Designing and Using Tools to Make a Real Difference

Timms J¹*, Stewart P¹

1. Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

How do you remove a screw if you don’t have a screwdriver? Sure, there are other ways, but they’ll probably be more difficult, less efficient and maybe even destructive. Community engagement situations are no different. The right tool can make all the difference to success. With more tools in our toolboxes we can handle more situations, and make our own work and our work with others more effective and successful.

This paper deals with the role of tools, and our experiences in designing and using tools in our own team, and in a range of other situations where people are working together to achieve improvement and innovation. It is also designed to encourage people not to be afraid to design their own tools. If there isn’t one readily available “off-the-shelf” that suits your need and situation – design your own!

To illustrate the key concepts and principles associated with selecting, designing and using tools, we describe the history of two specific tools we designed to help us do what we call “Leverage Analysis”. That is, working out which of a range of options will make the most difference to improving a particular situation. Over the years we have used the tools extensively in our own team, and with our partners in organisational, industry and regional improvement and innovation initiatives. We have also adapted them for use with different media, including e-technology.

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