Starting a project without a clear direction is like sailing without a map. You may have a destination in mind, but without a clear course, you risk getting lost. The NEB Compass (New European Bauhaus Compass) is a tool that helps teams find the right direction in their projects by exploring three central perspectives and different levels of understanding.
By using the compass, participants can create a shared vision and identify both challenges and opportunities in a structured way. Let’s walk through a tool that focuses on navigating a project rather than finding a solution to a concrete problem and consider how you can transform the NEB Compass into a practical workshop method.
What is the NEB Compass?
The NEB Compass is designed to guide projects in design, innovation and community development through three central perspectives:
- Sustainable
How does the project contribute to the environment and a sustainable future? - Together (Inclusion)
How does the project create social value and accessibility for different groups? - Beautiful (Aesthetics)
How does the project improve people’s experiences through design and function?
These perspectives should be viewed through three different levels:
- Individual level
How does the project affect individuals? - Society level
How does the project contribute to society and different target groups? - System level
How does the project affect larger structures, such as policies, cities and organizations?
By being a compass, you can estimate the current levels within the perspectives and choose the level of ambition for your project. The different perspectives also ensure that you have an anchoring in needs, sustainability and emotion, and in this way go from just practical solutions based on one perspective to anchored solutions.
Holding a workshop with the NEB Compass
This workshop takes approximately 60 minutes and is divided into three phases: preparation, implementation and follow-up.
Step 1: Preparation
- Participants: Gather a group of 4–8 people with different backgrounds to get broad perspectives.
- Materials: A large printout of the NEB Compass, post-it notes, pens and a whiteboard.
- Objective: Define the purpose of the workshop – what do you want to explore and improve?
Step 2: Implementation
- Introduction to the NEB Compass (10 min)
- Explain the three perspectives and levels.
- Give examples of how these can be applied in the project.
- Explore the project through the compass (30 min)
- Sustainability:
How can the project be more resource-efficient and environmentally friendly? - Together (inclusion):
Which groups can be positively or negatively affected? How can you make the project more equitable? - Beautiful (aesthetics):
How can the project improve the experience and usability?
- Sustainability:
- Ask participants to write down their thoughts on post-it notes and place them on the compass.
- Reflection and insights (20 min)
- Go through the notes and group the insights.
- Identify concrete changes and next steps.
Step 3: Follow-up
- Document the most important insights.
- Create an action plan to implement the changes.
- Schedule a follow-up session to evaluate progress.
Example: How a municipality can improve accessibility
A team in a municipality used the NEB Compass to improve digital services for older residents. By exploring the project from a sustainability, inclusion, and aesthetics perspective, they gained new insights and created a project that was better anchored than a traditional digitalization project would be:
- Sustainable: By reducing paper forms and digitizing processes, they were able to save resources.
- Together: They realized that older people needed customized training and support to use digital services.
- Beautiful: They simplified the interface on the municipality’s website for a better user experience and made happenings to start use it.
These changes broadened the picture of what needs needed to be met and led to increased use of the services and improved quality of life for older people.
Also read about Aravena as inspiration of inclusion
The NEB Compass can be a tool to ensure that projects are sustainable, inclusive, and aesthetically pleasing. Especially the last aspect can be missed in social change projects. By using this workshop structure, you can create a clear direction, capture important perspectives and make better decisions.
So the next time you start a project – test and discover new possibilities!
