Academic Consulting

2011 has been a busy year for Academic Consulting thus far, with our involvement in two large-scale public submission projects – both related to the planning and rebuilding process following the Christchurch earthquakes.

The first project saw us collaborating with Christchurch City Council, assisting them in analysing the public submissions they received as part of their 'Share an Idea' campaign (http://www.shareanidea.co.nz). Over 100,000 ideas were submitted via a range of formats – from formal written submissions through to voicemail messages, ideas jotted on post-it notes, Lego models and video clips (visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK5AoTXjN34 to watch a sample of the videos submitted by the children of Christchurch). Data was collated by Christchurch City Council and sent up to the team at Academic Consulting, where it was analysed with the assistance of NVivo 9 Server (a version of the software that allows multiple users to work on one project at the same time). This involved entering and coding each of the submissions at various themes which had been identified by Council staff. Data was sent back down to the Council team at the end of each day, and the information was used to inform the draft City Centre Plan (http://www.centralcityplan.org.nz/net/what-is-in-the-plan.aspx). This project was a good example of the capabilities of NVivo, and was recently discussed in the QSR International newsletter (http://www.qsrinternational.com/news_whats-new_detail.aspx?view=443). In addition, it was an excellent opportunity for staff at Academic Consulting to extend their skills in working with data across a range of formats, namely in the analysis of audio and video submissions. We also valued the collaborative relationship developed with the Council, an important element of the success of the project particularly in light of the tight timeframes involved.

While the Christchurch City Council project focused specifically on the rebuild of the CBD, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) was responsible for developing a wider recovery strategy for the region (http://cera.govt.nz/recovery-strategy). Public submissions were once again sought, and thousands of responses received. As well as analysing the submissions with the aid of NVivo 9 Server, Academic Consulting was responsible for writing a series of three reports for CERA, two of which are available on their website.

Overall, both projects presented interesting and diverse challenges – and, as a company, Academic Consulting valued the opportunity to be involved in research with clear links to the development of important and evolving local and central Government policy.