Design Challenge and Design Ideas

“The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) is collaborating with Accenture to accelerate global efforts to protect coral reefs.

Over half of the world’s corals are severely damaged due to climate change and it’s predicted that 90% will be critically endangered by 2050. Water pollution, waste and coastal development are further eroding coral health.

The consequences of losing coral reefs are catastrophic. More than half a billion people globally depend on them for food, income and protection. Despite occupying 1% of the world’s ocean floors, coral reefs are home to 1/4 of all marine life. According to a recent WWF report, coral reefs would unlock additional net benefit streams of $30bn per year, if managed sustainably.

But conservation practitioners face an urgent challenge: coral reefs are degrading faster than we can track, restricting ability to inform management decision-making.

If we are to save the reefs from global disaster, we need fast, collective action.

Coral-ation is a collaborative, open-source web-based tool, that integrates international coral reef monitoring efforts to inform conservation strategies. Coral-ation builds on automated data management, artificial intelligence, and statistical analysis to standardise and secure coral reef monitoring data and enhance change detection. It empowers scientists to manage, archive, and share data, fast-track recording of reef condition, foster international collaboration and inform conservation efforts and policy-making.”

How the brief was fulfilled

“How might we solve root causes and spark collective action in order to accelerate the integration of global reef monitoring efforts and coral restoration?

Initially, there was a need to understand at a system level why the coral reef is failing? This includes identifying the unified goal for saving coral reefs, who is responsible for maintaining it, and what are the key jobs to be done?

Next, validate the challenge space and prioritise burning issues to address. Evaluate the potential of emerging technology. Define interventions that address key root causes and deliver value and impact. Test interventions for desirability, feasibility, viability or integrity. Identify and prioritise features to inform product roadmap. Measure outcomes to generate evidence that supports decision making.

Finally, develop a value narrative and partner engagement strategy to ensure the long term viability of this initiative. Grow a network across Accenture and beyond.”