do it yourself (DIT) furniture books Open source innovation software is a valuable alternative if considering the use of computers and new media prototyping Furniture manufacturing can be more ecological than producing other design products Urban furniture design interventions in neighbourhoods can be implemented with the local population and promote design for social good 87
ANGÉLICA RODRÍGUEZ BENCOSME Figure 3 All tenons cut. Source: Rob Cameron (2010). Furniture production could easily fit a design for development project and serve to promote local culture and tradition fostering social capital. If governments would direct resources “towards design initiatives on a national level”, furniture design as a tool of social inclusion should be considered for being easy to approach and implement. The following illustrate different takes for possible implementation: When old meets the new: Culture Factories, Uruguay Since 2008 (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 2015) Uruguay’s “Culture Factories” have become a tool with which the local population has rescued traditional craft making in the risk of extinction, promoting traditional knowledge. Its furniture workshop has being a gathering point where traditional furniture and crafts have been redesigned to assimilate contemporary design. Can this idea be imported, so that local designers work to redesign local Trinbagonian crafts and furniture? Strength in union: Creative city, Groningen, the Netherlands This is the name of a province and its main municipality, home to a population of 50,000 students of higher education. The local government has partnered with Groningen University, Hanze University of Technology and Applied Sciences, and UMCG (University Medical Centre Groningen) to embrace and promote the three Ts of Florida’s theory: Talent, Technology and knowledge, and Tolerance, making the most of the so called “knowledge spillover”. Here being small has become an asset: “in terms of space, Groningen is a compact city, which means that many encounters, of many kinds, occur spontaneously in what is currently called Third Space”, in Oldenburg’s jargon (Conference g3C 2015). Can St. Augustine congregate its education institutions to maximize its location and design furniture? 88
Furniture design as a tool for social inclusion Simple chairs for schools or homes using local resources and low-‐end technology The chair described in an article published by Purdue University professors (Haviarova, Eckelman, and Warner, 2015) uses round mortise-‐and-‐tenon joints that can be made easily—yet have the tolerance and quality of fit of chair joints made in a first-‐class furniture factory. Production requires two tools mounted in a lathe, drill press, or custom-‐made machine—a drill bit and a hole saw. What are the possibilities for different cultural or related institutions to work together in manufacturing, for example, school furniture? References Birth, Kevin K. 2012. Objects of time: How things shape temporality. New Yorl: Palgrave Macmillan. Brown, David K. 2004. Social Blueprints: Conceptual Foundations of Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press Haviarova, E., Eckelman, C. and Warner. Conference g3C. “Creative City Challenge.” Conference g3C. http://g3c.nl/en/creative-‐ industries-‐groningen-‐2/knowledge-‐city-‐groningen (Accessed April 23, 2015) Haviarova, E., Eckelman, C. and Warner, D. 2015. \"How to build a simple chair for schools or homes in disadvantaged areas of the world using local resources and low-‐end technology.\" Purdue Extension. FNR-‐499-‐W. Logan, Thad. 2002. “Domestic Space: Reading 19th century interiors”. Victorian Studies 44, no 2: 299-‐301. Miller, Daniel. 2010. Stuff. Cambridge: Polity Press. National Economic and Social Forum. The Arts, Cultural Inclusion and Social Cohesion. NESF Report 35. Ireland. National Economic and Social Forum. January 2007, 176. Storey, John. 2009. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture. Harlow, England: Pearson Longman. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). “Culture and Entrepreneurship: Uruguay”. UNESCO | Building peace in the minds of men and women. http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CLT/pdf/Cultural_F actories_and_Cultural_Production_Plants__Uruguay_.pdf (Accessed April 23, 2015) 89
ANGÉLICA RODRÍGUEZ BENCOSME References (Images) Chatterjee, Soumyaroop. (Photographer) (2011). My father’s old wrist watch. (Digital Image) Retrieved from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/60987981@N08/6568422685 PoshSurfside.com (Photographer) (2005). Pale Blue Pinstripe Curtains. (Digital Image) Retrieved from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryanndame/3166426121/in/photolist-‐ 5PNLaP-‐27jF2D-‐5yDUwi-‐5yDUkz-‐mUHJxM-‐5KH9gb-‐oE4BgJ-‐oC4o73-‐oDPsSB-‐ 8KYhqW-‐5DSk9U-‐83NVQ2-‐83S11E-‐eWEALA-‐nrfxZ8-‐6438fW-‐gYeT3n-‐bodshn-‐ 5KCWea-‐5wqz32-‐oDPtDX-‐oDPkiP-‐oFQTot-‐bec99v-‐5PT2KN-‐5qhW1h-‐7Th8gd-‐ 7Th8sh-‐4jNgj8-‐jXSpEK-‐oFQNPt-‐7rjyAz-‐6jEdnC-‐5ukwr3-‐6jA2tF-‐ctDjQq-‐oDSCNq-‐ 5qhVVb-‐e8DH2C-‐8UTUKg-‐fdyWL3-‐ctDjwb-‐8Pco9t-‐fdyWoy-‐onAFSp-‐6hLsvi-‐ onAovG-‐s5fDDz-‐soxBFD-‐rrLNVP Cameron, Rob. (Photographer) (2010). All the tenons cut. (Digital image) Retrieved from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cannikin/4860322331/in/photolist-‐8puquT-‐ 8pxBdq-‐8puqsx-‐8pxB9b-‐8puqnz-‐8pxB3J-‐8puqhV-‐8pxAWW-‐8pxAUo-‐dCg2RA-‐ 2apGEf-‐FmzCN-‐FmzB9-‐FmANi-‐DaeJH-‐87Ffr-‐87FeN-‐87Fdx-‐87FcL-‐87Fay-‐87F6U-‐ 87F5g-‐87F3U-‐87F2b-‐87EZg-‐87EXo-‐87EVq-‐87ETX-‐87ESr-‐87ERQ-‐87ERi-‐87EPY-‐ 5fmYF1-‐7LCsLb-‐4Hy38A-‐8qDDhH-‐dK2M8u-‐5fiXgs-‐5qpYJT-‐9Jmy3s-‐9JmwSL-‐ 5jZidH-‐dCaBuZ-‐8si8La-‐auWEEX-‐6b3H3Z-‐5jZikg-‐fbhyc-‐6b7QjQ-‐7ciSB1 90
Ministry of Design -‐ From Cottage Industry to State Enterprise University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad & Tobago May 28 – 29th, 2015 Small Business Development by Design Debbie-‐Ann ESTWICK University of the Southern Caribbean *Corresponding author e-‐mail [email protected]; [email protected] Abstract: This conceptual paper, “Small Business Development by Design” hypothesizes the role of a proposed Ministry of Design to wield design as a strategic tool for innovation and economic development in and through small businesses in Trinidad and Tobago. The study explores thought concepts regarding design as both a product and process, seeking to develop and apply these to a “Trinbagonian” context. The study, which borrows from varied case studies and literature, is based on the following premises -‐ 1) That designers are natural innovators with the ability to creatively problem-‐solve (The Design Experience; Cooper & Press, 2003, p.195), 2) That design thinkers are the new leaders of the future (Rise of the DEO: Leadership by Design; New Riders, 2014, p. 16) 3) That improved competitiveness and viability of small businesses and engineering and manufacturing industries can be achieved through collaboration, by way of design Upon these premises are built a discourse on the proposed value and responsibilities of an organised body that actively forms co-‐operatives with the intent of connecting craftsmen, artisans, engineers and manufacturers with a design-‐led development system that acts as consultancy, idea incubator and, in some cases, grant provider. The value of further study on such a hypothesis may bring to light methods in which design can contribute to the development of said industries in Trinidad and Tobago and in making the republic a design hub of the Caribbean, further diversifying and strengthening the local economy. Keywords: Design, SME, collaboration, economy.
DEBBIE-‐ANN ESTWICK Introduction As a small island nation in the Caribbean, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago must develop strategies to secure the future of its citizens. According to the Micro and Small Enterprise (MSE) Policy for Trinidad and Tobago 2013-‐2016, “Viable micro and small businesses are recognised as the key to economic diversification and social transformation at the very basic level.” Pursuit of the development of the MSE sector can aid in the economic sustainability of the nation. Design can be wielded as a strategic tool for innovation and economic development in and through small businesses in Trinidad and Tobago. This paper explores methods in which design can contribute to in Trinidad and Tobago and in making the republic a design hub of the Caribbean, further diversifying and strengthening the local economy. The Problem Imagine that the year is 2045. The Caribbean has evolved into a series of little island cities of which Trinidad is the creative and design hub. The spirit of collaboration is alive and well among designers, artists, artisans, manufacturers, architects and engineers who reside in this hub. Culture and colour are on display everywhere. A sense of pride in everything local is felt and seen as persons move through the bustling green district of Port of Spain. The city boasts it’s newest sustainable, self-‐cooling collaborative space and cultural centre, progressive and contemporary Caribbean in its design, yet built of local bamboo and clay. The best designers (be they product, graphic, user experience, furniture or fashion), investors and businessmen/women gravitate to this diverse island city to practice their craft, work with progressive partners and export powerful Caribbean brands to countries all over the world. This may an idealistic vision but an ideal where good design is part of the fibre of local culture and modus operandi is worth pursuing from both a private sector and governmental policy/Ministry level. In many first world countries, design is proven to increase innovation, add value, facilitate sustainability, facilitate green practices and improve businesses’ and brands’ abilities to compete. According to the UK’s Science and Innovation Strategy (2014), “The UK is world-‐renowned for its design capability – capability that is championed nationally by Design Council as a means to create better places to live, better products to use and healthier living.” Local government also recognizes the need for increased innovation, competitiveness, green practices and considerations along with export, among Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in Trinidad and Tobago. According to the Micro and Small Enterprise (MSE) Policy for Trinidad and Tobago 2013-‐2016, “The GORTT [Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago] has engaged in several projects and programmes aimed at supporting business in Trinidad 92
Small Business Development by Design and Tobago. While several of these emerge from the MOLSMED [Ministry of Labour and Small and Micro Enterprise Development] and address the MSE sector specifically, other projects and programmes are broader and apply to the wider business community. Additionally, there are initiatives headed by other Ministries, which are also geared at encouraging entrepreneurial development.” Some of these initiatives, support services, policy recommendations and actions include domestic and international market access, information availability, standard setting, innovation, formal education, mentorship network, green enterprises, physical infrastructure and public-‐private partnerships. Design is arguably a key player in the realisation of the stated initiatives for small businesses. Research suggests that design and design research fuel innovation; design of products, packaging, promotions and brands are essential for competition on an international stage; and design is critical to the development of the physical infrastructure of green businesses. How do MSE’s, that have their own areas of specialization and expertise tap into the value of design? How do businesses become aware of the value of design beyond subjective aesthetics? Is there even any value to design beyond “looking pretty”? Is collaboration even realistic? Who benefits most? Who gets the “short end of the stick”? What can we do? Where do we begin? Firstly, roles and responsibilities of government and its ministries as it relates to design must be established. Government looks after the whole, the long term. Businesses and design agencies must look out for their bottom line first, pursue profits, keep the business in the black. In that way they contribute to the whole. Their role and purpose is not the holistic development of a nation. As leaders, the value that government places on design, will no doubt trickle down to the people who are the decision makers in local businesses. If little value is placed on design, one may expect likewise from businesses. Government charts the course. As it relates to business and development, design’s role is to provide solutions. If the development of green businesses is a goal, design must be part of the solution. The role of design in architecture and urban planning comes into play when crafting beautiful, yet functional buildings that respect and operate in harmony with the environment. The work of design research, product design, design strategy and even graphic design can contribute to improving the way a product or system works. Solutions need to be explored, tested and implemented by way of design. How do local businesses compete with beautiful international products, well branded businesses and enjoyable experiences? They capitalize on on design! This may include environmental, interior, graphic or user experience design, among other disciplines. Design is functional. Form matters also. Form is what people interact with. Form creates connection, experience, pleasure, satisfaction. The popular design mantra rings true: Form follows function. There is an opportunity for the government to wield design to craft a more successful future by uniting designers and design thinkers with manufacturing, engineering and the MSE sector in Trinidad and Tobago. That is precisely where a local Ministry of Design has a role to play. 93
DEBBIE-‐ANN ESTWICK Literature Review Design According to Sir George Cox, “‘Design’ is what links creativity and innovation. It shapes ideas to become practical and attractive propositions for users or customers. Design maybe described as creativity deployed to a specific end.” According to Rassam, (1995) “The financial benefits of design are proportionate to its position and influence in a company. If design is used as a strategic tool, as it usually is in the most successful companies, and if, in terms of status, it is strategically positioned within an organisation, then it can provide considerable financial benefits. Design will pay off handsomely if it is used in the right way and in the right context.” One can present a glowing case on the value of design based on reports and studies from first world countries but what really is design and who are designers? According to the Merriam-‐Webster dictionary, a summary of the definition of design is “to plan and make decisions about [something] that is being built or created; to create the plans, drawings, etc., that show how [something] will be made; to plan and make [something] for a specific use or purpose; to think of [something], such as a plan; to plan [something] in your mind.” It is safe to say, according to the dictionary, that design, at its core, is planning and creating. Tucker Viemeister (Cooper & Press, 2003, p.197) embraces the view of the designer-‐planner and adds a skill of empowerment and effectiveness to role of designers, “ʻIn the future designers are going to be more like psychiatrists: people who help others do what they want rather than tell them what to do.ʼ” The idea that designers inherently have the ability to effectively plan and create is further expounded upon in The Design Experience (Cooper & Press, 2003, p.195) which says that “If one considers designers as those people with the skills to innovate, to solve problems, to bring creativity to a situation, with an element of visualization ability, and with the ability to deliver a product, then wherever there is a need to do this, designers can turn their hand to it.” While those are existing definitions of design, what is design in the Caribbean context? Who do people say designers are? What do they see designers as? If designers define themselves as one thing but the people view them as another, which view is true or truer? This plays towards the philosophical discussion of varying truths. Are designers only graphic, fashion, or interior “prettifiers”, the sprinklers of magic pixie dust to make things fun, attractive and “stush” or is the international, academic view of designers as solution providers, more accurate? There is a need for reconciliation between these views in the local Caribbean context and a need for design education if the full value of design is to be realized and its meaningful impact and value recognized. 94
Small Business Development by Design With those efforts towards reconciliation and education within both the public and private sector, a roadmap for a greater realization and maximization of design’s potential and subsequent value to the country can be better planned. Government, through its ministries can then better wield the power of design, in it’s many disciplines, for national improvement and progress. There is a need for exploration, documentation and evaluation of design, its application, evolution and value in the Caribbean, differentiating between design disciplines, as far as possible (see Figure 2.1). Design is a broad term that may be applied in different forms to widely varying disciplines, having implications for buildings and structures through architecture; goods and products through fashion, furniture and product design; services and experiences through graphic, interface and user experience design, along with many other design areas, not to mention design thinking. Figure 2.1 The “Design umbrella” covers many different disciplines. Source: Debbie-‐Ann Estwick (2015). 95
DEBBIE-‐ANN ESTWICK There is arguably no single initiative that will result in the development and improvement of the perceived value of all design fields or in bringing the benefits of each unique field of design to local businesses. For the purpose of clarity and simplicity, this paper will focus on design as a theoretical, thought approach: design thinking or an approach that is holistic, practical, human-‐centered, creative and visually driven. This approach, in its application, is influenced and realized by the specialization and practice of design in its various and distinct disciplines. It is this design-‐thinking approach that is arguably most applicable to informing the development of government design solutions, recommendations and policies for the support of the Micro and Small Enterprise sector in Trinidad and Tobago. Government The Merriam-‐Webster Dictionary summarises the definition of government as “The group of people who control and make decisions for a country, state, etc.; a particular system used for controlling a country, state, etc.; the process or manner of controlling a country, state, etc.”. Professor of Government and History, Dr Harold Damerow (study.com) refers to government as “the steering mechanism for a given society.” One can argue that it is the role of design practitioners to prove themselves valuable to the local MSE sector, in so doing, gaining new business and contracts that support MSEs. This however does not take into account a number of pivotal factors that sometimes prohibit the procurement of design services. These include cost, perceived value and lack of awareness of the need for professionally trained practitioners. Design practitioners, many of which may be MSEs, must run successful businesses in order to continue their practice. They must maintain economic sustainability, growth and development of their businesses, sometimes at the cost of design ideals. Their businesses survive but the impact may not be national, even if multiple design practitioners are successful. As it relates to building, supporting, maintaining and planning for national economic stability, through the development of MSEs, that is the role of the government, often realized in partnership with the private sector, including design practitioners. According to Michael Gordon, manager of the Enterprise Development Division in the Ministry of Labour and Small and Micro Enterprise Development, in a Guardian news article, “The MSE Development Policy seeks to expand this level of support so that entrepreneurship training, professional services, mentoring, financing and other services needed by MSEs will be more readily available to them.” Guardian news added that Gordon stated that “while the Government could facilitate, it was important to partner with key stakeholders and business support service providers to make services more accessible to aspiring entrepreneurs.” 96
Small Business Development by Design Hypothesis, question, aim, objective International reports, publications and presentations suggest that design has measurable business value and that some of the world’s most progressive and successful businesses and brands place a high value on design. Yet, good design does not always appear to be as much of a priority or to carry a similar value among local people, within micro and small enterprises or in some government activities. In light of this observation, a number of questions were brought to bear: What role can design play in improving/facilitating increased innovation, competitiveness, “greenness” and export readiness of MSEs in Trinidad and Tobago? What role can a local Ministry of Design play in supporting design and design practitioners in bolstering the MSE sector? How can the application of design provide increased value to MSEs in Trinidad and Tobago? How can the value of design be maximised to affect the masses? Can the fostering of a culture of collaboration and interconnectivity between micro and small enterprises (MSEs), craftsmen, artisans, engineers, manufacturers and designers be valuable? Key Question The exploration of these prompt the key question: Can an organized government body improve the local MSE sector, and by extension, support the economic development of Trinidad and Tobago through a design-‐led development system that facilitates collaborations between micro and small enterprises (MSEs), craftsmen, artisans, engineers, manufacturers and designers? Objectives To investigate the role of design in meeting local policy goals for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) To investigate the value of design in practice within Trinidad and Tobago To discover opportunities for development of MSEs through design application To explore means of connecting design and design approaches to micro and small enterprises in Trinidad and Tobago, through a Ministry of Design 97
DEBBIE-‐ANN ESTWICK Method and methodology The nature of design is more qualitative than quantitative and arguably, to a degree, more subjective than objective. While design is not entirely subjective, there can be a subjective aspect to design where multiple good design solutions can be effective and functional but may be both the “right” or “wrong” solution at once. According to Nathan Sinsabaugh, Design Director at KA+A Consultancy, “Traditional business looks to the hard sciences to solve problems: Quantitative data, demographic research, focus groups, surveys, etc. In a predictable environment, that approach can work. But [as designers] we’re operating in a world that’s anything but predictable. Competition is fierce, consumers are empowered and vocal, and customers are often irrational in their preferences and decision making.” As such, a qualitative methodology was pursued. Secondary research was conducted primarily through textual analysis, reviews of video presentations/blogs and primary research through observation and interviews with 4 key participants, well representing the SME sector, design practitioners, green design, innovation and craftsmen/artisans/makers. With this approach, the insight of professionals and practitioners in many relevant fields were able to inform the research. My method looks at design and its potential to benefit the MSE sector thus supporting government policy for MSEs and acting as a catalyst for increased economic growth in Trinidad and Tobago. 98
Small Business Development by Design Results/evidence In order to determine if and how an organized government body can improve the local MSE sector through a design-‐led development system, research was conducted and findings compiled and analyzed. The findings, presented in this section, are complimentary to the developmental findings presented in the literature review and both should be considered. In summary, Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in Trinidad and Tobago (TT) are encouraged to be innovative, competitive, progressive, green enterprises that penetrate foreign markets. Research shows that design fuels innovation; design of products, packaging, promotions and brands are essential for competition on an international stage; and design is critical to the development of the physical infrastructure and processes of green businesses. Policy Matters An interview with architect, Hans Severloh, revealed great potential for design in meeting the government’s green goals for MSEs and in building healthier spaces through the appropriate and aesthetically pleasing use of local materials and the development and implementation of design standards for buildings, properties and green spaces. However, Severloh articulated a lack of control and lack of policy support for good design practice. Interviewee Dean Arlen, an artist who blurs lines between art and design, proposed responsibility of designers in influencing policy development. He expressed the desire for the creation of meaningful interaction with shops, parlors and average people who may need a spark of imagination to see the possibilities for small business development. He also proposed that design practitioners become more engaged in policy discussions and decisions to better benefit people and communities, thus correlating design with better economics. Severloh, who focused more on an overarching systems approach to the realization of policies and implementation of standards, noted that “Control is the ‘A and Z’. When that is established, anything is possible.” His was an approach that proposed standards or broad guidelines as rules to be enforced that would have functional design implications (eg. more than 69% of properties cannot be paved) but not be limiting to creativity and good design in specific instances, but would rather ensure good design for the benefit of society on a whole (retaining green spaces on properties helps to reduce flooding as water flow can be absorbed by soil). Value, Development & Connecting It was perceived that a high enough value was not placed on design or the enforcement of design standards. Severloh saw collaboration between design, artisans, 99
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