Finding solutions through interactive workshops

Finding solutions to complex challenges which involve multiple stakeholders can be a slow process. We have developed a method which enables clients to reach decisions more quickly, based on sound evidence and judgement. Our proven and award-winning approach is TRICO: Toolset for Rapid Integrated Collaborative Optioneering. It is based on clear visualisation of big data in workshops to facilitate decisions.

Our TRICO approach helped address a key obstacle in the early stages of a major social-economic regeneration project in the East of England called Wisbech 2020 Garden Town. A critical part of the growth-led regeneration was how to build homes sustainably in areas at risk of flooding and whether the town could become a national exemplar for a climate change resilient town of the future. Through a series of TRICO workshops for Wisbech, we explored evidence-based growth, taking into account flood risk requirements from the National Planning Policy Framework. Outcomes are presented directly in the metrics that matter for the decision makers – in this case, flood hazard calculated by rapid 3Di modelling. 

The result was a shared understanding that there was no fundamental flood obstacle and that through zoning and other measures it would be possible to design the garden town to be safe and support the regeneration ambitions. The advantage of TRICO was that it enabled the nature and scale of the challenge to be explored together, helping all participants understand each other’s perspective. By seeing what works and how the effectiveness of solutions change by making live adjustments, they can identify outcomes in metrics that drive the decision.