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RegioExpA 

Regional Experimentation. Into the Future of Work with Experimental Organizational Development. 

In the RegioExpA project, three companies from Baden-Württemberg are exploring the future of work by iteratively approaching solutions to current challenges. In particular, they are testing new forms of cooperation.

In the RegioExpA project, instruments of experimental organisational development are designed to support organisations in organisational change.

The project "RegioExpA Regional Experiments. With experimental organisational development into the future of work" aims to support organisations through interventions in change projects. The focus is on approaches that are characterised by an experimental, iterative and exploratory approach. The project explores what such experimental approaches in organisational development look like and how they can be designed in practice. The project is funded by the Ministry of Science, Research and Art of the State of Baden-Württemberg as part of the Innovative Projects 2020 programme.

Thematic background of the project

For companies the ability to adapt to challenges such as digital transformation, new work, the COVID pandemic and energy transition is a key success factor. The growing global networking of global politics, business and culture as well as the use of digital technologies but also changing values and expectations of employees are leading to dynamic and complex interrelationships that need to be taken into account in change interventions. Previous change approaches have focused strongly on sequential and plannable procedures that do not take the complex character of change sufficiently into account. Experimental approaches are described as a good way of dealing with uncertainty and complexity, as they enable an approach to a locally optimal procedure through the iterative and open-ended approach. In the practice of organisational development and organisational change, this procedure is only dealt with theoretically and implicitly. The project aims to transfer the idea of the experimental procedure for organisational development and change into a methodology that is concretely manageable for practitioners as well as into appropriate formats.

 

The project

Over a project period of 24 months, three companies from Baden-Württemberg are being supported with the format of experimental spaces.

The aim is to adapt the process model of experimental organisational development (OD) to practice, to test and evaluate it. In particular, the design of interventions for experimental spaces will be developed and published (e.g. in the form of guidelines, case studies, workshops). In the project, the existing initial procedure model is first adapted to the situation of the companies and the specific topic to be developed in the experimental spaces is determined (e.g. cooperation, self-organisation). A literature research on the contents of the experimental spaces is conducted and the method of experimental OD is initially further developed in a theory-based manner. The experimental spaces are supported by the HSRT and the respective procedures are transferred into an experimental design. In the organisations the developed procedures are then conducted, tested and evaluated.

The result is a scalable method description of the experimental OD that can be applied by other companies. On the one hand, the participating companies benefit from the sustainable effects in the respectively addressed thematic fields and, on the other hand, from a future-oriented strengthening of their ability to change.

Our project partners

Ekz Bibliotheksservice GmbH: With seven leading companies in the library and media sector, the Ekz Group provides the most comprehensive service for libraries in Europe. From innovative presentation furniture and groundbreaking equipment concepts to efficient accounting technology and web-based library systems to ready-for-lending media and the digital platform 'Onleihe'. A - all companies work towards the common goal of strengthening libraries in their social mission. 


Vollmer Werke Maschinenbaufabrik GmbH: Maximum sharpness for tools iin production and service: this is what the name VOLLMER stands for. Since it was founded in 1909, the company has developed into becoming the technology leader for state-of-the-art grinding, eroding and processing machines for rotary tools and circular saws in the wood and metalworking industry as well as for metal-cutting band saws. The extensive machine programme is complemented by tailor-made service offers. VOLLMER sees itself as a provider for its worldwide customers - including sharpening services, sawmills, tool manufacturers and manufacturing companies. Regionally based in Biberach an der Riss, the company operates internationally with production facilities in Mörlenbach / Germany and Taicang / China, 14 subsidiaries, more than 30 agencies and 800 employees


Sparkassenversicherung SV: SV Sparkassenversicherung is a modern regional insurance company with a wide range of products and services for 3.7 million customers. SV pools the insurance offering of the Sparkasse-Finanzgruppe in Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Thuringia and parts of Rhineland-Palatinate. The Group's head office is in Stuttgart; customers are also served by numerous local branches and agencies.


 

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