We tackle big world challenges. Using proven techniques. In one week (or less).
Ok, it’s a pretty bold statement, but this is the Innovation Festival. We eat bold for breakfast.
The basics . . . in a nutshell
Each year at NWG Innovation Festival HQ, we take a selection of business challenges and issues currently facing our industry, as well as look at wider global issues that impact everyone, like climate change and water poverty. We bring together people from all over the globe with different skills and knowledge and we work together to produce solutions and viable outcomes - all in five days or less.
Our workshop styles
Our festival programme consists of different types of workshop - each with their own unique style and format. We offer in-person and online workshops, all of which have a dedicated NWG sprint lead to guide you through your journey – like your own personal Yoda. Our workshops are energetic, fast-paced and highly focussed, so be prepared!
Sprints
Also known as a Design Sprint. This workshop follows a specific and structured five stage process created by New York Times bestselling author Jake Knapp when he worked at Google and typically runs over four to five days.
Sprints bring together a broad and diverse team of individuals usually with backgrounds in finance, marketing, design, technology, logistics, customer experience / service as well as key decision makers like CEOs, founders, heads of business or senior managers. But that doesn’t mean that not anyone can turn up and be a part of it!
Sprints are expertly facilitated by a sprint lead, who guide the sprint team through each stage of the process. No devices. No distractions. Just whiteboards. Pens. Post-its. An all-important timer, and you’re off.
Years Work in a Week (or ‘YWIW’ as we like to call them for short!)
Exactly what it says on the tin, this workshop delivers a years worth of work in just one week!
By cutting out the internal red tape, we take current ‘live’ projects within the business and fast track the problem solving process down to just one week.
Hacks
Also known as a ‘hackathon’. This is a sprint like workshop in which specifically data experts, programmers, software developers, digital graphic designers, and domain experts come together to tackle significant tech challenges.
Unlike a sprint however, the process of a Hack does not follow the same five stage design sprint formula and therefore can be completed in two or three days.
It’s still a facilitated, fast-paced collaborative workshop. Participants are presented with the challenge, then its laptops out, power up, wifi on and get cracking!
Daily Dashes
A daily dash is a rapid style sprint workshop, working through all five stages in just one day.
A daily dash can be intense and a little chaotic at times but delivers real results in under half the time of a sprint. It’s a great workshop choice for anyone who can only dedicate a day out of their diaries and want to get creative and collaborative with other like-minded solutions driven professionals.
Collaboration is key
Participants of the festival are encouraged to sign up for the workshop they are most passionate about and feel they can add the most value in. Remember, we want there to be viable solutions at the end of the event, so it’s important that anyone signing up brings something to the table. We look at all of our challenges with a holistic approach, therefore having different knowledge and skills from other sectors is essential to any sprint group.
We welcome diversity at the Innovation Festival and are always eager to learn from other industries and sectors. Collaboration is key to our workshops, so no matter what your industry background is, our fundamental ask of you is to be prepared to be open when sharing ideas. You only need to check out the outcomes from our previous festivals to know we mean business here.
Read all about it
There’s tonnes of great reading material out there on the Design Sprint theory – we even had Jake Knapp himself at our 2020 festival! Click here to access more information and links to some great web pages to learn more.
Fancy joining us?
Our ever-growing innovation community is the reason we continue to deliver amazing results, directly impacting our local communities and beyond. So if you’d like to be involved in our next festival or just learn more about what we get up to in the world of innovation, sign up here.