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OCAD U CO Customer Insights

OCAD U CO is providing design thinking-driven customer insights services to support IRAP clients in accomplishing their mission.

The Customer Insights program, offered by OCAD U CO, presents a comprehensive 9-week experiential initiative aimed at equipping teams with the skills to cultivate customer empathy, extract valuable insights, and generate concrete outcomes for their enterprises. This program facilitates the exploration of customer requirements, motivations, and behaviours, which can enhance customer retention rates and unveil novel prospects for business growth. Throughout the program, expert design practitioners will deliver personalized feedback and recommendations to participants.

Customer Insights

The Customer Insights program provides a nine-week curriculum where you will learn how to foster empathy with customers, uncover customer needs, and develop impactful value propositions that align with customer motivations and behaviours. It is a guided program where you will work on customer research you need to do internally. The program is highly participatory, where you ‘Learn by Doing’, and includes workshops, self-study, and one-on-one feedback. 

For IRAP clients, this cost of the program is covered by IRAP. Accepted applicants will only be required to cover a $500 admin fee.

OCAD U CO | Innovation and Design Thinking and Remote Workshop Facilitation - Banner
OCAD U CO | Innovation and Design Thinking and Remote Workshop Facilitation

Key Activities

  • Identify research objectives
  • Interview 4 – 6 real users
  • Create user personas
  • Design user journey map
  • Uncover insights into the pain points, needs, and desires of users
  • Develop value propositions for how to better serve customers
  • Design an implementation plan to test hypotheses coming out of the research.

What Do I get?

Over the course of 9 weeks, clients will participate in several weekly learning opportunities:

  • 2-hour participatory lectures each week to learn new tools and methods 

  • 1:1 weekly check-ins with the workshop instructor

  • Approximately 3 hours of independent work per week including conducting interviews, analyzing responses, and coming up with insights

  • Upon successful completion of the program, participants will be issued a Certificate of Completion from OCAD U CO

OCAD U CO | Innovation and Design Thinking and Remote Workshop Facilitation

Should you apply?

  • Are you struggling to understand what your customers really want?
  • Do you want to evaluate your product/ market fit and better articulate your value proposition?
  • Are you looking for a hands-on workshop in a group setting along with 1:1 support?
  • Do you have 3 hours per week to commit to independent activities?
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Who is eligible?

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must meet the following criteria to be considered for this service:

  • Minimum of one full-time employee receiving a T4;
  • Less than 500 employees;
  • The firm is operating in Canada and has a CRA Business Number;
  • The firm has demonstrated a desire to grow and generate profits;
  • The firm meets IRAP program eligibility criteria.

Complete the form below to apply to participate in the Customer Insights CTO with OCAD U.

If accepted you will meet virtually with an OCAD design expert where you will receive a timely and thoughtful review of your product or service with suggestions for improvements. The expectation from your end is to invest 2 hours weekly for nine weeks. 

Applications are due
June 6th, 2023.

Submit your application today:

Apply Here
Program supported by the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP)

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