Initiatives

Initiatives are a key output of the Lab. Participants work in small groups to create projects and activities aimed at shifting the engineering system. The groups are intended to be action-oriented, and ideally members are well-positioned to facilitate implementation the initiative in their home organization or link the initiative to broader activities so that it gains traction.

Initiatives are deliberately intended as pilot projects. The idea is to start small and test the effectiveness of the activity, so that adjustments can be made and the set of activities best able to enable change is identified before scaling.

Failed initiatives — instances where the idea doesn’t gain traction or activities don’t achieve the results intended — are common and are signs of positive learning and progress, as they enhance broad understand of the system and provide insight into the best levers for change.