
As the principal designer for the QUT Centre for Future Enterprise, Peter Townson brings over a decade of applied research experience in designing systems, strategies, organisations, processes, products, and services. Specialising in complex, highly regulated industries, his work focuses on digital and transformation challenges for governments, large corporates, and socio-technical systems. His expertise lies in using design to help make research practice accessible to organisations, effectively working with diverse users, stakeholders, regulators, and governance functions.
Peter and colleagues pioneered the Research Innovation Sprint (RIS) method, an intensive six-week applied research approach for collaboration between design, academia, and industry. This method has proven highly effective in accelerating research translation to create new legislation, state-wide strategies, customer services, and business transformations. The impact of this work was recognised with a Gold in the Design Research category at the 2024 Australian Good Design Awards.
The RIS method has gained international recognition and adoption, most notably at the University of Borås, Sweden, which received a 4-year SEK 22 million grant for developing ‘Techarena Borås’. Since its inception, the method has been successfully implemented across more than 40 projects with an impressive 54% implementation success rate. Peter’s notable achievements include redesigning government revenue service delivery processes, developing sector-wide scam mitigation solutions for Australian financial services, and redesigning claimant experiences for both the CTP and NIISQ insurance schemes for the Motor Accident Insurance Commission of Queensland. These projects demonstrate the versatility and effectiveness of the RIS method across different sectors and challenge types.
In addition to his design practice, Peter has significantly contributed to teaching and learning at QUT. He developed and delivered the Research Innovation Sprint course for HDR students in 2023, which facilitated 56 students working with five Australian mining and resources sector organisations. His teaching portfolio includes unit design and tutoring for BSB105: The Future Enterprise. He has served as an HDR Online Unit Moderator for Critical and Creative Thinking and has delivered the Design Thinking module within QUT’s MBA and MBA courses. Since 2017, he has been a sessional lecturer for the Disruptive Innovation Leadership Course at QUTeX.
Peter’s research contributions are documented in several key publications. In his book chapter “Bridging the academia-industry gap through Design Thinking: Research Innovation Sprints”, Peter and his colleagues provide a comprehensive overview of the RIS method and its applications. His journal articles include work on transforming public records management in the Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology (2021), managing open digital service innovation in the International Journal of Information Management (2018), and outcomes from applying design-led innovation in the Technology Innovation Management Review (2016).
Peter continues to advance the Research Innovation Sprint methodology while facilitating research translation between academia and industry. His work emphasises the development of design-led approaches to complex organisational challenges, and he maintains an active role in mentoring HDR students in applied research methods. Through his position at the Centre for Future Enterprise, he continues to bridge the gap between academic research and practical industry applications, demonstrating the value of design-led approaches in solving complex organisational challenges.
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