Home Smart 100 2014 OurSay (VIC) – 2014 SMART 100

OurSay (VIC) – 2014 SMART 100

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This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.

1. THE BEGINNING

This innovation came to life when…

I was on a leadership course and a Member of Parliament asked a room full of 25 young leaders, “How many of you are members of a political party?” and zero hands went up. Then he asked, “How many of you have an issue you want a politician to address?” and every hand went up.

It was then that we realised that the places where we talk about issues which matter to us and the places where big decisions about those issues were made (political and corporate offices) were different. So we built a digital medium OurSay, which we launched in 2011.

2. WHAT & HOW

The purpose of this innovation is to…

Help leaders level with their communities using digital tools such as social media and mobile phones. On OurSay, leaders respond to crowd-sourced questions and ideas to build their reputation as accountable and transparent.

It does this by…

Selling subscriptions to community and stakeholder engagement plug-ins to local, state and federal government as well as corporate leaders.

3. PURPOSE & BENEFITS

This innovation improves on what came before because…

Our platform leverages digital technology and the power of the crowd to deliver cutting edge results for our clients. Most other digital engagement tools are tailored to old-age leaders who are fearful of sharing control and dilemmas with the public. OurSay is founded on the principle that when leaders see eye-to-eye, the best decisions are made.

Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…

Providing a trusted channel where both active and disengaged community members/constituents feel comfortable and effective in communicating their gripes or ideas to our customers, the societal leaders.

4. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

In the past, this problem was solved by…

Phone calls, emails, narrow surveys of the public, but we are providing reverse-surveys where the public ask the questions and organisational leaders answer.

Its predecessors/competitors include…

Traditional polling, journalists and online consultation programs most of which are uni-directional, highly controlled and do not share control of the agenda with the public.

5. TARGET MARKET

It is made for…

Local, state and federal governments as well as corporations structured as mutuals or cooperatives.

In 2013, OurSay received the International Association for Public Participation (the IAP2) Core Values Award for Victorian Project of the Year for work with Hepburn Shire Council where 10 per cent of households were engaged in a council planning process and increased satisfaction with direction of council by over 20 per cent.

As a result of this outcome, OurSay has expanded to work with a number of local councils, federal government departments and companies to involve constituents and customers in their decision-making.

It is available for sale through…

Our website or a conversation with one of our sales representatives.

Our marketing strategy is to…

Target local councils, state government representatives and companies which are seeking similar audiences so we can design a tailored experience for each of our end-users as well as generate value for our clients. We currently have nearly 100,000 active users in Australia and about 25,000 in India. Our passive reach is close to 2 million.

Your Turn — VOTE!

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We’ll use your vote to create the 2014 SMART 100 Readers’ Choice Index.

FINE PRINT
This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.