September 7, 2010
Financial Management strategy - State Government Education and Training Queensland Australia

Client required a different approach to financial management planning in complex environment of community obligations and revenue raising.

  • trained internal project team
  • narrative collection through interview undertaken by team
  • co design and facilitation of sensemaking workshop with senior executive team
Tools used: narrative capture, mapping to Cynefin framework, ABIDE 
               
Outcome: Strategy developed for each of the domains which was accepted by Treasury.  Complex issues had identifiable probes/ experieiments defined.
Occupational Health and Safety - Local Government Queensland Australia
 
Organisation committed to Zero Harm, and wanted information regarding efficacy of previous strategies and initiatives, and reason why significant improvement efforts did not meet objectives.
  • trained internal project team
  • data colletion through anecdote circles and interviews undertaken by team
  • material loaded into data base
  • design and facilitation of sense making workshop
Tools used:  Narrative capture, SMI data base, archetype extraction

Outcome: Material has informed strategy development for ongoing occupational health and safety initiatives

Regional innovation - State Government Human Services New South Wales Australia

 
A devolved organisation structure required a shift in the role of the head office, and increased expectations of regions in terms of innovation, customisation and customer responsiveness.
  • trained internal project team
  • assisted with narrative capture - anecdote circles
  • data entry into SMI data base
  • design and facilitation of sensemaking workshop involving central and regional staff
Tools used: narrative capture, SMI data base, social construction of Framework, cognitive bias

Outomes:  shared understanding of expectations and relationships between central office and regions; agreed proposals for each domain that would increase regional capacity.
 L eadership Forum - State Government Northern Territory
 
The anual forum invovles some 300 people, from all levels of the department and key external stakeholders.  New government inititgaives will have a major impact on the role, function and structure of the agency. A recently appointed CEO was interested in current perceptions related to leading in a chanllenging environment.  The department provides services to indigenous poeple across the Territory.
  • assisted project team with development of questions and indexes for web capture SMI data base, design of forum program
  • conducted pre forum workshop for indigneous staff
  • co design and facilitation of 2 days forum for 300 people
  • data base analysis
Tools used:  SMI database; archetype extraction, future backwards, social construction of framework, cognitive bias, ritual dissent

Outcomes:
 70 specific recommendations from each of the domains for 6 critical strategic issues for consideration by the executive; integration and engagement of indigenous staff in the process; comparative data across stakeholder groups on perceptions of current challenges, expectations and concerns to be used in strategy development for upcoming initiatives.
Innovation in Schools - Ministry of Education Singapore
 
The objective of the project was to assess the appropriateness of Cognitive Edge tools in assisting schools with change management.  Three schools were invovled over a 6 month period.
  • consulting support to internal project team for project design including data base configuration, narrative capture, progressive mentoring and coaching
  • design and facilitation of workshops - 4 archetype extraction, 2 intervention design, 3 monitoring, 1 capturing the learning workshops
  • periodic progress reporting to senior management
Tools used: narrative capture, SMI database, archetype extraction, social construction of framework, ABIDE, story construction , ritual dissent  

Outcomes: experiments (probes) developed and implemented in each school, staff involved have used tools for other school applications such as strategic planning, increased capability of internal staff to use the tools,  approach being extended to other applications in the Ministry
Strategic Planning - Intellectual Property Office Singapore
 
Singapore has the objective of becoming an IP hub by 2008. The planning process engaged external stakeholders and staff as well as the senior management team.
  • co design and faciitation of the process involving staff and extenal stakeholder workshops; senior executive workshop
Tools used: narrative capture, future backwards, social construction of framework

Outcomes:  integration of issues from all groups into single framework; strategic plan for issues in each of the domains
Capturing the Learning- Partnering workshop Local Government Queensland Australia
 
Partnering policies and stratehies have been in place for 18 months.  This one day workshop was a review of progress to date, and to identify improvement opportunities.  The group of 60 people included external partners.
  • design and facilitation of workshop
Tools used:  narrative capture, social construction of framework   

Outcomes: 
Indentification of what is 'working well', and what needs improvement; specific proposals from each domain for next range of initiatives
 

The Future of Volunteering - Meals on Wheels NSW( Peer mentoring project, SOLA)

 
Community care organisations have a heavy reliance on volunteers and the requirements is likely to increase given the changing demographics of the Australian population.  This project was designed to indentify policy and research opportunities.
  • mentored a group of newly trained facilitators
  • co facilitation of initial workshop
  • design and facilitation of sensemaking workshop for representatives
Tools used: narrative capture through anecdote circles, archetype extraction, social construction of framework

Outcomes:
priority issues that formed submission for government funding
Leadership development - local government Queensland Australia
 
The emerging leaders program is designed to develop internal talent for exeutive roles.  It extends over an 18 month period, involving course work, rotations and projects.  Cognitive Edge tools formed the foundation for strategic thinking and planning for rotations and projects.
Tools used:  narrative capture, social construction of framework, dynamics, 

Outcomes:  participants have applied the tools in project planning, straegic planning, lessons learned, change management interventions
Conversations on Principalship - Ministry of Education Singapore
 
As part of a review of the philosophy of school leadership  in Singapore , the Educational leadership Development Centre wished to obtain perspectives from principals in a from that can contrinute to the development of a philosophy, framework and learning options. 120 school principals particpated in the data collection workshops
  • co design of process including SMI data base indexes
  • facilitation of data capture workshops, sense making workshop
Tools used:  narrative capture, SMI indexing, future backwards, archetype extration (including cartoonist) , story construction, ritual dissent

Outcomes:
perspectives on leadership (themes, values and archetypes)  from the narratives; statements relating to current state, aspirations and fears;  five stories on aspects of leadership philosophy for publication; data base for further collection from other principals; knowledge base of stories for use with other stakeholder groups.
 
address:
PO Box 91,
Lorn , NSW 2320
Australia


Phone:
61 2 4930 5698 (Viv)
61 0 402 308 403 (Chris)

A business born in Complexity
The foundations of this business is based on complexity. This is not a new area, in fact it has been around for many years and used to provide deeper insights into areas as diverse as the natural world, weather, biological systems, society and organisational dynamics amongst others. However, it is only a relatively recent occurence that its applicability to business has been explored. How it relates to business fundamentally challenges the idea that everything can be described and understood in a linear cause and effect manner. more
Sensemaker Software Suite
The Cognitive Edge Sensemaker Software Suite is fully integrated with a body of facilitated processes, is the outcome of several years of research into human-based organisational complexity, sensemaking, decision making, knowledge sharing and impact evaluation by Cognitive Edge more
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