Novice facilitators as creative catalysts in innovation support

This article explores the value that students, acting as novice facilitators, bring in supporting professionals to innovate. This empirical research took a grounded theory and action research influenced approach to investigate a series of innovation support workshops with sole traders and SMEs delivered by Northumbria University. These workshops were part of a wider regional research project entitled Creative Fuse North East. The research found that there was trust and rapport between the expert facilitators, novice facilitators and enterprises participating which supported co-creation. In this safe environment, novice facilitators and enterprises worked together to learn and grow. It is argued that this enabled both parties to build their creative confidence. Thus, this approach offers a route to stimulating innovation in the region through supporting small scale enterprises and sole traders, and by developing strong creative graduates to participate in future workforces

From wicked problem to design problem: Developing actionable briefs and solution opportunities through a collaborative, multidisciplinary design-led approach

This paper argues that using a design-led approach is highly beneficial when tackling complex problems to transform ambiguity into actionable design briefs and solution opportunities. This is evidenced by way of an ongoing project with a large public-sector organisation. Northumbria University’s School of Design academic experts use design-led approaches to innovation that promote ‘creative fusion’ between diverse stakeholders in order to tackle ‘wicked problems’. The authors continue this work as part of an AHRC/ERDF-funded programme entitled Creative Fuse North East (CFNE), along with five regional universities, of which the project discussed here is a part. The main objective of which is to develop and deploy approaches to innovation that apply skills from creative graduates to benefit the wider creative economy, address barriers to innovation and promote growth and sustainability within and without of the Creative, Digital and IT sector (CDIT). It will be argued that to do this it is vital to convert stakeholders into co-creation activists empowered with the creative confidence required to speculate about uncertain futures

From conflict to catalyst: using critical conflict as a creative device in design-led innovation practice

Cyberspace is global; it allows for an unimaginable number of actors and interactions. The internet can be a place for creativity, fun and community, yet it is also a vehicle for criminal and damaging behaviour. It is, therefore, not surprising that on topics of cybercrime there are many stakeholders with contrasting perspectives. If, in a design-led approach to wicked problems, it is vital to involve people from diverse backgrounds, it is important to consider how to make the process of generating ideas based on frames accessible to them. A collaboration with a regional law enforcement agency provided the context for research into participatory design approaches that considered the question: what design-led approach and resources construct and present critical human conflicts as creative stimulus for participatory design events? This paper explores the challenges, limitations and value of a ‘Creative Tensions’ device that aimed to help participants develop solutions by offering ‘frames’ that they can ‘look through’, that may well deviate from their own experiences. Using a set of semi-structured interviews, this research presents an analysis of the device (its production, context and use) detailing practical steps and resources that support the development and use of frames in a multi-disciplinary multi-stakeholder participatory design event

A design-led approach to transforming wicked problems into design situations and opportunities

This article argues that using a design-led approach is highly beneficial when tackling complex problems to transform ambiguity into actionable design briefs and solution opportunities. This is evidenced by way of an ongoing project with a large public-sector organization. Northumbria University’s School of Design academic experts use design-led approaches to innovation that promotes ‘creative fusion’ between diverse stakeholders in order to tackle ‘wicked problems’. The authors continue this work as part of an Arts and Humanities Research Council/ European Regional Development Fund-funded programme entitled Creative Fuse North East (CFNE), involving five regional universities, of which the project discussed here is a part. The main objectives of CFNE are to develop and deploy approaches to innovation that apply skills from creative graduates to benefit the wider creative economy, address barriers to innovation and promote growth and sustainability within and without the Creative, Digital and IT sector (CDIT). The authors propose that to do this it is vital to convert stakeholders into co-creation activists empowered with the creative confidence and tools required to speculate about uncertain futures