Aeromedical consultation proposal synthesis and support
How do you convey complex information for a proposal critical to building a more sustainable air ambulance service for New Zealand?
New Zealand’s air ambulance service is a lifeline for patients, particularly in rural communities. It connects people to the care they need quickly and safely. The national Air Ambulance Team recently developed a ten-year vision for the service and sought sector-wide feedback on their proposal to shape the future of aeromedical care.
To enable meaningful engagement, the Air Ambulance Team asked Ara Manawa to transform the draft operating model into a clear, accessible consultation document and an online submission platform for stakeholders across the country.
My Role
As Visual Designer, I worked alongside the Air Ambulance Team and my Ara Manawa colleagues to craft a visually compelling and user-friendly consultation document. My role included designing the document’s layout and narrative flow, ensuring key messages were accessible at different reading depths (5, 30, or 60 minutes), and aligning the design to national brand and accessibility standards. I also supported copy refinement and collaborated with UX designers to adapt the proposal for the online feedback platform.The Opportunity
The proposal needed to balance clinical complexity, operational detail, and strategic vision while remaining easy to understand for a broad audience—clinicians, service providers, and system partners. It had to be visually clear, inclusive, and adaptable for both print and digital formats to support engagement nationwide.Key Challenges
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Complex content: Translating technical and policy-heavy material into a digestible format without losing accuracy.
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Multiple audiences: Designing for different reader needs, from quick overviews to deep dives.
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Tight timelines: Delivering a national consultation document and digital adaptation within a short timeframe.
- Remote collaboration: Building relationships and shared understanding quickly with a team we hadn’t worked with before.
Our Approach
We began by holding whakawhanaunga sessions to establish relationships and align on context and ways of working. The project was broken into three workstreams:-
Content refinement: Copy-editing the operating model for clarity and tone.
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Visual design: Creating a consultation document that used strong hierarchy, clear layouts, and approachable visuals.
- Digital adaptation: Preparing the content for an online submission platform to collect structured feedback from stakeholders.
Key Activities Included:
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Stakeholder Engagement: Held whakawhanaunga and onboarding sessions to align goals and context.
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Content Synthesis: Edited and restructured the operating model into a clear consultation narrative.
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Visual Design: Created a layout system with tiered information for 5-, 30-, and 60-minute readers.
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Digital Transformation: Adapted the document for an interactive online platform to support feedback submission.
- Collaborative Workflow: Implemented a clear process for moving between copy-editing, design, and UX to meet tight deadlines.
Key Outcomes
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A national consultation document that conveyed a complex proposal in an accessible, visually engaging way.
- A tiered information design system allowing readers to engage at different depths (quick scan or detailed read).
- Improved clarity and engagement with the proposed ten-year vision for air ambulance services.
Our Learnings
- Relationship-building matters: Starting each meeting with whakawhanaunga helped establish trust and streamline collaboration.
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Audience-driven design is essential: Designing for multiple reading depths simplified planning and improved engagement.
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Clear process drives speed: Having defined workflows across editing, design, and UX ensured we delivered on time.
Conclusion
This project highlighted the power of design to make complex proposals understandable and actionable. By applying human-centred design principles, we enabled broad engagement on a critical national service proposal.Our work contributed to exceeding consultation goals—513 participants, 319 thoughts shared, and 13,824 ratings. Stakeholder feedback praised both the clarity of the content and the visual design:
“We are really grateful for all the support and hard work from the Ara Manawa team in shaping and developing the consultation document. With your help, we exceeded our consultation goals... We also had feedback that the document looked great, which is all a credit to your amazing skills.”
— David Richards, Group Manager Ambulance – Living Well
Participant feedback included:
“Thanks to the team for the huge amount of work you have done!”
“This proposed future operating model represents a mountain of hard work. Thank you for bringing us together.”
“Thank you for all of your efforts in preparing and undertaking this vital piece of work.”
“Incredible work done by all involved, well done.”
This mahi reinforced the impact of clear communication, thoughtful design, and collaboration in shaping the future of health services.
You can take a look at the proposal on the Aeromedical Commissioning Programme webpage.
Project team:
Jodi Meadows - Project support
Natalie Parke – Project support and copy editting
Livvy Carey - Copy editting and UX support
Charlotte Cooper, Copy editting and synthesis
Jenna Hagan – Visual design and narrative support
Deepa Swami – UX support
Sponsor:
Kate Randhawa, Programme Manager
Other Collaborators:
Jon Gaupset and Kathryn Steel, Air Ambulance Team