Fostering collaboration and unleashing creativity
Design Thinking: Collaboration for Innovation is a multi-year project bringing together members of the private, public, and creative sectors through a series of events focused on introducing a new way to foster collaboration and innovative problem-solving.
What is design thinking? Truly innovative organizations don’t just employ designers, they enable every single person in their team to work together to design solutions that improve the team culture and its products and services from the inside out. Design thinking is a methodology that comes from the creative process and is built around a set of principles – empathy with users, a discipline for prototyping, and tolerance for failure chief among them – that helps develop a responsive, flexible organizational culture.
Why do we need it? A number of elements at play in our province right now present the perfect environment for increased innovation. We see the need and desire to diversify our economy, including a growth in technology firms requiring highly skilled and creative employees. We have a strong and internationally recognized artistic community, as well as a growing, dynamic, and successful cadre of locally-owned and locally-based companies. Through participation in this project, members of the private, creative, and public sectors will strengthen relationships, take on shared challenges, and build a common understanding of the economic and social impact that can be unlocked by working more collaboratively.
What will this project entail? Between 2019 and 2021, we will be presenting a number of informational, interactive, and training events, including:
Past Events
Creative Edge – Training for Creative Facilitators, designed in partnership with the Gardiner Centre, this course will train artists in facilitation skills and work with them to harness their creative skills to produce marketable programs to be offered to local teams and organizations. Artists will learn how to translate their craft to add value to a variety of workplaces, and diversify their income stream in the process. These artist-led workshops have now been developed and are being finalized and tested with volunteer cohorts from the business community.
Applications to this program are now closed, and 8 artist facilitators have been selected. If you’re interested in learning more, or applying for the next round of applications, please email us.
Virtual Design Lab. This initiative brought together collaborators from the tech, public, creative, and private sectors to dive into exploring ideas around situating creativity as key to innovation in our economy. Facilitated by DesignThinkers Group Canada, this took place in May and June of 2021. Read the final report from this initiative here.
Internships, providing cost-shared opportunities to bring creatives into corporate, social or public sector environments through workshops, residencies, or other engagements for 1 – 120 days. Read on for more information and to apply.
Mindset Reset Right now, we all need to strengthen our natural ability to turn things “right side up.” Whatever the challenges – in life, work, or community – we need a new mindset & tools that will help us manage and harness disruption in new and empowering ways. Business & Arts NL and DesignThinkers Group Canada are pleased to present this four-part, interactive exploration of mindsets essential to Design Thinking, a human-centered approach to addressing complex issues. This online series will be facilitated by experienced coaches and will focus on real-world applications. Took place Fall, 2020.
Symposium featuring keynote speaker Whitney Mortimer, Partner & CMO of IDEO. IDEO is the global leader in design thinking and has designed solutions across the globe with an array of social, cultural, commercial, and industrial clients. Took place November 26th, 2019 at MUN Signal Hill Campus Emera Innovation Exchange.
Design Lab 1, facilitated by DesignThinkers Group Canada, an Amsterdam-based company with a Canadian presence. This full-day event will bring together teams from local companies, along with professional artists, to explore how design thinking can invigorate a workforce and mobilize creativity. Participants will gain hands-on experience applying the principles of design thinking and will leave with practical tools they can apply in their own work. Took place November 27th, 2019 at the Rocket Room, Water St.. This session builds upon the work done in the Symposium.
For more information on any of these events, or to get involved, please contact Deborah Coombs – dcoombs@businessandartsnl.com
Funding for this project has been provided by the Government of Canada, through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, and by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, through the Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry, and Innovation.
