Submissions – 2015 | Interdisciplinary Innovation and Collaboration

With each CIIC unconference, further wicked problems submitted by participants are added to the list:

Is there a place for barter? It seems likely that money, and hence financial systems, arose from bartering. How did this happen, how did bartering arise in the first place, and what does it tell us about the modern world/what can we use it for?

– Stephen Marsland

How do we need to redefine economic progress so that the core of the definition still makes sense to those who will live 200 years from now? What kind of feedbacks and what kinds of non-financial metrics are useful to assess the benefits and the externalities of an innovation? Appropriate feedback loops in combination with a long term perspective are the basic tools for distinguishing between healthy and dysfunctional economic ecosystems. The deadly diseases of management identified many years ago by W. Edwards Deming are alive and well, and have spread around the globe. They are a good starting point for identifying the root causes that need to be tackled to arrive at a definition of economic progress that extends beyond the perceived needs of those who live today.

– Jorn Bettin

Sustainable supply chains: What opportunities are there for collaboration between companies in building understanding of how to make progress towards sustainable supply chains, and how can University of Auckland assist? What opportunities are there for companies to collaborate in learning how sustainable supply chains can be used to create a market advantage, and how can the University of Auckland assist?

– Barry Coates

New Zealand’s contribution to a sustainable world. The stakes are high in NZ. Many of our exports are associated with our clean green image. Yet our clean performance data shows we’re behind much of Europe, and falling behind. The demand for energy efficient living just isn’t there, especially in transport and housing. Rather than relying on policies, how can industries change this? How can we be on the path to a green sustainable future on an international level?

– Ivan Li

How do we blend human interaction and discretion within increasingly automated business processes? On a regular basis, we hear of serious “business process” failures … failures in the process of issuing consents (Christchurch City Council) … in privacy (WINZ) … in health … in justice … too many to list … and on a regular basis. Often processes are not in place, and when they are, they are not reliably followed. Sometimes processes are so poorly defined or complex that they are nearly impossible to follow. Automation can relieve some problems by ensuring that processes are followed and can be accounted for, but how far should we go? My observation is that the key lies in accurately identifying and understanding what the processes are in the first place, otherwise automation simply makes it possible to do a bad job faster.

– Alan Miles

What priorities are required for developing Embryonic Industries/SMEs, so that their potential can be advanced and their benefits can be realised within a small economic country like New Zealand? What needs to change when: