PETALING JAYA, Oct 18 — Better management of organisations and response to change in the digital landscape can be fully achieved with one’s ability to absorb the power of design thinking (DT).
This design thinking methodology has enabled many in the public and private sector to think innovatively on a professional level since its inception in 2013.
“Design thinking programmes and its flagship Innovation Ambassador Development Programme (IADP) have resulted in the greatest benefit to its public sector participants,” said Genovasi Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Lee Yew Meng yesterday.
“Since opening our doors in February 2013, over 3,500 have joined, 70 per cent of whom are administration and diplomatic officers from the National Institute of Public Administration as well as various in-service government personnel, with the rest from government-linked companies and the private sector,” he said.
Working in concert with their peers in Germany’s Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) in Postdam and the United States Standford Centre for Professional Development at the famed Stanford University, Genovasi sought to realise the government’s objective for a first class public delivery service, starting from the front counter.
Guided by Agensi Inovasi Malaysia (AIM), Lee said Genovasi had engaged in various endeavours, such as the ongoing collaboration with the government’s National Blue Ocean Strategy unit, aiming to provide up to 21 services in a single Urban Transformation Centre counter.
“That is a pursuit in good governance. It is as judicious to provide as best a public delivery service as it is an independent judiciary or a professional police force,” he said.
Lee is a realist when it came to the formation of the Design Thinking Association Malaysia (DTAM).
“DTAM’s primary role is to defend and promote authentic design thinking practices,” he said.
“Our peers at the HPI raised this concern, which we share as well. They felt people who attended their five-day courses may not be able to practise DT adequately,” he said.
“Even though the methodology is well-researched and well-packaged, if a person is not properly trained in DT or practises it, it could lead to a negative impression of the methodology,” he said.
By functioning as a formal channel for DT practitioners to conduct networking and collaborations while advocating its use as a core problem-solving innovation skill, Lee said DTAM would safeguard the methodology, ensuring proper forms are adhered to.
“Ultimately, our objective is to ensure DT becomes the core competency among as many Malaysians as possible, as this can enhance the application of any experience, training and skill sets they have,” he said.
