White Paper:
Design Thinking

Innovation Nation?

A White Paper on Design Thinking in Namibia


Based on your general impression, what Namibian companies or organisations do you perceive as innovative?

What about the companies and organisations you thought of makes them seem innovative to you?

How familiar are you with Lean Startup/Scrum/Agile/Design Thinking?

Background

Relating to our new Co-Creation service, we are conducting a study to understand how companies, NGOs and the public sector in Namibia innovate, how they foster creativity and develop new services, products or processes, and to what extent Lean methods like Design Thinking are used or known, if at all. Turipamwe has serviced the corporate landscape, the public sector and civil society for over a decade. In our work, we have come across an untapped market in supporting clients in strategy work and innovation facilitation. To meet the demand for a local service, Turipamwe underwent a Lean Service Creation process and developed its new service Co-Creation using the Design Thinking methodology.

However, in entering the Namibian market, the team decided that more awareness is needed in the use of the methodology, and its applications in a wide range of ways – the decolonised and localised, the urban and the rural. Seeking insight into the benefits, opportunities and challenges of Design Thinking in Namibia, Turipamwe ventures to conduct an original study with the aim of publishing an industrial White Paper of its findings. The findings aim to propose a way to leapfrog innovation in the country.

Digital Questionnaire

Are you part of a leading organization in Namibia that values innovation? We would be honoured to get your anonymous feedback on the topic of innovation and design thinking in your organisation. We estimate that filling in the survey will take 10-15 min. We are aiming for the survey to be filled by those in charge of organisations, their innovation processes or the internal development of services, products or processes.

No prior experience or knowledge of Design Thinking is required to fill in
the survey.

One-on-One Interview

The Co-Creation team will conduct original research through interviews in July and August 2022.

We invite representatives of leading corporations, startups, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) as well as the public sector in Namibia to share what they know about innovation and the use of methods aiming to support innovation.

Expert Contributions

We invite guest authors to share their views on its possibilities, its applications in rural Namibia and ways to localize and decolonize the method in Namibia. The end product will be openly available for everyone interested by the end of 2022, and a limited number of hard copies will be made available for Co-Creation clients.

For more information about this project,
contact
Donovan Majiedt