Digital Boost is a New Zealand first and follows an outcomes framework recognising key steps in a small business digitalisation journey. Using Cynefin complexity theory and Agile programme management ensures an ever-evolving programme is constantly being tested and adapted to the needs of small businesses. Checkable utilises AI, natural language processing, business diagnostics and data analytics to give businesses bespoke action plans that prioritise areas of improvement. Digital Boost Educate breaks down learning content into bespoke playlists of bite-sized videos that are easy to digest (rather than long academic documents). The Digital Facilitation scheme provides facilitated peer support and advice to businesses. Finally, the Digital Boost programme benefits from the voluntary collaboration and innovation efforts of 47 Digital Boost Alliance members that include major trading banks, digital service providers, telcos and tech providers in New Zealand.

Digital Boost is not a linear programme pathway; it has multiple phases of review, innovation and implementation for different features. Two independent evaluations have been done and regular user feedback enables our Learning Management Software to provide personalised online learning experiences. This also supports new diagnostic tools (e.g. cyber security) that assist users in being digitally resilient and sustainable, and act as ‘beach-head’ learning to introduce other users to the wider learning available on the Educate platform.

Digital Boost currently has 58,074 registered Educate site users, 8,107 businesses have used the Checkable tool, and the Facilitation Scheme has supported over 3585 businesses to implement Digital Action Plans and use the platform. 62% of users now feel their businesses are digitally capable, 80% have a website, and 79% would recommend the programme to others. 55% also report a frequent sense of optimism and hope (17% higher than the national average).

Small businesses and stakeholders are collectively working together at every level to help deliver the knowledge, tools, and services small businesses need to succeed in their digital adoption journey. Educate and Checkable were developed in partnership with The Mind Lab, TTRO, Google, Salesforce and Datacom. The Facilitation Scheme is provided by business, community, or industry leaders. The Digital Boost Alliance involves the private sector working in voluntary partnership with the government.

Small business users are most impacted by Digital Boost. They have free online access to expert advice and skills to participate in the digital economy and increased productivity. Changing small businesses (97% of all NZ businesses) will have an impact on Kiwi communities. Digital Boost training content and stories are integrated and shared through other government, private sector and NGO channels. This supports wider system connection, streamlined messages and exposure to industry groups.

Digital Boost takes advantage of a variety of research and data sources – from data recorded at registration, behaviour on the platform, multivariate segmentation, campaign measurement, Google Analytics and two annual research monitors. This allows us to clearly compare, contrast and measure the success of the programme – as well as inform how best it should evolve, for whom and with what. Evaluation results from August 2022 showed that 23% of businesses reported improved revenue after using Digital Boost, and for those who engage weekly with the platform, this figure increases to 39%. Additionally, 79% of users would recommend Digital Boost to others, 89% of users intend to continue using the platform, and long-term users note increases in digital capability. In the future, we expect more business owners to participate and implement the digital skills they’ve learned to help increase productivity, revenue, well-being and economic/environmental sustainability of their business.

We faced several challenges while designing and building the programme during the COVID-19 pandemic. We worked with various private organisations, all of whom had to readjust their priorities to launch the programme during a turbulent time.

New Zealand's business landscape is diverse. The platform caters for this through self-paced modules that are divided into six broad categories, each containing numerous industry-specific subcategories. We launched a new awareness campaign that uses more traditional advertising methods for older age groups and rural businesses. To engage similar audience groups, we created case studies featuring older business owners.

While most of our initiatives are designed as a one-to-many approach, we identified that some industry segments needed a more hands-on approach to digital learning. We developed the Digital Boost Facilitation scheme, where support and guidance are provided to cohorts of 8 or 15 businesses in similar stages of their digital journey.

Developing Digital Boost demanded enthusiasm and commitment from a team of both Government and private sector stakeholders who saw the potential and difference this programme could make in the lives of small businesses. The Government was willing to risk getting Digital Boost to market quickly and was open to learning and adjusting as needed. The Government provided political support and the resources required to launch the programme.

Because of the innovative nature of the platform, private sector organisations were eager to provide their expertise to help understand the digital economy and the current state of SMEs in New Zealand. With the development of Digital Boost, The Mind Lab could effectively manage and develop the site by creating the relevant infrastructure and committing to continually adapting the platform.

Digital Boost is the only platform of its kind in New Zealand and has scalability both locally and internationally. The creation of sector-specific content de-mystifies what being digital means and creates value specific to each industry's needs. The sector-specific content allows Government and private organisations to communicate their value to a hard-to-reach audience. We are currently working with other Government departments to integrate some of our content into their resources. New Zealand organisations have also expressed an interest in replicating the same video learning approach for their audiences.

Although Digital Boost has not yet gone international, research has indicated its potential value and adaptability. In the future, Digital Boost can help guide the development of similar platforms overseas; however, it's crucial to note that the platform and content will need to be altered to fit the needs and preferences of each nation.

In developing the programme, we learned:

• Maintaining positive, productive, and trustworthy relationships with partners and service providers who share our vision was key to navigating the complex, ever-changing landscape of the programme.
• Successful delivery was mainly due to our ‘test and learn’ (Cynefin) approach supported by agile programme management. This allowed the release of changes in increments to improve customer satisfaction and application usability.
• Effort is needed at all levels to drive data capturing and analysis to ensure we develop tools and services that are responsive to the changing and varied needs of users, not the views of international corporations.
• People want to redefine what commercial and private ‘success’ looks like in the future digital economy. Many private sector tech companies will volunteer for this opportunity.
• Most importantly, our vision to support small businesses on their digitalisation journey was at the centre of all design.

Another integral component of the programme has been accessibility and inclusion—particularly for those population groups that might face digital equity or inclusion challenges. Considerable effort has been made to reproduce 200 learning videos in Te Reo for the Māori population, and subtitles are available in Samoan, Tongan, Hindi and Simplified Chinese to cater to the diverse small business population. We also made the learning videos accessible to those users with disabilities. The Education platform can also be accessed via Apple and Android-compatible mobile apps for those on the move or who don't have access to a laptop.