Hackathon Kinderopvang Werkt: putting the pedagogical professional at the center

The demand for childcare is rising. A positive development, but a heavy burden on the sector. How can the industry ever keep up with this growth? We got this. Together with Kinderopvang Werkt!, we organized a hackathon to tackle this societal challenge.

First things first: what’s really going on? Davina Koudijs, advisor at Kinderopvang Werkt!, explains: “Over the next ten years, we expect to need 50,000 additional childcare professionals. You can’t solve that just by recruiting better or differently—you need to look for radically different solutions.”

A serious problem that even made national news. A hackathon, however, is perfect for this: it pushes you out of your team’s comfort zone and brings together people from all sorts of expertise. And it worked. The passion of everyone involved was incredible. At the end of an energetic yet intense hackathon, a single winner was chosen by a jury. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Good preparation is half the work

Good preparation is half the work. That’s why, before the hackathon, we sat down with Kinderopvang Werkt! for a design session. Think of a design session as a kind of prep work where all the necessary puzzle pieces for the actual session are gathered. In this session, we wanted answers to two key questions:

1. What do you really want to achieve?
2. What is the most logical route to get there?

On three brainstorming boards, Kinderopvang Werkt! could write, stick, and show what they found important. In the end, we together developed a detailed playbook outlining how the actual hackathon would take shape. This wasn’t easy: the overarching problem is so vast that various branches (sub-questions) emerged. For this reason, case holders were appointed: people from the sector who knew everything about that specific branch.

It was time.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN”. In his typical style, Frans kicked off the hackathon. The atmosphere was buzzing, and rightly so: it was time to get real. The hackathon, and with it the Brain Fuel Funnel, was underway.

Each of the five groups tackled one of the sub-questions stemming from the main issue. At the start, the caseholders were present to answer questions, but after that, the groups got to work on their own. They were challenged with various Brain Fuel brainstorming methods: Hammer that Nail, Board of Directors, and Transporter. Facilitators Frans and Marenthe monitored each group, ensuring they had what they needed to work as effectively as possible toward a solution.

The solutions emerged—in large numbers. It was incredible how passionate everyone was about finding a solution: all participants were deeply engaged with the problem.

In just one working day, we got further than just a solution. Participants started folding, crafting, and drawing—the first prototypes were already made. People went outside to do field research with the target group. Someone even built a kind of FEBO snack wall, where pedagogical staff could pull the task they wanted to do. It was awesome.

Social impact solution

If it wasn’t already clear that participants were tackling a social issue, it certainly became obvious as the afternoon progressed. Under the watchful eye of national media like RTL, who reported on the event, participants gave it their all and presented their solutions to a prestigious jury—full of prominent figures from the childcare sector.

Fortunately, Marenthe made sure the participants were fully prepared with a so-called energizer. In a lightning-fast session, she taught them everything about the right posture, breathing, and vocal techniques for delivering a pitch.

With great success. The participants fully let loose while presenting to the jury. We witnessed a theatrical performance, people were set in motion, and tables were pushed together. In the end, the winner was announced with a grand confetti cannon.

The winner
Team Denktank. This team put the pedagogical professional at the center, focusing in particular on their skills and development. By emphasizing this, they aim to initiate the cultural change needed to address the staffing shortage.

We couldn’t be more proud. Check out the full report from Kinderopvang Werkt! for the other winners.

It’s incredible what people who didn’t even know each other at the start of the day can achieve together. The power of creativity—and the drive to tackle this social challenge—works wonders. As we speak, Kinderopvang Werkt! is implementing this solution internally. You can do it!

Wanna know more?

Gotta problem? We’d love to turn you into a problem solver! Send an email to info@brainfuel.nl or call +31 (0)58 203 80 33 and we’ll help you find a solution!