MI Drinking Water Innovation Salon

The inaugural Drinking Water Innovation Salon was hosted in May 2019 by City of Ann Arbor Drinking Water Treatment Plant Manager Brian Steglitz and U-M Professor Lut Raskin. Ann Verhey-Henke, Strategic Director of the U-M Center for Socially Engaged Design (C-SED) led the Innovation Salon. The Salon was designed by Ann Verhey-Henke, Brian Steglitz, Lut Raskin, and Suzanne Chou.

What is an "Innovation Salon"?

A facilitated gathering of people with diverse backgrounds and expertise who have in-depth discussions about innovation in a particular area of interest.

How did we use the MI Drinking Water Innovation Salon?

Michigan needs innovative ways to support drinking water research that is relevant and actionable for drinking water professionals around the state. Seeing this just as much as a social challenge as a technical challenge, the Blue Sky team brought together researchers and utility professionals from across the state for a full day of relationship building and problem solving.

The Drinking Water Innovation Salon at a glance

The agenda included various individual, small group, and large group activities to facilitate brainstorming, sharing, and consensus building.

The day was marked by fresh approaches to generating ideas by a diverse group of people and identifying priorities for researchers and drinking water professionals in Michigan.

Partnership fishbowl

A drinking water academic researcher and a utility manager were invited to have a frank conversation about what they see as the greatest challenges and opportunities to ensuring wholesome drinking water in Michigan. The audience of fellow researchers and professionals enriched the conversation with additional insights and questions.

Trend mapping

In small groups of 4-6, researchers and industry professionals brainstormed different needs for the future of drinking water in Michigan. Ideas were captured by post-it notes, color-coded by academic and research perspectives. The ideas were then literally mapped out on the windows of the conference room to find trends in the identified needs.

Needs for innovation

After mapping out trends, each participant was given a set of stickers to vote for their priority needs. Stickers were again color coded to help visualize the differences and similarities across practitioner and researcher perspectives.

Pitch

Finally, small groups generated several ideas of solutions to priority areas of need. Each group prepared a quick recap of the main motivations behind the need and listed several potential solutions.

Closing remarks

The hosts and C-SED facilitator wrapped up the workshop with an overview of trends and outcomes from the day-long workshop. The C-SED student team then went to work on the 12-week long deep dive!

The Facilitation Team

The salon was facilitated by the C-SED summer associate team members Ann Verhey-Henkey (lead), Brianna Broderick, Katie Karban, Samir Shah, and Suzanne Chou.

From left to right: Ian Robinson, Suzanne Chou, Ann Verhey-Henkey, Katie Karban, Brianna Broderick, Samir Shah, Lutgarde Raskin.

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