Thoughts - Meld Studios

Four Meld projects recognised for genuine, impactful co-creation at 2020 Good Design Awards

Written by Janna DeVylder | Sep 14, 2020 10:35:54 PM

We are excited about the recognition we've all received for using design as a strategic tool for tackling complex challenges.

Meld Studios is honoured to share a (virtual) stage with these four government organisations and the 'objects of design' that we received accolades for:

  • The Delivering Great Policy project team (several federal government agencies) - a framework for delivering great policy across the Australian Public Service
  • Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) - a partnership model for cross-agency, cross-organisation collaboration to improve the financial wellbeing of all Australians
  • NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment: The Collaborative Sustainable Housing Initiative - a service to increase the uptake of energy-efficient materials and solutions when building new homes
  • Port Authority of NSW - a strategic plan to improve environmental, social and economic outcomes in our ports and shipping industry

Thank you to our client teams for trusting Meld Studios to guide you on these journeys. These accolades are a testament to your leadership and commitment to tackling complex challenges with a design-led approach. Now is the time, more than ever before, to use the open, collaborative approaches that you've taken.

Here's what Good Design Australia has to say about these projects...

About the Good Design Awards

The annual Good Design Awards is Australia’s oldest and most prestigious international Awards for design and innovation with a proud history dating back to 1958. The Awards celebrate the best new products and services on the Australian market, excellence in architectural design, engineering, fashion, digital and communication design, design strategy, social impact design and young designers.

More than 55 Good Design Awards Jurors evaluated each entry according to a strict set of design criteria which covers ‘good design’, ‘design innovation’ and ‘design impact’. Projects recognised with a Good Design Award must demonstrate excellence in good design and convince the Jury they are worthy of recognition at this level.

Dr. Brandon Gien, CEO of Good Design Australia said: “Receiving a Good Design Award is a significant achievement given the very high calibre and record number of entries received in 2020.”

“There’s no doubt it has been a really tough year for everyone so it’s nice to be able to share some good news for a change. The projects represented in this year’s Good Design Awards shine a positive light on our creative and innovative capacity as human beings. These inspirational winning projects give me hope and optimism that our design community will continue to innovate, no matter how challenging the world around us is,” said Dr. Gien.

“Australia’s Good Design Award is more than a symbol of design excellence - it represents the hard work and dedication towards an innovative outcome that will ultimately make our lives better. These projects showcase the shear brilliance of design and the potential it has to improve our world,” said Dr. Gien.

The 2020 Good Design Awards attracted a record number of submissions with an astonishing 835 design projects evaluated in this year’s international design awards.

A framework for delivering great policy across the Australian Public Service (APS)

Delivering Great Policy is a cross-agency initiative to improve policy advice by lifting policy capability across the APS. The collaborative approach co-designed the solution with the broader policy community inside and outside of government, redefining what best practice engagement looks like for policy-makers, to achieve better outcomes for all Australians.

This project received a prestigious Good Design Award Gold Accolade in the Design Strategy category.

Congratulations to all APS staff and stakeholders who contributed in this work; and to Meldsters Alexandra Almond and Karina Smith for leading this journey. It is a great achievement to successfully use design as a strategic tool for achieving alignment at this level of government.

The Good Design Awards Jury said: “This is a great example of human centred design in action. The output created new, shared, practical tools and processes to reinforce new ways of working for better policy design. Good penetration into a government agency, given this can be hard. Useful, practical and easy to use site that brings in DT into policymaking. demonstrates presence of some pre-conditions that is reassuring. A project has the potential to have significant impact on all Australians. The project has been clearly framed and communicated. It would have been useful to see how the framework has been deployed in the APS.”

Watch this space, folks! Next year we'll show how this framework is being deployed.

See the full case study about Delivering Great Policy:  A Model for Great Policy Advice.

A partnership model for cross-agency, cross-organisation collaboration to improve the financial wellbeing of all Australians

One in three Australians find dealing with money overwhelming, and nearly half of Australia s 12.6m workers worry about their financial situation. In response, ASIC designed their Financial Wellbeing Network; a service bringing together a diverse group of organisations all helping Australians to be in control of their financial lives.

This project received a prestigious Good Design Award Best in Class Accolade in the Service Design Public Sector Services category.

The Good Design Awards Jury said: “A benchmark example of good design and co-creation applied to a very challenging and complex problem. Great to see the impact of good design in this space. This is significant design challenge that has been met with an innovative design solution that will have a lasting impact on many people's lives. A clear Best in Class winner in this category of the Good Design Awards. Well done.”

Congratulations to everyone involved, including the ASIC Financial Capability team; all of the partner organisations; and to Meldsters Paul Merrell, Rebecca Hendry and Tina Fung for your role in creating this important platform.

See the full case study about Creating ASIC's Financial Wellbeing Network.

A service to increase the uptake of energy-efficient materials and solutions when building new homes

New homes are a major contributor to global warming. While builders in New South Wales are designing energy-efficient homes to address this problem, they struggle to sell the benefits to homebuyers. This service engages builders and homebuyers to co-design solutions to this challenge.

This project received a prestigious Good Design Award Best in Class Accolade in the Service Design Public Sector Services category.

The Good Design Awards Jury said: “This is fantastic example of the employment of human centred design to unlock key insights. This submission clearly disrupts conventional narratives and behavioural norms to cleverly reframe the conversation on a compelling value proposition. It's a really important shift for NSW, Australia and the world.”

Congratulations to everyone involved, including the Department project team; three property development companies; new home buyers; and to Meldsters Harold Kuan and Nova Franklin!

See the full case study about Building Towards a More Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Future.

A strategic plan to improve environmental, social and economic outcomes in our ports and shipping industry

Although shipping represents the most sustainable means of transporting goods long distances, Port Authority recognises that there are associated impacts, including on local communities, and opportunities for improved outcomes.

Port Authority saw the creation of its Sustainability Plan as an opportunity to shift organisational ways of thinking and working. Staff are now motivated to act and are embedding sustainability initiatives into their divisional plans because they were actively involved in shaping the overarching Plan.

This project received a prestigious Good Design Award Winner Accolade in the Design Strategy category.

The Good Design Awards Jury said: “A brilliant example of design-led strategic innovation that is well framed and executed. A very challenging project overall that brings together many complex systems and stakeholders all incorporated into a coherent, strategic and implementable plan."

Congratulations to everyone at Port Authority plus Meldsters Emma Warren, Sabina Popin, Alison Sharp, and Oliver Dykes for your role in this journey so far!

We'll report back next year with outcomes of specific initiatives.

See the full case study about A Strategic Plan for Port Authority NSW.