Smart Moves: Open to co-creation (Schiphol)

https://www.schiphol.nl/en/download/b2b/1596638833/7BQuu4Dl8BOYtGwuCSsXCS.pdf

LIMITS TO GROWTH?

Mobility and transport are at the very center of our socio-economic fabric. They underpin social connections and facilitate access to goods and services. In today’s world, mobility by air, road and water is all about efficiencies, speed, interconnectivity and accessibility. How can the industry adapt and enhance today’s already-stretched mobility system for it to respond to the increased demands? And more importantly how can mobility be reinvigorated for it to become truly sustainable?

The Dutch Schiphol Airport is an example of a European mainport that is heavily under pressure to ramp-up its efforts on sustainability, quality of life ánd work. For this to work a near future decoupling of growth ánd its negative consequences is needed.

In Schiphol’s most recently published vision 2050, Schiphol made quite a vulnerable statement. The Royal Schiphol Group identified several grand social challenges that need to be resolved in the coming decade for the company to have a future raison d'être.

These social and environmental challenges are extremely complex, systemic dilemma’s which the organization can't fix all by themselves or instantly. It requires effort on both incremental, disruptive ánd radical innovation.

Innovations in both technology and organization are essential to make mobility sustainable. Cutting-edge technologies create opportunities to transform the mobility system e.g. autonomous devices, ultralight materials, unmanned aircraft innovations, hyperloop, artificial intelligence, biometrics, robotics, new airplane designs, different air fields, alternative fuels or even electric aircrafts. The key question is how to initiate this crucial innovation and transformation in such a high reliability industry where safety and thus protocol is key?

Therefor Schiphol turns to entrepreneurs by using their vision ‘destination 2050’ - with the ambitious goal to become climate-neutral - as an open invitation: calling all innovators. The airport will open its well gated platform for more open-innovation and co-creation to find new breakthrough solutions together, which they will then share and roll-out globally.

OPEN INVITATION: WE NEED TO SOLVE THIS TOGETHER

What grand social challenges do you relate to?

1. 2. 3. Translate your future vision statement into a question. Or an invitation?

What would your business model look like if ‘growth’ is not a goal?

SCHIPHOL'S AMBITION IS TO REDUCE EMISSION BY 50%

DESTINATION 2050 A ZERO-EMISSION AIRPORT

MASTERPLAN 2003: AIRPORT CITY IN INTERNATIONAL HUB & SPOKE MODEL

OIL CRISIS STOPS GROWTH SCHIPHOL

OPENING NEW PIER STRUCTURE TO HOST NEW BOEING 747’S

NEARBY TOWN OF RIJK DEMOLISHED FOR EXPANSION

REPAIR & RAPID GROWTH WITH A NEW TERMINAL

SCHIPHOL IS NOW EUROPE’S LARGEST AIRPORT

ROYAL SCHIPHOL GROUP

FIRST PASSENGER BUILDING TO ACCOMMODATE 1928 OLYMPICS

FIRST MILITARY PLANES LAND AT THE MUDDY FIELDS OF SCHIPHOL

What began as 12 hectares of swampy grassland for military planes has expanded into one of the largest airports in Europe. In size and significance, Schiphol is Europe's busiest airport (by aircraft movements). Currently, the airport has five individual runways. Schiphol differs from many of its fellow intercontinental hub airports by having just one terminal balancing customer experience and aviation efficiency.

Like many airports, Schiphol faces the continual dilemma of balancing the growth required to compete on a global aviation market with local interests such as a good quality of life, environment and work. To become a global, locative leader in developing new solutions, Schiphol is turning this challenge into its main ambition for 2030 and beyond.

Royal Schiphol Group is the owner and operator of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, as well as of Rotterdam, The Hague and Lelystad and Eindhoven Airport.

80MIL

PASSENGERS PER YEAR

EMPLOYEES ON & AROUND THE AIRFIELD

1.66

MILLION TON CARGO PER YEAR

17,79€

AIRRPORT SPENDING PER PASSENGER PER DAY

0.23KG

CO2 EMISSION PER PERSON

PASSENGERS IS BUSINESS TRAVELER

FUTURES READY BY OPENING UP FOR COCREATION.

SCHIPHOL SMART MOVES

INCREMENTAL, DISRUPTIVE & RADICAL FUTURES

Clearly defining ánd embedding horizon III innovation

2 4

A HUB FOR INNOVATION

Open up for all innovators to unleash platform power

3

1 5

VALUE BASED & OUTSIDE IN A systemic approach towards innovation

ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT

From idea to proof-of-concept to ready for take-off

GOAL SETTING FOR DIFFERENT VALUES

Dealing with dual objectives in one organisation

Schiphol Group works with the three lean horizons in their innovation approach: Earth, Moon and Mars. The group has learned that it's very important to have an unambiguous scope and definition of these horizons, to have different approaches, and to land this in the organisation.

INCREMENTAL, DISRUPTIVE AND RADICAL FUTURES

• Earthshot (H1) represents the known. A change horizon where the idea is clear and we know how to get there. It's all a matter of getting things done.

• Moonshots (H2) takes change a step further into the unknown. You can see the Moon, but you can't get there very quickly. In this stage, we have a clear idea about the future but we have to experiment on how to transform our models to achieve our goals.

• Marsshot (H3) is about those ideas that break the ground rules, disrupting the core principles and values of our business. We have no clear picture of the future, and no idea how to make it work or even how to get there. Everything is an unknown, but still very valuable to explore for our future.

What if we question all design principles of an airport or flying? From a circular runway to flying in platoons?

What is the timeline and impact of new fuel, solar or eco-fuel?

What could be the role in the ecosystem of future mobility?

How to organize peoples autonomy within a smart & connected infrastructure?

What if transportation looks different in the future from Hyperloop to Deltawing?

How can you replace flying? High speed train? Digital? XR?

1

TO INFINITY & BEYOND?

What are your three horizons of innovation? 1. 2.

3. How do you approach: Incremental innovation?

Disruptive innovation?

Radical innovation?

What story or image could help the organisation to really understand the difference?

Open up for all innovators to unleash platform power

SCHIPHOL AS A PLATFORM

CREATING SOLUTIONS TOGETHER

For extensive innovation, Schiphol has chosen an increasingly more co-creative approach. The optimist credo of the innovation team: 'To make an impact, you have to work together. If the various parties that you need are all on board and up to the task, there's a very good chance that it will succeed.'

Schiphol has a unique platform, one which is almost city on its own. It has a lot of autonomy, an enormous reach and a wide variety of resources – but also pressing issues and a lack of knowhow in specific domains. To create true future value for all stakeholders, collaboration is key.

GLOBAL GROWTH AIR TRAFFIC

By innovating within the Schiphol platform, it is possible to learn and develop in a real-life environment and to resolve complex issues 'on the fly’.

LIVING LAB TO PROTOTYPE

GLOBAL ROLLOUT & SCALE

INNOVATION

Airports across the globe are facing similar challenges, allowing Schiphol to make proven solutions available to the world.

AN ENVIRONMENT OF TRUST

The innovation team shares a few lessons learned: The most important element in the design of these explorative partnerships is the clear formulation of common ambitions and values. Despite the multitude of disciplines and a clear difference in company size, an environment can then be created in which cooperation can be very equal in an 'environment of trust'. Only then is true cooperation possible.

Schiphol's primary goal for H2/3 innovation is solving problems; creating intellectual properties (such as patents) is not a goal in itself. The current approach is to be as transparent as possible, within an open environment with all partners.

A secondary element in orchestrating collaborations is achieving concrete step-bystep results and the continual evaluation of what positive impact these results have on the main problem.

HOW TO SET EACH OTHER UP FOR SUCCESS?

What’s your ‘social capital’ that could attract talent and partners that strive for impact?

Wouldn’t it be brilliant if you could find a partner that could…

What can you do to turn existing cooperations into even more true & mutual partnerships?

VALUE BASED & A systemic approach towards innovation 3

CONNECTING PEOPLE TO SYSTEMS

VALUE BASED & OUTSIDE IN CAPTURING

PARTICALS

The relationship between technology, people and infrastructure has always been challenging. Today's smart information networks provide individuals with more autonomy and more connectivity at the same time.

A key question regarding the future smart city is what is to be governed by technology (infrastructure), and how?

For example, a digital infrastructure that's aware of your route and talks directly to the e-bicycle motor to slow down your speed in crowded areas. This kind of new interactive digital technology has been successfully trialled on a stretch of bike lanes at Schiphol.

Working conditions at Schiphol are also an important point of attention. In addition to the working environments at an airport, the air quality is also a major concern. Schiphol is dependent on hi-tech innovations from aircraft manufacturers and/or biotech advancements in new fuels.

Schiphol wants to do everything possible to contribute to reducing negative impacts – today, not tomorrow! Sometimes, after the problem has been recognised and understood, a low-tech solution can offer a shortcut – for example, Schiphol's use of water curtains to prevent harmful particles from spreading in the open air.

Partner: Townmaking

Partner: TLD

SUSTAINABLE TAXI ROBOT

OUTSIDE IN

Partner: Denoize

DENOISING TRAFFIC

Schiphol views noise nuisance as a major challenge. Schiphol is highly dependent on the development of aircraft engines in this regard, and has little influence other than limiting time slots and balancing approach routes.

Thinking about impact, we can also look at 2nd and 3rd generation solutions. This is how Schiphol came up with prototypes varying from terraforming to equipping homes in the vicinity of Schiphol with denoising solutions.Simple insulation already made a difference, but now, in collaboration with a sound start-up, Schiphol also makes window frames that are anti-noise. As they have proven highly effective, Schiphol is investing in the technology through a major initial order so as to kickstart production and create a real win-winwin.

Another idea that is being developed is a robot that helps with sustainable taxiing. Aircraft engines are designed for flying, not for driving slowly. Taxi robots could limit the overuse of these powerful engines and drastically reduce fuel, noise and emissions.

Current prototypes are incorporated into the aircraft, but they also increase the aircraft's weight, which reduces the savings. Building a kind of autopilot that wraps around the front wheel after landing may be complex, but it would be the way to go. The technology is the easy part. The big challenge is the correspondingly required system change. Who is in charge of the 'TaxiBot' during the taxiing is the real question: the pilot, air-traffic control, ground control, or…?

The setting up of a new international standard requires all stakeholders – from airport to airline to plane manufacturer to legislators – to work in cooperation

Partner: TNO & Corendon

WHAT ARE THE MEANS TO AN END?

Divide your ideas or projects over

Horizon 1

Horizon 2

Horizon 3

Need more ideas to fill the blind spots?

• Think ‘yes and…’

• Make an idea much bigger, what if…

• Make it much simpler! If only I could start…

Can you create innovation tracks by linking ideas from one horizon to another?

From idea to proof-of-concept to ready for take-off

Schiphol has outlined six innovation themes, which we refer to as 'families': autonomous airside, new baggage concepts, digital identity, healthy living environment, new forms of transport, and sustainable aviation.

WELCOME IN THE LIVING LAB

Schiphol aims to be the world's most sustainable and high-quality airport. This requires investing in improving user experience and continuous innovation in safety, but certainly also in sustainability.

Schiphol, as an important hub of national and global networks, has the ability to cooperate with different partners in many different domains in its DNA. For this reason, Alliances & Participations is the fourth growth area in the Schiphol strategy (in addition to Facilitating Travellers/ Cargo, Aviation Services and Real Estate).

FLEXIBILITY & ECONOMIES OF SCALE

Many things that are now mainstream at international airports started out at Schiphol. By tapping into the knowledge and innovative capacity of every part of the group, Schiphol can be a global aviation pioneer. This approach requires flexibility within the group and offers economies of scale at the same time. This allows the group to scale and commercialise local proof-of-concept into global products and services, serving the local and global position of Schiphol.

ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT

FUN ÁND/OR FAST?

We all know Schiphol as a logistics powerhouse for the transport of people and cargo. This is a challenge in itself, but what if two departments have conflicting interests? Choose, compromise or fuel this duality?

As a customer, one wants to get from one's car seat (or train seat!) to one's airplane seat as quickly as possible –a logistical challenge that requires innovation, from way-finding to onboard procedures.

At the same time, flying is an experience and Schiphol's real-estate partners (shops & restaurants) would like to entertain travellers for as loooong as possible between airport arrival and gate arrival.

Rather than position these goals (and thus departments) as opposing goals, link them to the 'organisation's mission and values' and explain to all team members how they mesh from a user perspective.

ALWAYS ADAPTIVE

To enable these dual forces, different flows and adaptive customer journeys requires Schiphol airport to transform the 70.000m2 closed-off operational and security place. The design challenge: How to turn this into dynamic service spaces, preparing the building-as-a-platform for future growth ánd sustainability?

Schiphol needs to handle the growing number of travelers as quickly, safely and efficiently as possible, and on the other hand provide personal, exciting and comfortable spaces and services.

The ‘platform’ needs to be ale to cope with volatile peaks ánd it needs to become 100% climate neutral. This requires a complete re-design to become more future ready.

5 key principles have been defined:

• Decouple all elements

• Make it smart

• Be able to continuously update

• Re-shuffle on the fly/demand

• Re-use everything

Passengers and clients will ultimately need to experience one space where all services are open and approachable from all different sides, like a true hub.

A BUILDING LIKE A SMART PHONE?

Such an open design building would be designed and programmed similar to The architecture of a computer, smart phone or electronic car; like a stack.

Services from different stakeholders are working together (inter-operable) and thus perform better and more efficient than stand-alone.

The ‘Stack’ as a design principle

A PLATFORM ORGANISATION IS STACK-BASED

TURNING LEMONS INTO LEMONADE?!

What would be your definition-of-done of your innovation initiatives?

What does successful innovation look like?

Output (result) Outcome (value)

How could you share or exploit more of your ‘unique fixes’ with the world?

Striving for dual objectives in one organisation

DISENGAGE FROM AUTOPILOT

Major transformation towards greater sustainability and taking on long-term challenges are sometimes at odds with the agenda of today and tomorrow.

Schiphol has recognised that, to show its progress and values, dealing with these strategic dilemmas requires defining a completely new set of metrics throughout the organisation.

For example: What if CO2 reduction becomes a concrete KPI?! How can it be kept from becoming a discussion about profit versus value(s)? How do you define quality of life? Measure safety? Or how do you book less emission on a project? What is required is a very clear formulation of goals and how they connect (goal tree), as well as insights into effect and timeframe.

By connecting certain goals to the long-term vision and purpose, Schiphol aims to be the world's most sustainable and high-quality airport. This requires investing in improving user experience and continuous innovation in safety, but certainly also in sustainability.

RETURN ON INNOVATION?

The aviation industry is defined by 'old' economic approaches that are often difficult to relate to more-qualitative innovation. The Schiphol team has taken several steps to make strategic shifts happen and become accountable.

1. It all starts with setting quantitative and qualitative goals, directly connected to strategy, purpose and vision.

2. A second step in the transition is making qualitative goals and initiatives measurable (e.g., through impact accounting). This is a part of innovation, designing new metrics or developing new ways to measure.

3. A third step is often required: translating qualitative objectives into financial effects.

4. The most important step is investing in company culture and structure to train the entire organisation on more impact literacy. We need a new language and definition of success.

Yet, the question 'Why is finance always the main language?' must continue to be asked. Can we become bi-lingual?

GOAL SETTING FOR DIFFERENT VALUES

5

INNOVATION IS INVENTING

NEW MEAURES & METRICS

What are dual forces within your team or organization? versus versus versus

How can this tention be connected from the company purpose? Or from a user perspective?

Define One-Metric-That-Matters to monitor if you are making continuous progress?

Carolijn Schoofs Head of Innovation Royal Schiphol Group

business model that is about reduction.

Ultimately, we need to move towards a

WHEN IN NEED FOR A

The Cone of Possibilities is used to better understand and evaluate the potential consequences or outcomes of certain developments over time. To do so, the horizontal timeline is divided into Horizon 1, 2 and 3.

Possible. Plausible. Probable. Preferred.

The vertical axis is the likelihood of an event taking place. The widest part of the cone represents all potential possibilities. The middle part of the cone shows the most probable outcome. In between, we have a zone of events that might become plausible. The aim of this exercise is to challenge our own assumptions.

Challenging your assumptions

At the top end of the cone (positive impact), we stretch our belief system into socalled Moonshots, which encourages us to think big and beyond. In this way, we will discover where we encounter some of our limiting beliefs. The cone can even be stretched one step further, into the area of Loonshots: ideas so radical that it starts to feel extremely uncomfortable and our view of the world is in some way challenged. (Could you imagine a time when we won't be flying anymore? Or an airport without planes?)

Anticipating 21st century changes

At the bottom end of the cone, the negative impact, we enter an area often referred to as Black Swans. These are rare and unpredictable events that can have a significant impact on the course of events. The recent pandemic is a clear example. These events are a reminder to also be aware of and prepared for the unexpected.

Backcasting from a future vision to the job-to-be-done today

Especially in horizon three we deliberately consider the fact that underlying social values might shift over time, making certain ideas, projects or events more likely from a future perspective (backcasting) than perceived looking through the lens of today.

VISION ON THE FUTURES

How

to use this model?

1. Define your three innovation horizons

2 Collect ideas or projects and pin them on the Cone of Possibilities,

3 Explore potential white spots in your current perspective

4 Add or stretch new ideas or initiatives to fill the gaps

5 Connect ideas between different horizons to explore innovation tracks or future scenarios

For an explanation and some facilitator notes on how to use this model within your team, check our short-course on Cone of Possibilities at www.futuresacademy.nl

PATTERN: NESTED

A NESTED APPROACH

Innovation within innovation for agility ánd scale

In design, the term "nested" refers to a principle that involves organizing components or elements within another system, where each level is contained within the level above it. Literally nesting one structure within another. At Schiphol the projects are nested within a platform-organization approach. The platform allows for new partnerships, and the partnerships are nested in the vision 2050.

A systems thinking approach

This nested principle can for be applied with Horizon 1, 2 and 3 innovation. Where an idea on horizon 1 is also nested in a larger project or idea for Horizon 2 or 3. This can involve dividing experiments into sub-experiments, which can be further divided into smaller tests, and so on, creating a set of tasks that are nested within each other. This enables a clear connection between the result of one task and the results of the total project.

Different levels of complexity

The main benefit is that nested systems help to deal with complexity. Since the different systems are embedded a team can safely work on a smaller project or task, knowing that at the same time the outcome will also have impact on a more complex, strategic level of innovation.

Systems of systems

Nested systems enable us to take a step back and understand how everything connects and fits into a bigger picture. Doing so will enable us to shift from the old reductionist way of thinking toward a more integral perspective. In Schiphol’s case mobility, growth and sustainability are not seperate models but have a nestes structure. It warrants that the result of a sub-system is measured against the impact it has on the challenge as a whole.

These worksheets offer a summary of Schiphol Group's smart move towards 'opening up for co-creation'. On the backside of the worksheets, you will find the questions you can ask yourself or your team to challenge your own perspectives.

WHAT WOULD SCHIPHOL DO?

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

PATAGONIA

Patagonia started as cash cow to provide funding for the high-quality gear it was making. With its outdoor DNA and extreme focus on craftsmanship, it became the epitome of a sustainable business, advertising not to buy and starting a non-extractive ownership model.

NIKE

Nike made an important strategic turn to 'double down on digital and direct to consumer'. This required a completely different approach towards innovation, distribution and communication to relate to the thousands of subgroups and niches where everybody is an athlete.

KLARNA

'Buy now, pay later' – a business model that was said to be doomed to fail. Klarna embedded this backend payment service into the checkouts of numerous online stores. And then it turned the tables to become one of the largest e-commerce front-ends for the Insta-generation.

NORMORM

The Skype cofounder views all business through the lens of unit economics: when an element reaches near-zero additional cost, digitally scale and disrupt an entire industry. His most recent scaleup is forcing the furniture industry into a circular service model.

SLACK

A former game company turned itself into the largest teamcommunication platform in the world. Slack approached the future of work as a team-of-teams and built a platform and organisation to turn everything into a dynamic conversation.

POLESTAR

Volvo made an unconventional move by spinning off its performance division, Polestar, to not only design an entirely new electronic, climate-neutral car but to also create an entirely new organisation and vision of what a 'car' is.

A MEMBER COLOPHON

Smart Moves is a monthly publication intended to challenge your thinking and way of work so that you can become more future ready.

Each issue spotlights several next practices from a company already pioneering with its purpose, organizational design and future business models.

Challenge yourself and your team with the included thought-provoking questions –because before you can make a difference, you need to see the difference.

Research, artwork and texts by Arjan Postma, Jeroen Boschma, Bryin Abraham, Jefta Bade

Special thanks to Royal Schiphol group, especially Mario Tedde, Birgit Otto, Carolijn Schoofs and Hassan Charad for their inspiration

All images are with courtesy of the Royal Schiphol Group & DUS architects

For more information contact smartmoves@FuturesAcademy nl www Futuresacademy nl

The Futures Academy is a research collective challenging organizations, teams and individuals to grow a Future-Ready mindset, skillset and toolset, anticipating 21st century transitions, and igniting positive impact, together.

FUTURES ACADEMY

We are a research collective challenging organizations, teams and individuals to grow a Futures-Ready mindset, skillset and toolset, anticipating 21st century transitions, and igniting positive impact, together.

SEE THE DIFFERENCE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE