Blog written by Salimah Samji
Over the past few years, we have been growing our PDIA engagements in cities.
In late 2023 we were approached by Meri Virta and Piia Pelimanni, participants who had completed a PDIA training we conducted for the Bloomberg-Harvard City Leadership Initiative, to offer a custom online action learning program for the city of Helsinki. The objective of this program was to continue their work on youth and child safety in their city, in teams, through action-oriented work.
In March 2024, we began a 12-week PDIA online action learning program for 24 city leaders across 5 teams. The teams included 4-5 members from various departments within the city of Helsinki, and other service providers working on issues of youth and child safety. They worked on a range of problems and explored a variety of causes including the lack of activities for youth, drug abuse, harassment, lack of social cohesion, insufficient services, disengaged parents, absent fathers, and isolation due to language/cultural barriers.
Over the period of twelve weeks, the teams developed a deep understanding of their problem by collecting data, connecting with new voices, identifying needs, and listening to diverse perspectives. This allowed them to discover sub-causes that were not obvious and gain new insights on their problem. The teams also built and broadened their network of stakeholders, improved their collaboration skills, and learned that working across silos is necessary to solve complex problems.
In their words:
“By listening, we can better identify the root causes of problems and develop more effective solutions. In addition, active listening improves communication and reduces misunderstandings” – Team Kannelmimmit
“We have created new contacts and crossed the boundaries of different divisions of city organization and collaborated well.” – Team 9 to 5
“Now I have a network who I can contact so I don’t need to create all the solutions alone.” – Tiina Kalliola
During the action learning phase of the program, the teams took small steps, iterated, and fostered continuous learning. Documenting and celebrating their small wins helped keep the teams motivated.
In their words:
“This process helped me to develop patience and persistence, as I realized that complex problems require time. I also learned to embrace “failure” as a learning opportunity rather than a setback, which significantly shifted my mindset towards continuous improvement and personal growth.” – Tiina Gustafsson.
“I learned also that it is okay to struggle during the process, it is not just smooth sailing.” – Marjaana Risku
“Learning the PDIA approach has provided useful tools for defining multidisciplinary problems and analyzing different areas. …. we have gained more courage to try different things without fear of failure. We always learn something.” – Team City Center Game Changers
“We want to promote within organizations the idea that it’s possible to work together to solve common problems, and it’s not always necessary to pursue massive changes right away. Instead, we can gradually address issues from different perspectives and take one step in time.” – Team 9 to 5
The action learning program ended in June 2024. You can learn more about the progress each team made by reading their learning journey blogs.
City leaders plan to share the tools they learned, continue strengthening their networks and create partnerships for further collaboration. They also plan to work with a regional group of experts in the East and South-East region tasked with addressing issues around youth and child safety.
We wish them the very best on their future PDIA journey!