To introduce the work of the Copenhagen Co’creation Network, Danish Design Association invited Ida Vesterdal, Partner at Via Design, to participate in Copenhagen Co’creation Summit and Seminar and to introduce co-creation in a number of articles. In the article “The right tools for the job” Liz Sanders, MakeTools.

The success or otherwise of co-creation depends to a large extent on whether we are able to utilize the knowledge and experience of participants and apply them to meet a specific challenge. To this end we can use a broad range of tools that aim to encourage individuals to contribute by drawing on their own experiences, both rational and emotional.

To learn more about what tools can be used and how they can be made to work, I have interviewed Liz Sanders, one of the participants at Copenhagen Co´creation. She is an expert in the use of tools that help people express their feelings, experiences and knowledge with a view to innovative development in a community setting. She develops and runs co-creation processes through her consultancy company, MakeTools, as well as doing concurrent research on the tools she works with.


NECESSARY PRECONDITIONS
To start with, Liz stresses that tools are only the tip of the iceberg. There are other, deeper levels which are necessary preconditions if the tools are to work at all. As Liz herself explains – on the basis of the model, ‘Exploring co-creation on a large scale’:

“For tools to be effective, you will need several other layers. ‘Tools’ is only the first step in the co-creation process. Tools need to be applied via methods which are often nested within more inclusive methodologies. The mindset with which the tools are applied is even more important than the methods or methodologies. In co-creation, you need to be working with the mindset that all people are creative and that they are able to produce creative things when given the tools and the stage on which to practice or perform. For example, I have seen good tools/methods fail in the hands of a person who did not actually believe that the people he gave the tools to would be creative with them. Then, in order for an organization to practice a culture of co-creation, the tools need to be applied via methods/methodologies and with the right mindset by people within the organization working together.”

Exploring co-creation on a large scale (Liz Sanders, MakeTools, 2009)


“The other important context for the use of tools is that there is a preferred sequence in the kinds of tools you would use if you want to explore future scenarios or opportunities with people. Basically, you will need to let people:

1. Observe their current behavior, reflect on it and talk about it;
2. Remember, relive and share their past memories and feelings; and then,
3. Use those experiences (from 1 and 2) as a springboard to move into the imagination and expression of aspirations or ideas about the future.
The tools needed for each step vary.”


THE TOOLS
In relation to the three phases, Liz uses three different categories of tools:

· Generative design tools for immersing
· Generative tools for remembering
· Generative tools for making and telling

While the tools in the first two categories focus on describing and reflecting on the past and the present, those in the third category aim to help participants create something new in the future. I would like to present just one tool from each of the three categories – tools borrowed from Liz’ tool-box and her work with co-creation:


TOOLS FOR IMMERSING:
An anonymous postcard activity in which people draw, write or otherwise record a secret about the topic at hand. This works especially well with topics of a sensitive nature that participants might not otherwise be willing to touch upon.

I like the smell of soap on my hands afterwards


TOOLS FOR REMEMBERING
With this toolkit, Workflow Mapping, people can show how the work is done, where it is done, and the relative importance of daily activities and interactions. Completing the mapping makes them more aware of their daily workflow.

Workflow Mapping


TOOLS FOR MAKING AND TELLING
Mash-ups take two previously unrelated topics and combine and remix them into novel ideas, forms, or goals. The result is more than the sum of its parts, opening up new avenues of creative possibility. The mash-up format is particularly useful for eliciting creativity from people who otherwise may not consider themselves to be creative.

Mash-ups

All three kinds of tools have this in common, that they encourage participants to very precisely describe and visualize what they already have experienced, or wish to experience in the future. The tools force participants to work no longer exclusively with verbal language, but to a greater extent on visually describing what their deepest feelings are. In this way, participants manage both to describe and to activate the rational and emotional aspects of the challenge, thus creating a comprehensive pool of insights on which to build something new.


SUCCESSFUL CO-CREATION
Liz strongly emphasizes that tools alone are not enough, and I see this as the essential message of her work. Tools only work if people have the right mindset. By stressing this, we focus on the facilitator and the process of facilitation itself, making it clear that the success of the tools depends on facilitation being able to implant in the participants the belief that they can succeed – by using the tools. If this happens, then co-creation is worth its weight in gold – not only in terms of developing a new product or service, but also in terms of personal development. So, not only does the company promote innovation, but it also gets employees with much greater self-confidence and the energy to tackle new and greater challenges.




About Liz Sanders
Liz Sanders works at the front end of the changes taking place in design. She believes that co-creation practiced with a human-centered mindset has the potential to impact the significant social challenges we face today. She uses her company, MakeTools, as a vehicle for exploring new forms of generative tools for collective creativity. Liz divides her time equally between consulting and teaching in order to accelerate the change design process.

Look for more tools, cases and articles at MakeTools.

About Liz Sanders