Bay of Plenty Business News July/August 2018

BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS July/August 2018 7
Designing the City
This year’s Design the City Experiment will be an
“amplified step on” after some amazing ideas
in the inaugural Groundswell, says Blythe Rees-
Jones, one of the event’s design coaches.
By DAVID PORTER
The entrepreneur and creative
director at Virtuo,
who will be working with
Bluelab’s head of innovation
Jono Jones, said the experiment
was a very successful
part of last year’s Groundswell.
“We’re still working
through the details of this
year’s challenge and it will
only be announced on opening
day,” said Rees-Jones.
The experiment provides an
opportunity for participants to
learn and practise their innovation
skills in a real world environment,
and benefit the local
community, through a series of
design challenges. They will
start on Monday morning, and
culminate with a public presentation
on Friday night.
A group of people from
companies and organisations
across the Western Bay will
come together to take on a
challenge aimed at building
their capability in Design
Thinking. The methodology
uses insight, human-centred
design, product design, social
initiatives, business design and
other practices to find solutions
to complicated problems.
Social development and progress
is a key context for the
experiment, which is expected
to produce usable ideas to help
develop the city.
Over the course of the
Groundswell festival, participants
will be split into groups
and meet every day to learn
about design thinking, in order
to accelerate the challenge
through learning about the
design process.
A team of local and national
design thinking gurus will
provide coaching, training and
support throughout.
Last year’s challenge was
focused around ideas on how
best to welcome visitors into a
specific part of the downtown
area.
“There were some awesome
ideas, from enhancing
what was already there, to
some really new innovative
one,” said Rees-Jones.
“The participants went out
and built a lot of empathy with
people and got different perspectives
and insight on how
they thought about the challenge,
and then amplified what
was really important about
what we learnt, and defined
and built some low-fi products
to present.”
Rees-Jones said the experiment
was partly about doing
some good for Tauranga, and
was also a career capability
development exercise.
This year the organisers plan
to include stakeholders who
would feel incumbent to follow
through on some of the experiment’s
key outcomes, he said.
A
number of local innovators,
designers and entrepreneurs
were fired up
by the inaugural Groundswell
last year and have lent their
skills to this year’s event. And
like most of the key drivers
behind Groundswell, their
efforts are a pro bono effort to
ensure Groundswell continues
to build momentum.
Carl Menary, based in Waihi
Beach, is a good example. The
senior industrial designer at
Te Puna-based Robotics Plus
was so enthused by last year’s
Groundswell that he put his
hand up to take part this year.
“I got in touch with Priority
Blythe Rees-Jones (inset) was so energised by the inaugural Groundswell,
he was inspired to inscribe it on a local beach.
Expanding the boundaries
Carl Menary
One because I thought it was a
cool initiative and asked how I
could help out,” said Menary.
Drawing on his experience
as a product designer and innovation
facilitator, as well as
the network of contacts he’s
developed in the Western
Bay, Menary will be leading
the Kickstart Your Business
Workshop at the Waihi Beach
Hotel, near Katikati.
The workshop is aimed at
early-stage entrepreneurs and
businesses looking to gain
clarity and support to take
action, and the connections
and confidence to turn their
business ideas into a reality.
“I got to know a lot of people
in the area and it became
apparent that there were many
who were starting their own
businesses,” he said.
“It quickly turned into a
more entrepreneurial meetup
and I started the Waihi Beach
Creatives network. We know
there’s a pretty huge community
in the Katikati, Waihi
Beach, Western Bay areas that
are already on that journey.
We’re helping those who want
to take the first step through
that process.”
Menary said he was keen
to help draw attention to the
capabilities of the Waihi Beach
and the Western Bay/Katikati
area as an innovation hub.
“It’s not that well-known
as a hi-tech and design area
and a place for startups to
come. We want to get it out
that we have a network of
people here who are capable
of collaborating and helping
to get things happening.”
– By DAVID PORTER
This winter, no
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one should
be forced to choose.
Imagine being forced to choose between providing food,
warmth and shelter for you and your family.
Sadly, this is a decision that thousands of Kiwi families living in
poverty are forced to make each winter—whether to feed their
children at the expense of paying a power bill, or to miss a rent
payment—falling further into crippling debt so a family member
can visit a doctor.
Winter is one of the busiest times of the year for The Salvation
Army, with more people seeking emergency support with the
basics of survival—food, warmth and shelter—as well as longterm
care such as budgeting, counselling and life skills.
The Salvation Army wants every Kiwi to have enough to make it
through winter, and the cold winters beyond. Because no-one
should have to choose.
Last year we helped thousands of families and individuals in need
over the cold winter months, with all signs this winter pointing to
an even busier time of year for those in poverty.
Supporting the Winter Appeal can be as easy as giving a gift to a
family when they need it most; from an emergency food parcel
or practical aid package of bedding and clothing, to long-term
support such as budgeting sessions, counselling support and
expert social care.
Please support our Winter Appeal today and help ensure that
those in need can get the basics of food, warmth and shelter.
Donate now at salvationarmy.org.nz/winterappeal
Winter Appeal