Fostering Creativity Through Co-Creation

Linda Ury Greenberg, Columbia UniversityOffice of Alumni and Development

The Market Research EventBoca Raton, FL

October 21, 2014

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Focus Groups

Online Forums/ Live chat

MROCs

Co-creation

Communities

The Dawn of Qualitative

Present Day

Evolution of Qualitative

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“The roots of great innovation are never just in the technology itself. They are always in the wider historical context. They require new ways of seeing.”

- David Brooks, New York Times columnist

“Do something. Do something to that, and then do something to that. Pretty soon, you’ve got something.”

- Jasper Johns, painter

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Creative Diversity

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Creativity is Problem Solving

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Range of Creativity

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Creative Level

Variables of Creative Diversity

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Creative Level

Creative Style

Variables of Creative Diversity

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Creative Level

Creative Style

Motive

Variables of Creative Diversity

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Creative Level

Creative Style

Motive

Opportunity

Variables of Creative Diversity

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KLC’s CrowdWeaving Ideation Challenge Process

…The journey is as important as the destination

•Challenge generates ideas •Common themes, needs & behaviors emerge

•Refine and expand top ideas

•KLC curators distill, validate ideas• Identify key themes, recommendations

Ideate

Collaborate

Evaluate

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Uses for CrowdWeaving

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Columbia Volunteer Challenge

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Columbia Research Goals

• Provide a platform for idea generation

Engage alumni in a new way

Build community and excitement

Allow alumni to re-think volunteer roles

Test variations of how best to foster creativity within the ideation process

Be inclusive across all schools and volunteer levels

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The Volunteer ChallengeWhat is the ideal way to motivate you, as well as others like you, to engage in a leadership role as a Columbia alumni volunteer?The goal is to create a truly unique volunteer experience – one that will motivate fellow alumni to begin volunteering, as well as motivate current volunteers to do even more! You are encouraged to create your own ideas and also see what other participants are saying – if you can make other ideas better, we all benefit from an engaging, motivating volunteer experience. “Out of the Box” thinking is encouraged – come up with programs, events, digital services, etc. … the sky’s the limit! Together, we can create ideas that are motivating and engaging to everyone.

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Volunteer Challenge Objectives

Help strengthen Volunteer Network by generating ideas to…• Identify new volunteer leaders• Create programs to recruit volunteers• Develop ways to retain volunteers• Design programs to train volunteers• Determine incentives to recognize volunteer efforts

Test variations of CrowdWeaving methodology:• Test Open vs. Masked Ideation process• Understand the impact of Creative Style• Adaptive vs. Innovative

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Methodology

Challenge Process

MASKED IDEATION N=81

OPEN IDEATION N=78

Post idea independently, then

view othersCan view others’ ideas

prior to posting own idea

Participant Characteristics

Innovative Style N=38

Adaptive Style N=43

Innovative Style N=43

Adaptive Style N=35

Mix of schools represented, range of ages from 22-80, males and females, diverse geographic

locations

What Did We Learn?

Participants are Highly Engaged“ I just wanted to say that I logged on for the first time today and had no idea what to expect. THIS IS SUPER FUN. Thanks so much for putting this together. I'm having a great time here in my cozy living room interacting and brainstorming with fellow alumni. I graduated from Columbia College in 1989 and this is sincerely the first time I have really felt connected and inspired as an alumni. So THANK YOU.” 

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Effect of Masked vs. Open Ideation on Participation

Participant BehaviorMasked Ideation

Open Ideation

Ranked ideas 78% 79%

Used “Like” feature 71% 74%

Commented on others’ ideas 33% 36%

Posted an idea

65% 50%

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Open Ideation Leads to Some Groupthink

Most Common Themes

Masked Ideation

Open Ideation

Connecting 51% 43%

Motivators 29% 19%

Local Programs 21% 26%

Awareness 19% 36%Grassroots 5% 15%

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Adaptive vs. Innovative Creators

Participant BehaviorAdaptive Creators

Innovative

Creators

Ranked ideas 80% 75%

Used “Like” feature 75% 66%

Commented on others’ ideas 36% 30%

Posted an idea

57% 58%

Best Practice Recommendatio

ns

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Plot Your Challenge

Complexity

High Brand Affinity

Ideatio

n & Parti

cipatio

n

Commenting & Iteration

Low Brand Affinity

Simplicity

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Recommendations on How to Foster Creativity

• Provide clear Challenge rules & expectations

• Prime participants with warm-up exercises

• Use creative activities to push participants outside of their comfort zone

• Offer tiered incentives based on level of participation

• Include gamification to keep sessions fun and interactive

• Motivate different creative styles through custom messaging• Use Open Ideation for low affinity and/or high complexity issues

– Masked is better for high affinity and low complexity

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Questions?

Create with your audience, not just for

them

Sean HolbertEVP, Business DevelopmentKL Communicationssholbert@klcommunications.com

Linda Ury GreenbergDirector for Marketing ResearchColumbia UniversityOffice of Alumni and Developmentlug2000@columbia.edu