Case Study: Changing Behaviours, Changing Futures

This engagement demonstrates Luminaire’s repeatable approach in practice: Research → Engagement → Strategy → Behaviour Change → Programs & Systems → Outcomes

Category: Capability & Capacity Uplift

This case study demonstrates Luminaire’s integrated approach — combining original research, IAP2-aligned stakeholder engagement, strategy, behaviour change and pilot design — to strengthen SME capability, readiness and scalable economic uplift.

With a champion-pilot LGA participant, Luminaire established a defensible evidence base, translated insight into a stage-gated delivery pathway, and designed a locally relevant pilot to build capability, improve investment efficiency and support future scale across regions. The pilot is currently scaling state-wide.

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Context

A proactive local government became the first LGA participant in a statewide pilot focused on strengthening small business participation, readiness and regional supply-chain connectivity. The work sat within a complex, multi-stakeholder environment, with state briefings and whole-of-system considerations.

The timing reflected a desire to extend the impact of existing investment, strengthen the region’s commitment to being a small-business-friendly LGA, and improve SME readiness and connectivity in response to region-specific pressures affecting business performance and survival.

The Challenge

The council sought capability and capacity uplift across three levels:

• within the LGA organisation

• across the local SME community

• across the wider regional ecosystem

  
  

Priority outcomes included reducing economic leakage through increased local purchasing, lifting participation in available support mechanisms, nurturing existing businesses, and strengthening supply-chain readiness and future preparedness.

The ecosystem was characterised by:

• multiple stakeholder groups with different roles, remits and incentives

• geographic and infrastructure constraints influencing connectivity and operating costs

• concurrent regional initiatives and competing priorities

• limited baseline evidence alongside a need to balance tailored SME support with resource efficiency

• the requirement for a defensible foundation, cross-departmental alignment and delivery readiness.

Luminaire’s Role

Luminaire supported the pilot through an integrated, end-to-end model:

• Research — establishing an evidence-based baseline of SME conditions and readiness

• Engagement — aligning stakeholders early through structured, best-practice engagement

• Strategy — translating intent into an actionable internal strategy with a stage-gated delivery pathway

• Behaviour Change — applying evidence-based behaviour change methods informed by behavioural economics and behavioural science used by governments locally and internationally

• Programs & Systems — designing rollout elements, partner communications, KPI foundations and monitoring approaches to support adoption and scale.

What We Did

• Designed and delivered original, local research, capturing inputs from over 70 businesses through individual interviews, facilitated workshops, group sessions and online surveys

• Conducted stakeholder engagement aligned with IAP2 international best-practice standards, supporting co-design, alignment and shared ownership across businesses, elected members, internal staff, partners and relevant departments

• Synthesised insight into delivery-ready pathways, including a staged and prioritised approach to implementation

• Applied behavioural and systems analysis to design interventions with stronger cut-through and improved investment efficiency

• Designed pilot elements, partner communications and KPI/monitoring foundations to support learning and future rollout

Pilots & Proof

The pilot tested how local governments can refine and strengthen SME support mechanisms by adapting leading and international best practice to local operating conditions.

A dual-lens design ensured:

• SME realities were placed at the centre, with interventions tailored to lived business conditions

• LGA policy, program and system levers were clearly identified and activated within existing governance settings

  
  

The pilot approach was designed to improve investment efficiency while building local and government capability, creating scalable learning that could be applied across other LGAs, regions or industries.

Outcomes

The engagement established the foundations for:

• capability and capacity uplift within the LGA and SME ecosystem

• improved coordination and system readiness across stakeholders

• behaviour change mechanisms designed to strengthen program performance

• scalable learning to support increased local purchasing, SME participation and future-ready supply-chain connectivity

• durable economic value through more effective and targeted investment

Why This Matters

This case demonstrates how Luminaire’s integrated approach — grounded in original research, best-practice engagement, behavioural insight and pilots — enables governments to move from intent to implementable, scalable action in complex environments.