Acumen Edelman Trust Barometer 2024:
The trust & innovation disconnect
The 2024 Acumen Edelman Trust Barometer* could be seen as a warning shot across the bow for institutions in New Zealand. While many of us are forging ahead with strategies centred around innovation, its possibilities and the benefits it will bring, many New Zealanders are not sharing the same level of enthusiasm.
At its heart innovation is about change – changing business models, different ways of doing things and shifting expectations. With all of this change, people are feeling apprehensive and left behind.
No institution in Aotearoa New Zealand is trusted to ensure innovation is well-managed
No institution in New Zealand (Business, Government, NGOs, Media) is trusted to integrate and manage innovation into society well, i.e. ensure that innovations are safe, understood by the public, beneficial to society as a whole and accessible. While there’s a lack of trust in innovation globally, feelings of distrust are even stronger in Aotearoa New Zealand. We can see this illustrated in the below graph, when we asked respondents to characterise their feelings about particular technologies.
Aotearoa’s challenges around inclusive economic growth, productivity and resilience demand innovative thinking and approaches, so it’s a real worry that feelings of distrust could stand in the way of accepting innovations that can help improve our situation. And the real risk is that we fall further behind…
Therefore, the big question for business is: how do we make sure people trust and accept innovations?
Restoring trust in innovation – empathise, listen & communicate well
Overall, Business is trusted and seen as competent and ethical in New Zealand. This gives us a base to work from, albeit this trust is not a given and must continue to be earned.
Businesses and industry organisations have an important proactive role to play, ensuring complex and rapidly changing innovations are articulated well. In fact, 83% of respondents said they would be more trusting of Business to innovate if:
- concerns were listened to and there were opportunities to ask questions
- the pros and cons for society were better explained (not just focusing on the good bits)
- innovations were kept affordable with fair and reasonable pricing that made new innovations generally affordable
- new innovations were fully tested – to ensure they were safe, effective and free of biases before they were offered to or used on the public
At Acumen, we know that many innovations are iterative and accelerating at pace, so we have a job to do in managing people’s expectations around this while also providing reassurance that the right guardrails are in place.
Elevating experts
The Acumen Edelman Trust Barometer highlights that scientists and technical experts lead the way in terms of credibility. Organisations need to think about how they elevate people in these roles as part of their storytelling and communications. Often these people will need support with messaging, presentation and media training so they are able to do a good job.
Implementation is as important as invention
We have a job to do to get people on board and excited about the potential of innovation and the positive impact it can have on them and their future.
The challenge is for organisations not to get captured by the possibilities and upsides of innovations without giving due attention to concerns and downsides. Institutions need to slow down, listen to and not diminish concerns that are genuinely real to people. We need to clearly communicate why new innovations are needed, the evidence and expert perspectives that have gone into assessing them and their suitability, and what the pros and cons are.
Business and government need to partner – particularly when it comes to achieving the right policy and regulatory settings, to ensure these are well-informed and practical. Businesses and industry organisations have an important proactive role here. Many of these technologies are complex and rapidly changing, so it is incumbent on experts to help keep policymakers up to date.
Acumen stands ready to help you if you are experiencing change and would like help with how to position your business and strategy, how to shape and share your story with internal and external stakeholders and how to mitigate and manage risks.