Commercial

Our Capability Statement

Group SolutionS
Helping key groups of stakeholders to identify problems and find solutions, using information technology to facilitate meetings.
Capability Statement

Introduction

Group SolutionS is a unique facility providing dedicated meeting rooms complete with meeting support technology. The facility comprises two different group support system (GSS) platforms, two types of display technology, and a fully portable GSS kit.

Group Support Systems (GSS) is the generic name for the technology used to support and facilitate meetings. At Group SolutionS the platforms available are:

• Grouputer^TM - an Australian GSS that supports nominal group technique and other group facilitation processes. It is flexible, easy to use, and can be easily set up elsewhere.
• MeetingWorks^TM - a GSS in which all participants use a laptop PC, and is particularly useful in complex ranking, rating and evaluation activities. This technology is designed to support strategic planning and formulation procedures. It enables groups to gain consensus through processes that ensure anonymity, facilitated discussion, and report generation.

To the commercial client, the facility provides an effective environment where participants can gain a perspective of their problem and an efficient means with which to achieve outcomes.

Facility

Group SolutionS supports the following modes:

1. Conventional boardroom type display using a projector on to a wall mounted screen.
2. A "round table" format, with a cluster of monitors facing outwards to provide a common display but ensuring that face-to-face interaction is maintained.
3. A fully portable GSS kit that can be deployed at a client's chosen location.

The two permanent meeting rooms are contained within the Group SolutionS office located in the Rockhampton CBD.

Alliances

Group SolutionS is a registered business owned by CQUniversity. Alliances have been established within CQUniversity to provide important service management functions and to ensure professional level of contact between Group Solutions and its client base.

External alliances exist with:

• Zing Technology and Grouputer Corporation.
• National Strategic Decision Support Consortium.

Group SolutionS is actively pursuing alliances with consultants and facilitators who wish to use the facility and to engage in associated services.

Concepts and Application of Technology

The Group SolutionS facilities support face-to-face interaction between meeting room participants, and use protocols based on Nominal Group Techniques (NGT) and Delphi. The technology automates commonly used processes in facilitated meetings such as brainstorming, organising ideas, charts construction, evaluation, and participant voting. The team is experienced in meeting client requirements, and in the development of meeting protocols to achieve stated outcomes. The Group SolutionS team is output oriented.

The technology is used in ways that benefit group objectives. Process gains include improving participant efficiency, group understanding, anonymity, social cohesion, equity, distributed justice, and democracy. The approach is geared to delimit meeting process losses, and getting rid of "put-downs" and other impediments to securing shared understanding. The outcome gains include improved effectiveness, group cohesion, reporting, consensus, and a shared understanding and group commitment to the outcome.

A tangible outcome is the automatic recording of all comments and decisions, and the availability of this report on completion of the meeting. This removes the need for transcription or collation and typing of ideas off white butcher's paper after the meeting. Feedback is immediate, and reporting is complete.
The technology and the processes of human facilitation extends the group output well beyond conventional limits.

Team

Group SolutionS comprises a team of three dedicated GSS professionals. The range of experience and technical skills extends across a broad spectrum of private and public sector organisations. Specific expertise in consulting to industry, IT management, and group facilitation underscores the present commitment to the training of facilitators and professional support.

As project leader, Associate Professor Greg Whymark (Faculty of Business and Informatics) co-ordinates the program of strategic planning and management support activities, facilitation workshops, academic research.

Greg co-jointly manages the variety of initiatives with Mr Jim Callan (Faculty of Business and Informatics) and Mrs Sylvia Ward (Faculty of Business and Informatics). Group SolutionS also has access to other expertise from the Faculties within CQUniversity.

Track Record

Group SolutionS was established in September 1999, and builds upon the track record of its team members and the experience gained through consulting projects conducted by the Centre for Business Information Management, a previous consulting arm of the Faculty of Business, CQUniversity.

Over the last two years, three GSS facilitator training courses have been delivered (two in CQ, one in WA), and two are programmed for the first half of 2000 (one in CQ, one in Victoria).

Planning meetings have been facilitated for a number of clients, ranging from two day strategic planning to half day and shorter meetings. Group SolutionS has facilitated meetings for regional development groups and also provided the independent review of a government funded training program. The GSS provides qualitative feedback from these meetings that is not available using conventional approaches.

As an agent for Grouputer^TM, Group SolutionS can provide clients with an integrated package of supply, training and ongoing support for organizational implementation of GSS technology.

Community service is an important component of the Group SolutionS brief, and 100 hours of facilitated meetings have been set aside for community groups in 2000. Groups for which service has already been provided include a Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, and a number of industry and community development groups.

Group SolutionS

Group SolutionS' clients appreciate the need for opportunities to work at difficult issues and to bring these to satisfactory conclusion. The commitment to technology to help deal with complex issues and to consider impacts, is part of the distinctive service package to be found at this facility.

The opportunity to blend group tasks with advanced processes ensures that groups leave with a shared understanding of the issues on the table, leading to commitment to action.

Tel: 0500 558 701
Fax: 07 4922 6490
Email: g.whymarkatcqu.edu.au

Training

• Congratulations to the graduates of our last facilitator course : Sylvia Ward, Margaret Orth, Sherrin Farmer, and Kathleen Forster.
• Facilitator training. Enquiries to GSS@cqu.edu.au or CPE.
• Using GSS for more effective focus groups
• Using GSS in research: Efficient and effective qualitative research.

GSS Implementation: sales and support

• GSB Refresher training. (Graduate School of Business, Curtin University of Technology, Perth WA)