Design Thinking , an effective tool for identifying 

 and developing promising sectors in a green economy 

 By : Mahammad Khan 

 Challenge : 

 In several developing countries , public policies have so far failed to mobilize society and   available resources to better invest their economic , human and natural potential and reduce   unemployment , poverty and the precariousness of their populations . Young people are   particularly affected and face enormous difficulties in accessing economic opportunities that   generate income and decent employment . 

 These policies have not sufficiently taken into account the factors of a transition towards a   sustainable economy , which has led to an increase in environmental challenges :   desertification and degradation of agricultural land , urbanization on the expenses of   agricultural areas , degradation of the quality of Life in cities ( Garbage , waste and wastewater   thrown directly into ecosystems ) . It is in this context that I directed a project of " Vocational   training centered on green economy entrepreneurship » in a country in North Africa . 

 Selection : 

 The choice of promising sectors - those that offer a greater opportunity to create eco - projects   viable economically - was a real challenge to be overcome at the start of the project . Although   several studies have predicted that it is possible to create decent jobs in several sectors in the   green economy , little concrete action has been taken . Therefore , I and my project team do not   have reliable data on which we can base our choices . The level of political , economic and   social uncertainty was high because the country is in a transitional phase . Public institutions   were weak and could not support us . Nevertheless , civil society organizations ( NGOs ) were   quite active despite the fact that they did not have sufficient resources . 

 Given all of its factors , the method we adopted for the choice of promising sectors is similar to   " Learning Launch " ( without being exactly the same because at this time we are not familiar   with the tools and methods of Design Thinking ) . 

 Application : 

 To this end , a preliminary step has been carried out : ( 1 ) a critical synthesis of the various studies   carried out in the project ’s intervention regions , ( 2 ) meetings with representatives of civil society   organizations ( NGOs ) ( 3 ) interviews with experts ( national and international ) in the field of the   green economy , ( 4 ) meetings with representatives of youth organizations and ( 5 ) meetings with   Local governments . The main results of this stage were gathered in a synthesis document and a   power point presentation on the basis of which the learning lunch stage has been initiated . 

 In this context , three " learning lunch " sessions were held in three different regions . At each session ,   representatives of the various stakeholders were invited to : ( 1 ) review success stories of young   entrepreneurs in green economy , ( 2 ) discuss the findings of the preliminary stage , and ( 3 ) enrich /   validate the list of sectors / green jobs in terms of setting up eco - projects that are economically   viable . 

 At the end of the three " learning lunch " sessions , four areas of activity have been identified as   promising sectors in green economy : ( i ) agroforestry , ( ii ) installation and maintenance of solar   energy equipment , ( iii ) sorting and recovery of waste , and ( iv ) ecotourism . 

 Insight : 

 In projects with high levels of uncertainty and where historical data are unavailable or unreliable ,   analytical methods may lead to inappropriate results . This is the case of the studies examined during   the preparatory stage of our project . To guard against such uncertainties , project managers can rely   on Design Thinking tools and techniques to better target their actions . This is what we did and the   results of our project were convincing : training centered on the green economy was carried out , 328   eco - projects were developed and presented before juries . Of these eco - projects , 73 were judged to   be of outstanding quality . 

 Approach : 

 The approach taken and the results achieved encourage project managers to master and apply the   tools and methods of Design Thinking in most of their work . Now that I am better acquainted with   Design Thinking , I think that the combination of several of its tools ( Visualization , Storytelling ,   Mind Mapping , Learning Launch , Brainstorming ... ) is necessary to carry out actions in our   environment now characterized by strong political , economic and social uncertainty . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: Mahammad Khan
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Design Thinking , an effective tool for identifying 

 and developing promising sectors in a green economy 

 By : Mahammad Khan 

 Challenge : 

 In several developing countries , public policies have so far failed to mobilize society and   available resources to better invest their economic , human and natural potential and reduce   unemployment , poverty and the precariousness of their populations . Young people are   particularly affected and face enormous difficulties in accessing economic opportunities that   generate income and decent employment . 

 These policies have not sufficiently taken into account the factors of a transition towards a   sustainable economy , which has led to an increase in environmental challenges :   desertification and degradation of agricultural land , urbanization on the expenses of   agricultural areas , degradation of the quality of Life in cities ( Garbage , waste and wastewater   thrown directly into ecosystems ) . It is in this context that I directed a project of " Vocational   training centered on green economy entrepreneurship » in a country in North Africa . 

 Selection : 

 The choice of promising sectors - those that offer a greater opportunity to create eco - projects   viable economically - was a real challenge to be overcome at the start of the project . Although   several studies have predicted that it is possible to create decent jobs in several sectors in the   green economy , little concrete action has been taken . Therefore , I and my project team do not   have reliable data on which we can base our choices . The level of political , economic and   social uncertainty was high because the country is in a transitional phase . Public institutions   were weak and could not support us . Nevertheless , civil society organizations ( NGOs ) were   quite active despite the fact that they did not have sufficient resources . 

 Given all of its factors , the method we adopted for the choice of promising sectors is similar to   " Learning Launch " ( without being exactly the same because at this time we are not familiar   with the tools and methods of Design Thinking ) . 

 Application : 

 To this end , a preliminary step has been carried out : ( 1 ) a critical synthesis of the various studies   carried out in the project ’s intervention regions , ( 2 ) meetings with representatives of civil society   organizations ( NGOs ) ( 3 ) interviews with experts ( national and international ) in the field of the   green economy , ( 4 ) meetings with representatives of youth organizations and ( 5 ) meetings with   Local governments . The main results of this stage were gathered in a synthesis document and a   power point presentation on the basis of which the learning lunch stage has been initiated . 

 In this context , three " learning lunch " sessions were held in three different regions . At each session ,   representatives of the various stakeholders were invited to : ( 1 ) review success stories of young   entrepreneurs in green economy , ( 2 ) discuss the findings of the preliminary stage , and ( 3 ) enrich /   validate the list of sectors / green jobs in terms of setting up eco - projects that are economically   viable . 

 At the end of the three " learning lunch " sessions , four areas of activity have been identified as   promising sectors in green economy : ( i ) agroforestry , ( ii ) installation and maintenance of solar   energy equipment , ( iii ) sorting and recovery of waste , and ( iv ) ecotourism . 

 Insight : 

 In projects with high levels of uncertainty and where historical data are unavailable or unreliable ,   analytical methods may lead to inappropriate results . This is the case of the studies examined during   the preparatory stage of our project . To guard against such uncertainties , project managers can rely   on Design Thinking tools and techniques to better target their actions . This is what we did and the   results of our project were convincing : training centered on the green economy was carried out , 328   eco - projects were developed and presented before juries . Of these eco - projects , 73 were judged to   be of outstanding quality . 

 Approach : 

 The approach taken and the results achieved encourage project managers to master and apply the   tools and methods of Design Thinking in most of their work . Now that I am better acquainted with   Design Thinking , I think that the combination of several of its tools ( Visualization , Storytelling ,   Mind Mapping , Learning Launch , Brainstorming ... ) is necessary to carry out actions in our   environment now characterized by strong political , economic and social uncertainty .
### Output: 