Methods for management of creative idea development

Purpose and goal

This project has aimed to develop methods with which companies can control individual as well as collective creativity and idea development. The developed methods have been found useful through their application in the participating companies and have also received awards for their practical applicability at international conferences. The project has led to substantial experience exchange between the participating organizations and to collaborations between the researchers and other companies, as a result of the diffusion activities in the project.

Expected results and effects

The project has developed and applied methods for increased controllability in collective distributed idea development. Through their application the participating companies have increased their innovation capability by improving results in the internal idea development and thereby improved the utilization of their inherent collective creative potential. Besides this the project has developed a dynamic Swedish network in Ideation Management.

Planned approach and implementation

The project has been conducted in close collaboration with SCA Hygiene Products, Ericsson, Volvo AB, Rolls-Royce and Assa-Abloy. In these organizations studies have been performed to find behaviours conductive to idea creation and development, as well as effects of different control mechanisms. Together with the companies methods for these activities have been developed and tested. The methods, and knowledge about their effects, have been diffused through an interest group in Ideation Management and have been integrated in different education programs.