“Some people understand the innovation process but can’t facilitate others through it. Amy is our go-to expert because she has real-world experience leading innovation at a Fortune 100 corporation, teaches in a way that others understand the principles, and is a master facilitator in taking groups through the innovation process. We’ve engaged Amy as part of our work with clients in fields from health policy to education reform. And, we are relying on Amy’s consultation for our own strategic planning and new product development. Amy’s expertise, adaptability, and results-orientation makes her one of our most trusted and valued partners.”
For decades, the Career Clusters framework has served as a tool to connect students with careers in which they thrive. After twenty years in use, it was time to refresh the framework to reflect the future of work more accurately and adapt to the emerging needs of learners and the workplace.
The Career Clusters framework touches dozens of populations, from teachers to students to hiring managers. The ACTE client needed a bespoke innovation approach to gathering extensive user insights, feedback, and ideation. They engaged Springboard to design and lead a tailored process that balanced user feedback with disciplined decision-making to ultimately build a working prototype.
How Did We Do It?
Our approach was unique and custom to the needs of ACTE and, partner consultancy, Vivayic. At Springboard, we believe in meeting the client where they are. In this project, the team needed training, advisory coaching, and curating the best innovation practices to transform a legacy product.
Springboard delivered executive education-style training around innovation approaches, processes, and mindsets.
Since plans were underway, we reviewed, stress-tested, and improved existing methods.
We co-designed and led workshops to move the team from insight to a prototype.
In many cases, we used online tools like Loom and Miro to provide feedback and recommend new approaches.
What Did It Take?
Supporting an innovation mindset: Leadership advocated for a bold, transformative approach. With that, they had the patience for iteration, shifts, and pivots along the journey.
Embracing a human-centered design approach: By investing in listening sessions, surveys, and online tools to gather feedback, the team built a relevant, modern prototype. They avoided the common “we know best” pitfall.
Looking outside for inspiration: The group looked outside their domain to bring in analogous models and methods that informed their ultimate solution.
Learn more about Advance Career Technical Education at careertech.org/career-clusters.