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Discover90 min · v1.0

Change mandate and outcomes

Original workshop design for pilot use. This format has not been validated for effectiveness.

Summary and decision

Agree why the workplace must change and which work outcomes justify it.

Decision: Sponsor approves the mandate, open decisions and evidence needed before committing.

Preparation

  • Bring the business trigger, lease dates and budget constraints.
  • Ask each function for one observable problem and its evidence.

Audience

6-10 people: sponsor, workplace lead, HR, FM, IT, finance and employee representative.

Agenda

Agenda in minutes
#BlockMinutes
1Opening10
2Evidence10
3Exercise A25
4Break5
5Exercise B25
6Decisions15
Total90

Exercises A and B

Exercise A: Mandate canvas

  1. Write individual problem statements before discussing solutions.
  2. Separate observations from assumptions and record conflicting interests.
  3. Mark fixed, open and locally adaptable decisions.

Exercise B: Outcome and decision record

  1. Connect each proposed output to an outcome for work or people.
  2. Name the accountable decision-maker and one measure per outcome.
  3. Record dissent and the evidence that could change the decision.

Worksheets

Worksheet A

Problem and evidence
Desired work outcome
Fixed and open decisions
Constraints and assumptions

Worksheet B

Outcome and baseline
Measure and review date
Decision-maker and deadline
Uncertainty and next evidence

Illustrative example

Illustrative, not a real case

  • Illustrative: a lease expiry triggers a review of two sites.
  • The decision is location and work model, not a preselected office concept.
  • Success includes reliable team coordination and acceptable cost.

Completion criteria

  • A named sponsor owns the decision.
  • Each outcome has a baseline owner.
  • Open decisions and constraints are explicit.

Follow-up

  • Within two working days, sponsor signs or records conditions.
  • Feed the mandate into W02 and project-definition-initiation.

Points of attention

  • Do not turn cost reduction into the only outcome without naming the trade-off.
  • If the sponsor is absent, record a draft rather than a decision.

Workplace phase and change activities

Workplace: Discover (phase in the Workplace method)

Change Management

  • Frame

    Why this workshop helps: Produces a change mandate: reason, intended outcomes, open decisions and evidence needed.

    Adapting outside a workplace setting: Outside a workplace setting, translate lease dates into the deadlines that apply, such as a contract end, system release or policy start date.

These links and notes are editorial guidance of the Codex, not a new or validated template. The workshop text and files on this page are unchanged.

Planned sessions

No sessions are planned.

Sources and downloads

Sources

S05Research guidanceNot effectiveness evidence

Skivington et al. (2021). A new framework for developing and evaluating complex interventions

Why here: Informs the attention to context, stakeholder involvement and uncertainty when setting the mandate. It does not validate this workshop.

Finding:
Context, programme theory, stakeholder involvement, uncertainty and iterative refinement belong throughout intervention development.
Limitation for workplace:
Guidance from health research informs our design. It does not validate this workplace workshop sequence.
Reviewed 2026-10-02

Downloads

Last reviewed: 2026-10-02