At the Institute for Design Informatics, through the DeCaDE centre, and in prior research on these topics, we have developed numerous bespoke workshops, experiences and artefacts to engage new audiences in research on decentralised digital economies. Though these have been extensively published in academic contexts, there is more we can do to make these approaches more widely accessible, available and adaptable.

To this end, we are exploring how to produce a ‘playbook’ of methods and tools to facilitate co-creation around these technologies. These individual methods – each focused on particular aspects of DLTs – will be combined with a novel service design framework developed by our partners at Orange to identify, the values of decentralised service ecosystems in different contexts, and considerations for responsible and ethical innovation. Our ambition is to develop an accessible resource to guide more inclusive, thoughtful and valuable development of decentralised technologies.

Now, in close collaboration with Orange and funded by an ESRC Impact Accelerator Account, we are tailoring the design of the Playbook for an industry audience. The goal is to enable industry intermediaries that accelerate the adoption of advanced technologies and facilitate collaboration to solve challenges, to adapt and use the Playbook independently within their business development activities.

The Playbook methods can be adapted in numerous ways. Our challenge is to design the Playbook to support ease of use by providing clear, detailed instructions and materials, whilst also inspiring a sense of openness around the possibilities. To ensure the Playbook fits industry requirements, we are collaborating with partners – Digital Catapult and Scottish Enterprise – to design and conduct a series of workshops using the Playbook methods, for different sectors including supply chain, energy and finance. Through this process we seek to understand which methods might be most useful, how they might be adapted, and determine what is needed to promote independent industry adoption.