Design and innovation consulting | Actionable Innovation

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HUMAN

BUSINESS

CREATIVE

Actionable are an award winning research, strategy &

innovation consultancy

We combine deep human understanding, business intelligence and creative thinking to help our clients understand people and markets, discover and improve their offerings, develop winning strategy and design new ventures.

Find out how

ABOUT

OUR DNA

We are award-winning strategic designers, innovators, academics and entrepreneurs. Our team have created radical innovations for global companies, accumulated a portfolio of over 50 patents, conceived and launched successful global ventures and carried out internationally published research in design, strategy & innovation. We strive to make our clients stronger by bringing exciting new thinking, rigour, passion and a unique and proven approach to their challenges.

Pragmatic

& practical

it's not just about delivering projects on time and on budget, creating something new and innovative should be exciting, interesting and fun!. To do this, you have to be practical, take a common-sense approach, make the complex simple and work fast and smart.

Rigour &

relevance

Too often we see projects focus on outputs over outcomes and overcomplicated to justify fees or to demonstrate "smarts". This can work, but it is often wasted time and money - and nothing more than innovation theatre. We keep our projects lean, we don't delegate understanding and we aim for that sweet-spot between rigour AND relevance

Respect &

progress

We don't think in terms of customers, users, stakeholders, clients or targets. We think in terms of people and the progress they are trying to make. We respect people; their time, money, deadlines, constraints, needs and goals, and we use this to motivate and inspire us.

Process &

magic

Our process is the culmination of 20 years of practice and reflection, experimentation and delivery. We draw from diverse fields, from anthropology and psychology to behavioural science and design. Good process is notenough though, you need a little bit of magic to transform good into great!.

What we do

WHAT WE DO

INNOVATION

You want to explore opportunities for growth through radical product, service and business model innovation.

Services include:

Exploring and mapping new and existing markets for innovation opportunity
Full cycle innovation project from strategic gap analysis to validation and delivery. Designed to help you answer critical business questions faster.
Evidence-based decisions through experimentation

RESEARCH

& INSIGHT

You want to explore where to play and how to win, align management and motivate and enable your team

Services include:

Developing rich stakeholder and market understanding to draw out compelling and actionable insight
Deep-dive into the company aspirations and capabilities to propose viable, desirable and feasible opportunities

TRAINING

You want to build an innovation capability across the organisation, team or key individuals.

Services include:

Development of engaging and tailored workshops and programmes to build foundational innovation capability in your team

Guidance and mentoring of senior management

PROJECTS

RECENT

We would love to share more of what we are working on, but due to the sensitive commercial nature of some projects, we cannot disclose all details. For now, here is a high-level selection of our work.

Actionable are continuously working with the HSE on a number of exciting strategic Initiatives to build innovation capability across frontline staff.We have trained over 1,000 healthcare staff in accredited (RCSI-approved) design thinking. Designed and facilitated applied innovation workshops across clinical, operational, and leadership roles.

We have completed an innovation research project focused on the service needs of home buyers for one of Irelands largest property developers

We have developed and delivered an ambitious, interreg funded programme designed to build design innovation capacity across Irish SMEs - Enterprise Ireland

We completed discovery work with VHI, carrying out in-depth ethnographic research, develop market insight and develop a number if innovative health insurance related propositions.

Understanding the cancer journey and developing a new charity- OvaCare

Leading the design and delivery of five-year strategic plans for two county library services, using research and co-creation to align library services with community needs - South Dublin and Kildare Library Services

Conducted national design research projects—towards reducing road fatalities (2024) and mapping the "Owning a Car in Ireland" journey (2023) under a life-events public service framework - DPER / Dept. of Transport

Recent activity

The Big Life Fix TV series

Actionable co-founder emeritus, Trevor Vaugh, appeared as an expert on the acclaimed RTE television series “The Big Life Fix”. The series partnered with a number of health focused charities to identify 12 participants that would share their stories and take part as co-creators. A team of 'experts' were assembled from the fields of design, engineering and computer science, to work through an accelerated design process, to conceive, concept and realise bespoke solutions that would significantly improve the quality of life of participants. Each 'expert' worked collaboratively with a spectrum of experts from neurologists to fashion designers and craft furniture makers. This purpose-driven collaboration insured the series and the projects delivered extraordinary impact within unique constraints.The significance of the program has been marked by a massive upsurge in public awareness of the role design can in innovation.

Challenge

This was an ambitious project in terms of scale, extremely tight production deadlines, and in some cases, the deteriorating health of participants. Over one year, the series followed eight 'experts' as they attempted to understand the unique challenges faced by the participants and then move rapidly into concept development, experimentation and a humbling dose of trial & error. This was a challenging process for participants, often asked to try things outside of their comfort zone. The prototyping phase saw the solutions refined, and first-of-their-kind, safe, robust and reliable solutions developed. Added to the complexity, the entire process had to be captured on camera, meaning projects had to be carefully planned to align with crew and participant availability and project scheduling. The brief to the 'experts' was simple – immerse in the participant lives to understand their challenges and design a solution that will make a meaningful improvement in their lives.

Resolution & impact

Over 45 minutes, across six episodes, two participants and the experts working with them were introduced to viewers. These participants had debilitating and often progressive medical conditions ranging from Alzheimer’s Disease and Multiple Sclerosis, to Motor neuron disease and Caudal Regression Syndrome. Each episode tells the story of how the ‘experts’ worked to understand the participants challenges, meet doctors, medical supports and researchers and then proceed with designing, prototyping and producing an solution.

Each of the 12 projects were novel, bespoke and highly innovative. The 12 projects were universally considered to have exceeded the participants expectations and those of their families, carers and clinical teams.

Innovating one of the worlds most traditional industries.

This is the story of the design thinking process used to develop the worlds first Cantilevered Saddle. The saddle was the invention of Martin Ryan, a young Irish designer with a passion for innovation later commercialised under the brand name Bua. The Saddle was inspired by a design philosophy that challenges orthodoxies and focuses on improving performance of the product for horse and rider. The Saddle patent was formally granted in 2014.

Strategic Consulting – Kildare Library Services’ 5-Year Strategic Development Plan

Kildare Library Services engaged Think Actionable to design and facilitate the creation of their 5-Year Strategic Development Plan (2025–2029). The challenge was to develop a strategy that would guide the future of library services across the county — one that was both visionary in ambition and grounded in real community needs.

The brief called for a process that not only addressed operational priorities, but also positioned libraries as inclusive, accessible, and central to the cultural and social fabric of Kildare.

The Process

Think Actionable led a Human-Centred Design process that placed the voices of library staff, users, and community partners at the heart of the plan.

Stakeholder Engagement – A series of interviews, surveys, and workshops with frontline staff, partner organisations, and local groups to capture diverse perspectives.

Community Voices – Facilitated engagement with library users to understand how services are currently experienced, and where gaps or opportunities exist.

User Journey Mapping – Applied participatory tools to identify touchpoints, challenges, and areas for innovation.

Collaborative Synthesis – Worked closely with the Kildare Library Services leadership team to distil insights into clear themes and practical actions.

This structured yet inclusive approach ensured that the final strategy reflected the lived experiences of those it serves, while remaining aligned with organisational goals.

The Outcome

Launched in 2025, the 5-Year Strategic Development Plan provides Kildare Library Services with:

30 Strategic Actions organised across 7 Development Areas, covering digital innovation, service expansion, community wellbeing, and inclusion.

A roadmap that is visionary yet actionable, balancing ambition with achievable steps.

A framework that secures the role of libraries as vital public spaces for learning, creativity, and community connection.

The strategy is more than a document — it is a commitment to evolve and grow with the people of Kildare, ensuring the library service remains relevant, inclusive, and impactful well into the future.

Strategic Workshop – HSE Public Health Leadership

Public Health within the Health Service Executive (HSE) carries a wide remit: protecting health, improving health outcomes, enhancing health services, and generating health intelligence. To strengthen collaboration and explore innovation opportunities across these domains, HSE Spark Innovation Programme invited Think Actionable to design and facilitate a large-scale strategic workshop with national and leadership teams from Public Health.

The brief was to create a space where leaders could surface priorities, share insights, and accelerate collective understanding — enabling the group to move towards meaningful action across a complex, evolving agenda.

The Process

We designed a high-energy, participatory workshop for 45 leaders from across the national Public Health team. The facilitation approach combined structured decision-making with creative, human-centred tools to ensure both breadth of input and depth of discussion.

Key elements included:

Decision-Making Exercises – Structured activities to help the group prioritise complex issues and identify where innovation could have the greatest impact.

Human-Centred Design Tools – Techniques to draw out diverse perspectives, ensuring all voices were heard and insights captured.

Case Studies – Real-world examples to inspire thinking and connect Public Health challenges to innovative approaches in practice.

The day was carefully paced to balance collective exploration and focused synthesis, enabling participants to build shared understanding and momentum.

The Outcome

The workshop generated a clear set of priority areas and innovation opportunities for Public Health, underpinned by the collective experience of the leadership team. Outcomes included:

A shared view of challenges and opportunities, accelerating alignment across a wide-ranging remit.

Identification of strategic areas for innovation, providing a foundation for subsequent action planning.

Strengthened collaboration within the Public Health leadership team, reinforcing a culture of openness and collective problem-solving.

The event showcased the power of human-centred facilitation in bringing together diverse expertise, enabling leaders to navigate complexity and move towards meaningful, actionable innovation.

Each tight deadline was met and the team showed the highest level of commitment to our project, facilitating workshops, ethnographic interviews, surveys and an anthropological approach through to stakeholder debriefs and presentation all within just a couple of weeks.

The output from Actionable is hugely valuable and has been used across our business in shaping our strategy while also integrating successfully into the future roadmaps for our activity.”

Orla Caffery

Marketing Communications Manager

Vhi Healthcare

HUMAN

BUSINESS

CREATIVE

OUR DNA

Pragmatic

& practical

it's not just about delivering projects on time and on budget, creating something new and innovative should be exciting, interesting and fun!. To do this, you have to be practical, take a common-sense approach, make the complex simple and work fast and smart.

Rigour &

relevance

Respect &

progress

We don't think in terms of customers, users, stakeholders, clients or targets. We think in terms of people and the progress they are trying to make. We respect people; their time, money, deadlines, constraints, needs and goals, and we use this to motivate and inspire us.

Process &

magic

Our process is the culmination of 20 years of practice and reflection, experimentation and delivery. We draw from diverse fields, from anthropology and psychology to behavioural science and design. Good process is notenough though, you need a little bit of magic to transform good into great!.

WHAT WE DO

INNOVATION

RESEARCH

& INSIGHT

TRAINING

RECENT

Recent activity

contact us

Sign up for news

HUMAN

BUSINESS

CREATIVE

OUR DNA

Pragmatic

& practical ​

​

it's not just about delivering projects on time and on budget, creating something new and innovative should be exciting, interesting and fun!. To do this, you have to be practical, take a common-sense approach, make the complex simple and work fast and smart.

Rigour &

relevance

​

Respect &

progress

​

​

We don't think in terms of customers, users, stakeholders, clients or targets. We think in terms of people and the progress they are trying to make. We respect people; their time, money, deadlines, constraints, needs and goals, and we use this to motivate and inspire us.

​

Process &

magic

​

Our process is the culmination of 20 years of practice and reflection, experimentation and delivery. We draw from diverse fields, from anthropology and psychology to behavioural science and design. Good process is notenough though, you need a little bit of magic to transform good into great!.

WHAT WE DO

INNOVATION

RESEARCH

& INSIGHT

TRAINING

RECENT

Recent activity

contact us

Sign up for news

& practical