Every person has strengths worth recognising. Discovery is a spoken and activity-based assessment that reveals the capabilities, aptitudes, and potential of people whose talents deserve to be seen and valued.
What Discovery does
Discovery assesses 16 common learning and work behaviours – including motivation, information processing, thinking, reasoning, and creativity – alongside entry-level English literacy and numeracy. It does this through guided activities that are inclusive, participatory, and non-threatening.
Participants demonstrate their current abilities in ways that reflect their experiences and strengths. Organisations gain clear, actionable insights to support students, trainees, or employees into opportunities that match both organisational needs and individual potential.
Why Discovery exists
There is no other language and culture fair individual assessment tool that respectfully and consistently measures the aptitudes needed for school, training, and work. Discovery fills this gap.
Co-designed by Traditional Owners and Elders in northeast Arnhem Land, Discovery was created to ensure young people could demonstrate their experiences in ways that education institutions and employers recognise and value – without requiring them to conform to assessment methods that don’t reflect their strengths.
“Having been associated with the ALERT Program in Northern Territory and publishing a number of scholarly papers based on it, I am thrilled with this exciting initiative. I wish more people would become aware of the potential of this innovative developmental and enrichment program for Australia. I commend the design, methodology and the underlying critical assumptions of this new pathway.”
Emeritus Professor Samir Ranjan Chatterjee, Curtin Business School, Curtin University
Who uses Discovery
Successfully implemented across the Northern Territory, New South Wales, and Victoria, with over 1,200 assessments completed. Discovery has been used by schools, Aboriginal Corporations, universities, social enterprises, for-profit and non-profit organisations – from remote schools to inner-city operations spanning community initiatives, mining, hospitality, and educational institutions building diverse workforces.
For many participants, Discovery is the first genuinely positive assessment experience.
How Discovery works
Discovery is delivered through a two-part process:
- Training your facilitators
Turnstone Projects trains your nominated team members to deliver Discovery independently. Training is available:
- One-on-one or team-based (for groups implementing together)
- Online or in-person (we’ve successfully delivered both)
Your trained facilitators gain the skills to implement Discovery and can train others within your organisation, building lasting internal capability.
- Discovery assessment toolkit
Once trained, your team uses the Discovery toolkit to conduct assessments on an ongoing basis. The toolkit becomes part of your existing assessment, recruitment, or evaluation processes – a fully contained tool and data set you own and control.
For participants:
Discovery builds a personal portfolio of inherent aptitudes and learned skills. It establishes respectful relationships, grows confidence, and provides clear insights into strengths, often revealing capabilities that traditional assessments miss.
What organisations gain
- Cost-effective alternative assessment fully integrated into existing systems
- Greater diversity and inclusivity in educational institutions and workplaces
- Better organisational development through strengths-based training placement
- Internal capability building with train-the-trainer capacity
- A robust methodology to engage with local communities, potential trainees, employees, and their families
- A mechanism to foster positive social change
Ready to bring Discovery to your organisation?
Getting started involves training for your facilitators and the Discovery assessment toolkit for ongoing implementation. We’ll discuss options that best suit your organisation’s needs and context. If you’re looking for an assessment approach that reveals potential, respects diversity, builds your team’s capability, and supports the community you operate in, let’s have a conversation.