SWOT Workshops

This is a methodology used in bottom-up strategy development processes with different and heterogeneous stakeholder groups, especially in contexts involving regional or municipality strategy development. It helps to collect and visualise data that describe the actual situation of a group.

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Format Method, WorkshopTimeframe < 3hGroup Size up to 10Facilitation Level MediumRequired Materials Toolkits, mock-ups, issue cards, motivation matrix

Steps

  • Identify a homogeneous group and select the participants.
  • Prepare slides showing the different roles concerning knowledge transfer.
  • Provide an introduction about the context.
  • Describe the strategy development process.
  • Present the methodology and the agenda.
  • Collect Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. You should define both internal and external factors. Starting with the STRENGTHS, define what strengths do you have, what makes you better than other competitions; your unique resources; etc. Thinking about WEAKNESSES, define the obstacles that you face; your competitions; quality standards and changing technology. rnWhen defining OPPORTUNITIES, think about the following questions: What good opportunities can you spot? What interesting trends are you aware of? What changes in government policy are related to your field. Are there changes in social patterns, population profiles, lifestyle changes, and so on. Identify local events. When defining the THREATS, think about: What obstacles do you face? What are your competitors doing? Is changing technology threatening your position?.
  • Select the most important SWOT categories.
  • Set the objectives for the innovation strategy.
  • Select and present actions to be implemented by voting them.

Benefits

This method allows to: 1)Identify stakeholder needs and engage them; 2) Increase trust on governmental services; 3) Generate public values; 4) Increase efficiency and effectiveness of services; 5) Provide financial and economical sustainability of services.

Tips

Describe the characteristics of the participants and their relation to the whole innovation system. Identify and present the role of the SWOT analysis inside the development process. Invite between 5 and 10 people maximum to the workshops for effective discussions and interactions towards results.
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