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Kindness Confusion in Collaboration and Co-creation
Posted on August 26, 2013 2 Comments
An emerging look at evolutionary behaviour is suggesting that we are better suited for survival by working together than in competition. This cooperation imperative has been called “survival of the kindness” which risks lumping affective social generosity and goodwill with effectiveness and desirability and, in doing so, risks the entire enterprise of collaboration-based efforts.
Creating Campires For Innovation and Knowledge Translation
Posted on June 21, 2011
Metaphors and analogies are commonly used in systems thinking and complexity science to illustrate concepts that are, on their own, relatively complex and awkward to describe literally. A campfire provides both a metaphor for bringing people together, but also a literal tool that could be used more effectively in work with groups struggling to innovate, collaborate and contemplate together. From a design perspective, campfires and the social system that they create around them provide an opportunity to enhance intimacy quickly, allowing for the potential to explore issues in ways that are more difficult to do in other settings.
Gaming the Health System for Innovation and Change
Posted on June 10, 2011
Yesterday I attended the Cure4Kids Global Health Summit at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. The three day event (continuing for the next two days) aims to bring together researchers, practitioners, and clinicians working on issues of importance to child and youth health — including an emphasis on the role of engaging young people. […]
The Persistent Myth of the Lone Genius in Art and Science
Posted on June 7, 2011
Of the many persistent myths about innovation, the lone genius is about the most sticky. Continued research shows how untrue this is.
Trying to Innovate? Try Empathy
Posted on June 1, 2011
Find and build a tribe of people who you trust and like and spend time with them, get to know them, and invite new people in whenever possible to mix things up. If that is the case, then the way we work in the health and wellness sector is surely in trouble where we don’t curate information and customize our knowledge for others, and we don’t support the kind of relationship building that equates to robust knowledge translation.
Design and Science: An Opportunity for Knowledge Translation and Exchange??
Posted on February 27, 2011 3 Comments
Knowledge translation models, such as the widely cited one conceived of by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, are both process and outcome oriented; ideal for designers. KT is a designed process and the more it is approached through the lens of design thinking, the greater likelihood we’ll get a system that reflects its intentions better than what we currently have.
Clowning Around For Better Empathy and Design
Posted on February 9, 2011
Clowning might seem either silly or scary to some, but the art of non-verbal communication is just that: an art. And like art, it opens the door to myriad interpretations, but also to greater empathy and that only benefits design.
Openness and The Problem With Collaboration
Posted on August 17, 2010 1 Comment
It’s easy to say that you’re into collaboration; a lot harder to do it. Collaboration without openness doesn’t exist, but can we really expect much from collaborative efforts and team science if we can’t be open with one another?
Coordination, Teams and Knowledge Translation
Posted on July 1, 2010
In their column in this month’s Fast Company magazine, Dan and Chip Heath write about the importance of coordination and how it is often neglected in environments where there are multiple actors working together. They are writing primarily of business, but they might as well be writing about health care and public health. In their […]
Can We Reduce Complexity?
Posted on May 20, 2010 2 Comments
I recently participated in a conference call looking to establish a conference on reducing complexity (and whether it can be done). The answer to that question is dependent upon answering whether we can create the necessary conditions to answer the question in the first place.
