Singapore Zoo

Cultivating New Generations of Animal Lovers

An innovative play and education concept sparks the adoption of design thinking & innovation at the Singapore Zoo.

Story

How might we create a purposeful, fun experience for families to learn and care for wildlife and conservation?

Since its formation in 1971, the Singapore Zoo has become a world-leading institution, providing family bonding experiences and memories for generations of Singaporeans.

The Zoo was undergoing a major revamp as part of the Mandai rejuvenation project to integrate its physical parks into a distinct wildlife and nature destination. With that came a need to re-evaluate its Purpose and Mission. It also sought to build deep capabilities in innovation and experimentation to address a new set of challenges.

The Zoo engaged the Awaken Group to do the following:

Inclusivity and Conservation: How might we redesign KidzWorld, the existing play area within the Zoo, to be more inclusive, while spreading the message of conservation in a meaningful way?
Design Thinking & Innovation: How might we use the KidzWorld redesign as a pilot project to help the Zoo introduce and embed Design Thinking & Innovation principles and practices within the Zoo’s planning, culture, and operations?
Collaboration & Ownership: How might we help catalyze cross-functional collaboration, ensuring active participation, alignment, and buy-in from all stakeholders?

Approach

We leveraged a human-centred approach to create experiences that resonated with our customers

To build a culture of consumer-centricity and drive the flagship project to design new Singapore Zoo KidzWorld, Awaken Group did the following:

Equipping Innovation Champions: Catalyzed a culture of ‘innovation by doing’ by developing departmental champions with a deep understanding of ‘disrupting status quo with purpose’ and a bias to action
Co-Creating Solutions: ‘Show, not tell’ approach through the KidzWorld project, where we brought ‘innovation by doing’ to life and creating solutions together with Zoo staff and customers
Creating a Playbook for the Future: Designed for sustainability by codifying the ‘how’ in ‘innovation by doing’ in a playbook to help future generations of WRS staff be innovative

Impact

An inclusive and educational experience for families and animals to bond over conservation

A New Play & Education Concept: With the new KidzWorld, the Zoo achieved its dual ambition to a) allow families to bond meaningfully by developing a play concept that is for families, not just children and b) further the Zoo’s mission to bring animals closer to families and spread conversation messages in a more meaningful way.

Adoption of Design Thinking and Innovation: The KidzWorld project helped catalyzed the formal adoption of design thinking and innovation as a tool and framework in 2018, with the Division of Corporate Development evolving into Strategy & Innovation.

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