CivTech is a Scottish Government programme that brings people from the public, private and third sectors together to build things that make the world a better place.
They take real problems faced by government departments, public sector organisations and charities, and invite anyone with a brilliant idea to work hand-in-hand with us and them to create the solution.
At the heart of the programme is their Innovation Flow which centres around an intense 15-week Accelerator. Innovative and ambitious teams, selected through an open and straightforward process, are paid to build working prototypes — and receive a huge amount of business growth support.
The Accelerator Programme
It’s a unique and exceptional programme that’s been refined since 2016 through many CivTech cohorts. The workshops are delivered by outstanding people with real and recent experience in their field, people who’ve been there, done it, and continue to do so.
The programme culminates in a Demo Day – a live event where the challenge sponsors and teams present their minimum viable product to an audience of approximately 200.
I work with each team to prepare, craft and deliver a 6 minute pitch and handle questions afterwards.
I also work with the public sector teams who do a 2 minute introduction for each pitch. The programme of workshops we deliver for CivTech weaves together all of the speakers and their presentations for Demo Day
We deliver:
- Exploration stage – 1 x Presentation 101 Workshop – a 90 minute high level tips and techniques workshop for all teams (approx. 90 people)
- Accelerator stage – 3 x group workshops
- 1 hour 1-1 sessions with each team focusing on Q&A
- 1 hour 1-1 sessions for public sector teams
- A dry run through day for all teams
- Dress rehearsals at the venue
Results:
Since its inception, CivTech has been a great success. Individuals and teams come from a different background and level of experience from each other in terms of their communication skills. The feedback is consistently excellent around the work we do with them all. Watch some Demo Day pitches here – https://www.civtech.scot/portfolio
Testimonials:
“Your workshop sessions have led to a huge transformation in my life.
Your persuasive and reassuring manner have – for the very first time – enabled me to subdue the personal and social anxiety that has restricted every part of my life since my earliest childhood memories.
Only weeks ago I had no idea how I was going to get through Demo Day and deliver a pitch that not only held the attention of an audience, but also made them laugh and finally enthusiastically applaud. You showed me how to deliver my message and how to structure it in a way that an unfamiliar audience could appreciate and understand it.”
“Thank you so much for your training, mentoring and critique of our presentation style, script and approach. We had a great day at Demo Day. People said the pitch was really clear and engaging and we had a lot of interest, people got it. People who know me well were amazed at the different pace of delivery for which I gave you full credit saying we followed the Maryanne Method.” David Alexander, CEO, Mydex