Did you know that if something should happen to our ports, Sydney is 9 meals away from starvation? Or that we’re twice as intolerant as Melbourne despite 36% of our population being born overseas? These are just some of the research findings being analysed and collated by Resilient Sydney, part of the 100 Resilient Cities initiative pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation. The initiative develops strategies to ensure cities adapt, survive and thrive no matter what challenges they face in the 21st Century.
JOC Consulting (in partnership with Cred Consulting) was engaged by Resilient Sydney to plan, deliver and facilitate creative, stimulating and dynamic stakeholder workshops for the development of the Resilient Sydney Strategy. The aim of the stakeholder engagement workshops was to clarify the challenges facing Sydney, and develop innovative actions and strategies to address the challenges.
JOC Consulting engaged with over 100 stakeholders from the business community, Government, academia and community services organisations to deliver 4 workshops across Sydney (located in Auburn, Bankstown, Redfern and Kings Cross). In developing our approach, the workshop methodology was inspired by ‘design thinking’, human stories of resilience and the shopping trolley –
“The story of the humble shopping trolley is one that almost everyone can relate to on one level or another. It’s an everyday image, an object so familiar, surrounding us and in some cases, littered across our city. A symbol of suburban life, an analogy for the consumption and pollution of our modern lifestyles and expectations. A piece of infrastructure that mobilises the continuation of our habits, facilitates our collecting and subsequent wasting of ‘things’. It is also in some cases, the most important object, a shelter and home for the homeless.By including it as a prop in the Resilient Cities workshops, it became a symbol for meta discussion, a tool for unpacking problems and issues, and an object by which the team could bond over, a giant moveable ‘ice breaker’. We also found that teams who integrated the trolley into their final ‘idea pitches’ were playful and entertaining, with the trolley helping to condense ideas into easily conveyed actions.”
JOC Consulting also incorporated the shopping trolley metaphor into the workshop branding (top image) prepared by our designer, Luschia Porter.
The creative workshop delivery and reporting is to be shared with all participants, the wider community and other 100 Resilient Cities members, as part of the global 100RC network.
JOC Consulting has also prepared a short video that captures the engagement story and workshop approach. It can be found below –
Interested to know more? Get in touch!
