Masterclass in Innovation and Design Thinking for government professionals

Profound societal changes and geopolitical uncertainties bring new challenges. This makes it increasingly difficult for policymakers to make strategic decisions for the future. Futures literacy helps policymakers embrace uncertainty. In this session, you will gain tools to develop future-oriented policies that can flexibly respond to different scenarios.

Expert Thomas D'hooge, is a lecturer at Howest where he shares his expertise in future thinking. Co-founder of the Belgian hub ‘Teach The Future’, he combines insights from design thinking, lean startup methods, creative problem solving and trend analysis.

An outdated organisational structure can be the source of numerous problems: laborious communication, slow decision-making and unclear roles. In this session, you will discover how innovative organisational structures can contribute to a culture of innovation, in which employees actively participate and contribute to generating new ideas. Such an innovation climate leads directly to better services and increases the commitment of your team.

Inge Ramboer brings 20 years of experience in various roles within the social profit sector and the corporate world. As a team coach, HR director, and board member, she has supported numerous merger and integration processes.
Joost Vandriessche (Wilde Zwanen) guides organizations through change processes and the development of agility. In the past, he has held various roles (from consultant to entrepreneur) and managed different types of departments across multiple sectors.

Where the traditional government context was all about stability, hierarchy and uniformity, today's world demands a different approach. In this session, you will discover new leadership styles better suited to today's challenges. You will learn how to put together a balanced innovation team and how to guide teams towards successful results.

Joost Vandriessche and Els Vanparys (Wilde Zwanen) have been supporting leaders, teams, and organizations for many years in reaching their full potential, fostering sustainable innovation and collaboration.

Whether you are developing new services for citizens, or digitising internal processes for your colleagues: it is always essential to understand what is on the minds of those you are innovating for: their needs, questions and challenges. After all, these insights form the basis for developing and improving public services and/or internal processes. This session introduces you to design thinking and various service design methodologies that help you effectively identify these needs and implement supported change and innovation from there.

Remco Lenstra started his career as a product designer and R&D manager. Today, he works as an experienced design thinker at, among others, Antwerp Management School.

Successful collaboration with external parties is crucial for organisations striving to innovate. It starts with identifying potential cocreation opportunities and mapping the ecosystem in which you operate. In this session, you will learn how to collaborate effectively with stakeholders within a win-win model, so that everyone benefits from joint efforts.

Piet Verhoeve gained experience as CTO of Televic and as director ICON at iMinds/Imec. He is the author of the book Win-Winnovation and launched the co-creation hub Hangar K in Kortrijk in 2018. In 2021, he kicked off Flanders.healthTech.

By integrating circular principles into municipal policies, you contribute to a low-carbon society. In this session, you will discover the important role of government in encouraging citizens and businesses to develop sustainable, innovative solutions.

Tine Buysens is an ESG expert at Sura Impact, where she advises and supports companies and organizations committed to sustainable entrepreneurship. As a consultancy firm, they ensure that economic performance goes hand in hand with a positive impact on people and the environment.

Developing services together with citizens and neighbourhood committees offers opportunities for quality and supported service delivery. In this session, you will learn both the basic theoretical concepts and the practical applicability of citizen participation and stakeholder engagement.

Cato Léonard (Glassroots) engages internal, external stakeholders and citizens to co-create together a new strategy, product or solutions to a challenge that leads to support for implementation. Cato Leonard works for companies, governments, political parties and non-profit organisations.

As an innovator and frontrunner, you therefore cannot do without the power of storytelling, from the very first idea to its dissemination. In this session, you will learn to convince and enthuse others about your vision of the future.

Tom Delmotte has built a rich career that included working for the government and in higher education. In early 2018, he decided to continue as a full-time freelancer. Tom is passionate about words and stories and focuses on advising companies and organisations to communicate their story powerfully and effectively.