What is meant by collective innovation

Collective innovation is when a group of people work together to generate and develop new ideas. Instead of relying on just one person’s creativity, collective innovation brings together different skills, experiences, and perspectives to create better solutions.

• It involves collaborating, meaning people contribute different perspectives.
• It allows for combining and improving ideas through discussion and feedback.
• It helps create ideas to solve complex problems by using the strengths of many people.
• It can involve generating ideas, sharing insights, and testing ideas together.

For example, a group might work together to create a new way to make a process faster, combining ideas from different people to find the best solution.

Why and when collective innovation can be helpful

Collective innovation is useful when:

• Problems are complex: Different viewpoints help in finding well-rounded solutions.
• A variety of skills are needed: Groups bring together expertise from different areas.
• Fresh perspectives are valuable: People with different backgrounds can see possibilities that others might miss because of their diverse experiences and knowledge.
• Ideas need to be tested and improved: Feedback from a group can help refine creative concepts.

For example, if a group wants to design a new way to share information visually, they can combine insights from design, psychology, and technology to create something more effective.

Of course, collective innovation often takes more time and uses more resources than individual creativity so it will not always be the best approach.

How to facilitate collective innovation

Generating ideas as a group can be exciting, but it also needs structure to be effective. Different tools and techniques can help encourage creativity, such as:

• Agreeing the parameters: It is important to agree the parameters including the purpose, goals and success criteria.
• Target number of ideas: Group members share ideas freely, without judgement, to encourage a wide range of possibilities.
• Mind mapping: Visualising ideas and their connections on paper or a digital tool helps explore different directions.
• Role playing: Acting out different scenarios can uncover new perspectives.
• SCAMPER technique: Asking questions like "What if we Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, or Reverse something?" helps generate fresh ideas.
• Random word or image association: Using unrelated words or pictures to spark creative connections.

Once a group has created a set of ideas, the next step is to refine them into workable solutions. This can be done through:

• Filtering and selecting the strongest ideas: Referring back to goals and success criteria to choose which ideas to develop further.
• Testing and gathering feedback: Creating simple versions of an idea (prototypes) to see how they work in practice.
• Encouraging constructive feedback: Group members should be open to suggestions and improvements.
• Iterating and improving: Based on feedback, adjusting and refining the idea until it is the best it can be.

By working together, using the right tools, and refining ideas through testing and feedback, groups can achieve greater creativity and develop more effective solutions.