Building Service Design Capability For Civic Disability
Problem
The introduction of the NDIS revolutionised the disability sector by empowering individuals with budget control, stimulating the market of service providers and enhancing consumer choice. This shift from block funding to a demand-supply model necessitated innovation, as NDIS consumers gained the freedom to choose their service providers, driving competition and transforming the sector's landscape.
Pressure
Facing a post-NDIS future, CIVIC, after 50 years of regional success, sought to transform client engagement with disruptive services. This required staff and clients to adapt simultaneously, fostering a collaborative ecosystem among various organisations and clients. Embracing this journey fearlessly was key to overcoming traditional barriers and enhancing both business operations and client service. It was time to evolve or die.
Solution
The Civic Care Commitment, an innovation platform that intertwined internal behaviours and communications with two key pillars for service disruption. Firstly, a Life Skills Curriculum serves as a catalyst, guiding end-users to more fulfilling social, professional, and community experiences. Secondly, an integrated Well-being Blueprint aligns all operations, both internal and external, towards a user-centric goal, fostering a holistic approach to service and care.
Impact
The Civic Care Commitment has played an instrumental role in driving long term profitably within a sector that struggles to define sustainable business models. The capability and training created new innovation champions that have developed transformative innovation capability and new core initiatives.
“How to Impact immersed themselves in our Not for Profit disability world to truly understand the complexities of our business and our need for transforming the way we approached and responded to a disruptive NDIS market. The How To Impact team worked side by side with us (from front line direct Care Workers to Senior management) to develop a Civic ambition to think creatively, change our work behaviours and enable us to use human centered design in our responsive to providing services to new markets and most importantly co-designing our services to meet the needs of people with a disability to live their lives the way they want. ”
— KATE SMITH, GENERAL MANAGER - CIVIC.