Developing Disruptive and Normcritical Innovation at Volvo - A Pilot Project

Purpose and goal

The collaborative project aimed to foster disruptive norm critical innovation at Volvo through 1) further developing existing methods for initiating innovation by bringing in disruptive norm critical innovation methods into Volvo´s already existing tool boxes for innovation, 2) developing a particular tool box to enhance disruptive norm critical innovation across existing tool boxes, and 3) developing a disruptive norm critical innovation tool box targeting Volvo´s leadership program. The first step was a pilot project to try-out methods and develop a detailed application.

Results and expected effects

Inspired by reflections on normative scripts, and how they orient technology designs towards certain preconfigured users, the project focused on future designs of long haul trucks. Via workshops, it asked how different imaginary scripts and notions of users may block/facilitate the unfolding of design ideas pointing towards ´trucks for all´. Taken-for-granted norms about a hyper-macsulinized driver were disrupted and other possible scripts/users explored. The project is expected to result in a project proposal (Vinnova), involving development of a concept truck at Volvo.

Approach and implementation

The pilot project was planned as a try-out of two workshop formats: the Future Workshop and the World Café, chosen to enable productive collaboration and encounters between Volvo staff, researchers from Tema Genus, Linköping Univ, and ´unexpected stakeholders´, ie activists with a political interest in gender, lgbtq, dis/ability and environmental issues. The formats were chosen to facilitate the encounter. Both represent radically democratic formats aiming at fostering mutually enriching conversations, where all voices and viewpoints are taken into account.