INNOVATION DAY FACILITATION

 
 

Ever looked around and noticed everyone is flat out but nothing is actually improving?

Delivery cycles keep repeating. The same pain points come up in retrospectives. People have ideas but there is no space to try them. Good intentions disappear under the weight of the next sprint.

Does it sound familiar?

Innovation Days are a deliberate circuit breaker. We design and facilitate the whole event so your teams can focus on the work.

The Problem with Business As Usual

When teams are stuck in delivery mode, improvement becomes a casualty. There is always something more urgent. The backlog keeps growing. The retro actions never quite get done.

The real cost is invisible - ideas that never get tried, tools that never get adopted, silos that never get broken down. Meanwhile, your competitors are experimenting and your people are quietly losing motivation.

You don't have a capability problem. You have a capacity problem.

You're a LEADER trying to invest in your people and your ways of working

If you want teams that continuously improve - not just deliver - you need to create the conditions for it. That means protected time, clear structure, and someone who knows how to make it work.

Innovation Days give your teams the space to experiment, collaborate, and build something real. Not a side project. Not a training course. A focused event that produces tangible outcomes and genuine energy.

It's not a cost. It's an investment.

What You Get

  • A facilitated event your teams will actually talk about afterwards

  • Tangible proofs of concept to show stakeholders

  • Stronger cross-team relationships

  • A clear process you can repeat and improve

  • Momentum - the kind that's hard to manufacture any other way

 

How the Day Works

We take care of the design, structure, and facilitation so your team can focus entirely on the work.

Before the event - we work with you to define the goals, gather and shape idea proposals, align stakeholders, and form teams. Everything is ready before day one.

During the event - we facilitate the opening, coach teams through the two to three days of focused work, and keep the energy and pace moving. We bring in external expertise where it adds value.

After the event - we facilitate the showcase session, support the recognition and prize giving, and help you capture outputs and plan follow-through. Because the work doesn't stop when the event ends.

 

Who Is It For

  • Technology and product leaders who want to invest in their teams but aren't sure how to structure it.

  • Heads of engineering or delivery frustrated by the gap between ambition and execution.

  • HR and people leads looking for culture initiatives with real substance behind them.

  • Organisations that have tried innovation events before and want to do it properly this time.

  • Teams that are good at delivery but know they could be better at improvement.

What Innovation Days Do

Innovation Days lifts teams out of the daily grind and creates space for the things that delivery cycles rarely allow.

It's a structured event with five clear phases:

  • Prepare - gather ideas and shape them into one-page proposals

  • Prioritise - get stakeholder alignment on the most viable ideas

  • Form teams - give people a genuine choice of project

  • Run the event - two to three days of focused, facilitated work

  • Present and recognise - showcase outcomes and celebrate the work

The result is a visible, tangible output from every team - and an organisation that knows how to do it again.

Here's what changes when teams get space to experiment:

Teams tackle the problems that retros can't fix. Silos break down and stay broken. Ideas become visible, tangible things. Your people feel genuinely invested in. You build the muscle for next time.

Innovations Days make improvements visible

01 - Teams tackle the problems that retros can't fix

Some bottlenecks are too big for a sprint, too small for a project. Innovation Days create exactly the right space to go after them.

02 - Silos break down - and stay broken

People who don't normally work together find out they actually like each other. Cross-team relationships built in an Innovation Day outlast the event itself.

03 - Ideas become visible, tangible things

Instead of a slide deck, you get a working proof of concept. Something stakeholders can see, touch, and respond to. That changes the conversation.

04 - Your people feel genuinely invested in

Protected time to experiment signals that improvement matters. That signal has an outsized effect on motivation and retention.

05 - You build the muscle for next time

The first Innovation Day is the hardest. Each one after gets better. Teams learn how to pitch, how to form quickly, how to finish something in two days. That capability compounds.Story Mapping helps you move beyond flat backlogs and scattered tasks to see the big picture.

Our Approach to Innovation Days

Our approach builds on years of experience designing and facilitating innovation events across technology, product, and delivery teams.

Want to understand the thinking before committing? Read our Innovation Days blog for the full picture on why these events work and how to run them well.

DIY or Get Help?

 

You can run an Innovation Day yourself using our blog as a guide. The five phases are straightforward and the principles are simple.

If you'd prefer some help, please get in touch. There is a real difference between understanding how Innovation Days work and successfully designing and facilitating one - especially the first time. Getting the structure right, managing the energy, and ensuring outputs have legs afterwards takes experience.

This is for you if:

  • You want the event designed and run by someone who has done it before

  • You need a neutral facilitator so your leaders can participate rather than manage

  • You want to set the right tone from the start and build appetite for future events

  • You'd rather focus on the outcomes than the logistics

We'll make sure your Innovation Day delivers something real, not just a good time.

 

Pricing & Details

Full Innovation Days facilitation (delivered at your site)

As a guide, pricing starts at $7,500 for up to 20 participants.

This includes all pre-event design and preparation, full facilitation across the event, and post-event showcase and follow-through support.

Every Innovation Day is different, so get in touch and we'll put together a proposal that fits your context and team size.

Ready to create some space?

If your teams are stuck in delivery mode and you know there's more in them, let's talk.

Email:toni@agilecolab.com
Phone: +64 4 390 1405

About CoLab

CoLab is a team of coaches and advisors based in Aotearoa New Zealand. We help teams and organisations lift their performance by making work visible, aligning on what matters, and building the capability to keep improving.

We're practical people who love learning and sharing what works. We work across product management, DevOps, organisational design, all with a lens to improve performance.

 

Innovation Days is one of the ways we help organisations break out of business as usual and invest in their people and ways of working.