Evaluating Ideas for NSW Treasury & the NSW Innovation and Productivity Council

Challenge

The NSW Treasury and the Innovation and Productivity Council (IPC) commissioned The Strategy Group to undertake a research project to engage with small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to identify barriers and opportunities for collaboration with universities and the broader innovation ecosystem.

Aspart of this project, 8 concepts were created in a co-design session and were put out for feedback.

Approach

Testing concepts with stakeholders to evaluate appetite and buy-in.

Following a co-design research and ideation phase where 8 concepts were created, The Strategy Group undertook idea testing on a digital platform (the Innovation Solution Board) in order to understand stakeholders viewpoints and increase buy-in.

The online Innovation Solution Board connected with a diverse group of stakeholders across NSW. This research platform was customised for NSW Treasury, and invited SME’s, University and Government stakeholders to discuss and receive continuous feedback regarding the concepts presented.

The platform was open and extended over a period of 2 weeks to empower stakeholders to express their voices with the freedom to share their opinions, build and refine the concepts. The discussions were time flexible and could be conducted at any time, anywhere and on participant’s own devices.

Outcomes

Understanding which ideas to take forward with clear recommendations and actions.

Participants had the opportunity to provide feedback through 3 methods:

Evaluating Ideas - Individual assessment of each idea by providing specific input into what was most important as well as what could be improved.

Discussions - Group participations to comment upon other participants opinions.

Voting for the Top 3 - A mini poll to prioritise ideas into top 3 preferences.

The Innovation Solution Board enabled NSW Treasury to clearly see which ideas resonated, what stakeholders liked and didn't like about ideas and how to improve and progress the ideas.

The feedback was documented and included in a report for the IPC, where clear recommendations were made based on the feedback received on the Board.