Heuristic, Cultivate Innovation’s sister company, was set up by Mike Colechin and Andy Boston to offer others something they had both valued throughout their own careers – the opportunity to take time-out and reflect on the ‘bigger picture’.
They met in the 1990’s when working at Powergen’s (now Uniper’s) Technology Centre near Nottingham. Andy was Head of Mathematical Modelling and Mike was a Combustion Engineer. Subsequently, they worked together on various projects including the setting up and early operation of the Energy Research Partnership. It is since they have both run their own independent consultancies that they have realised the dream of sharing their experiences with others to help accelerate progress towards a net zero future.
At Heuristic we seek to… take people out of their ‘comfort zone’, and to create a safe space in which participants in our workshops can take time to think differently.
Creating a safe space
It is easy when we are busy with the day-to-day challenges of meeting the needs of clients and the organisations we all work within to lose sight of the wider systems in which we operate. At Heuristic we seek to challenge that paradigm, to take people out of their ‘comfort zone’, and to create a safe space in which participants in our workshops can take time to think differently.
Power Trader
‘Power Trader’, draws on Andy and Mike’s experience of the electricity sector. Participants gain an insight into how electricity markets work and the challenges that companies operating in those markets face. Electricity systems around the world are transitioning to delivering renewable power, while demands for zero-carbon electricity are changing as whole economies seek to decarbonise. This workshop has been used to train university researchers about the impacts of the wider energy system on their work, but also by large energy corporates and government departments, to provide their operational teams with knowledge of the markets in which they operate.
Transport Planner
‘Transport Planner’ came out of a chance meeting between Mike and Clare Sheffield, who is now Director of Transport Planning at Arup. Clare worked with Andy and Mike to create a workshop that spoke to the needs of city transport planners. Despite the challenges of launching an in-person workshop at the start of a COVID pandemic, this offering has successfully helped many participants look at the world in a different way. It emphasises the policy levers that the public sector can use, a useful tool when engaging with stakeholders. The feedback from these sessions has always emphasised the benefits of having fun while discussing the practical realities of the transition to net zero.
Decarb-a-nation
Our latest offering, ‘Decarb-a-nation’, combines the best aspects of our other workshops and takes them to a new level – challenging participants to decarbonise a whole country’s economy. Teams with different, unaligned objectives explore a ‘wicked’ problem – the complexities of the energy system transition. While developing this workshop we have been amazed by the deep conversations it has created, and by the fun people have trying on roles that are different from their day-to-day lived experience, learning something new as a result.
