Innovation Learning Network

Innovation Learning Network We exist to share innovations across systems, teach innovation and design techniques, and create innovation friendships.

Metaphors have power. ⚡️Last month, we wrapped our final workshop of the year with the Health Future Lab at San Mateo Me...
01/22/2026

Metaphors have power. ⚡️

Last month, we wrapped our final workshop of the year with the Health Future Lab at San Mateo Medical Center, continuing our work on Camino al Salud—reimagining primary care to truly serve the community.

Instead of just talking about change, our partners drew it—turning big metaphors into storyboards for future care.

We asked:
What does care feel like?
What values guide it?
Why would patients trust it?

One team chose the hardest challenge and said, “We like a challenge.”
That’s the energy healthcare needs.

Four bold metaphors. One more humane, values-led future for primary care.

We wrapped the final phase of our Systems Illumination work for the Youth In Crisis Action Coalition — and we’re so prou...
12/16/2025

We wrapped the final phase of our Systems Illumination work for the Youth In Crisis Action Coalition — and we’re so proud of what this community accomplished this year. 🌟

In our last session, we tagged the system map — frozen spots 🧊, energy for change 🔥, mixed bags 🤷‍♀️, bright spots 🌱, and ripple effects 🌊 — and surfaced our top leverage points.

Next up in the new year: aligning across our network and using this shared system view to shape bold, future-ready solutions. Feeling grateful and excited for what’s ahead. ⚡️

Wondering which systems map makes sense to use? Swipe for two key questions that will help you narrow it down.
12/09/2025

Wondering which systems map makes sense to use? Swipe for two key questions that will help you narrow it down.

Redesigning Primary Care, One Metaphor at a Time. Last Saturday, we kicked off the first in a powerful series of co-desi...
12/04/2025

Redesigning Primary Care, One Metaphor at a Time.
 
Last Saturday, we kicked off the first in a powerful series of co-design workshops with the innovation team at San Mateo Medical Center to advance Camino al Salud.

This initiative is a critical, systems-level effort to redesign primary care, and we are doing it the only way that leads to meaningful, lasting change: by designing with the people who experience it every day - patients, staff, payers, and partners.

For this session, we used the power of metaphors as a design tool, asking participants:

What metaphor describes the primary care you want for your community?

¿Qué metáfora describe la atención primaria que deseas para tu comunidad?

The response was inspiring. Through sketching and dialogue, participants developed seven distinct and vivid metaphors, ranging from “ice cream truck” to “lazy boy recliner”—each one a unique vision for a better primary care experience.

This week, we reconvene to build on these foundational insights and start imagining new possibilities. The future of health is co-created.

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