The social security in 2044
2020
Brussels
Government
Service design
Challenge
Today, our citizens are faced with new threats that are emerging more and more quickly and are unexpectedly emerging. At the same time, we realise that there is great financial pressure on social security. This requires a flexible and transparent approach in order to respond quickly and efficiently to new problems. An approach in which one can switch quickly and change direction is required.
It is impossible to estimate what the social and economic challenges will be in 2044. It is therefore essential that we at FPS Social Security can not only anchor the prospective approach but can also link it to an embedded learning and innovation culture. This will enable the service to respond permanently and proactively to these challenges and changes.
Approach
In developing an approach for this assignment, we started from the vision of the FPS Social Security:
- Guaranteeing the sustainability and adequacy of social protection now and in the future
- Being able to manage change and “disruptions” in an agile way.
- Develop innovative solutions.
Exploring the future
Thinking of the future or scenario thinking is systematically exploring the future in order to take the right long-term decisions in the context of social security. This technique is based on the core uncertainties that characterise our future. By examining them, we can draw up various scenarios in order to anticipate them. It is therefore an ideal method for developing meaningful solutions for the future in a complex environment.
Building worlds and scenarios
In the scenario thinking we imagine a number of possible future ‘worlds’ and investigate how we would move in them as a user.
These scenarios are not an end in themselves but a means to an end. We use them to investigate which social, economic and technological developments will have an impact on the future users of social security. There are 3 types of scenarios: possible scenarios - desired scenarios - likely scenariosDesign sprint 2044
We conclude the exploration of the future with a design sprint around social security in 2044. We start from the 4 worlds and the scenarios we developed in the previous step. In this way, we can better imagine the experiences of the users of social security in 2044.
Next, the “pains, gains jobs to be done” will be mapped out in order to arrive at the right problems, which will serve as a basis for generating and selecting ideas. We will then work with these ideas in order to be better prepared for the various possible future scenarios.
