What is it?

A practical, step-by-step guide for running design sprints to move from ideas to action. The guide walks through four key phases: Laying the Foundations, Envisioning the Future, Developing Solutions, and Building Prototypes. It provides structured activities, templates, and real-world examples to help teams define challenges, generate ideas, and create tangible prototypes. Designed for local government and public sector teams, it can be adapted for different contexts and challenges.

Why did we create it?

This guide was developed based on LOTI’s experience running design sprints in local government, particularly in the health and social care space. Through these sprints, we found that structured yet flexible approaches help teams:

• Clarify complex challenges by grounding solutions in real-world needs
• Engage diverse stakeholders in creative problem-solving
• Rapidly test and iterate on ideas before committing to full-scale implementation
• Turn insights into tangible actions with clear steps for execution

By sharing this guide, we aim to equip teams with the tools to design their own impactful sprints, ensuring that innovation leads to meaningful and actionable change.

Who could use it?

While this guide was developed with local government and public sector teams in mind, it is designed to be flexible and scalable, making it useful for:

• Policy teams and service designers looking to prototype policy and service innovations
• Innovation teams in councils and public sector organizations exploring new ways to tackle systemic challenges
• Facilitators and workshop leads who want to run structured problem-solving sessions

The guide is structured to support looking to facilitate the development of new services, products, policies, or interventions. It offers adaptable methods that work for both short, focused workshops and longer-term sprint processes.

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