Creativity Greenhouse - Supporting Distributed Group Creativity

EPSRC的目标是在用于激发创造力和潜在的变革性研究的过程中真正创新，并因此运行一系列活动，其中使用故意的创造性促进，从自由思考务虚会到为期五天的沙坑活动。本提案探讨了在数字通信技术的支持下，参与者之间是否可以进行这种便利的创造性活动？使用这种技术可以使人们能够在没有地理和/或时间限制的情况下在创造性温室中工作。创意温室可以增加参与会议和产生想法的人员数量。技术的使用还可以支持更高效和更具成本效益的工作方式，例如，大大节省会议成本。在地平线数字经济中心和EPSRC合作试点创意温室方法之后，该项目的目的是发展现有方法（包括试验项目期间达成的活动结构、技术设置和评价方法）发展到可以在EPSRC及其他地方更广泛使用的阶段。该项目拟分两个阶段进行。两者都将涉及创造性温室进程，包括为真实的项目分配资金资源。第一阶段将涉及在地平线数字经济中心内分配资源，并将成为进一步试点技术和流程的机会。第二阶段将涉及资金分配给更广泛的英国研究界，与RCUK数字经济计划和EPSRC ICT计划的四个优先领域中的两个相关。具体而言，将重新使用以前集成的一套技术，将Google Apps作为后端数据共享平台，并将Teleplace支持在促进会议期间进行同步通信。以前开发的资源，如模板和问卷调查将被改编，活动结构将被改编。技术（WP 1），资源和事件结构（WP 2），然后将进行研究（WP 3），并反复完善，以适应四个事件中的每一个，从而形成一个最终的集合，可以在EPSRC内外的类似活动或其他上下文中重复使用。该项目的关键输出将是充分开发和评估的基础设施，以支持分布式团队一起创造。该项目将通过与英国资助领域的各种利益相关者进行接触来结束，以了解这种新型基础设施对治理和政策的影响（WP 4）。该项目包括打包和标记此基础设施以供重用（WP 5）的资源。

EPSRC aims to be truly innovative in the processes used to stimulate creativity and potentially transformative research and as such runs a range of activities where deliberate creative facilitation is used, from Think Free Retreats to five day Sandpit events. This proposal investigates whether such facilitated creativity activities could be conducted with participants remote to each other, supported by digital communication technologies? Use of such technologies could enable the capability to work without geographical and/or time constraints in what is coined Creativity Greenhouse in this context. The Creativity Greenhouse could enhance the pool of people involved in contributing to meetings and generating ideas. Use of technology could also support more efficient and cost-effective ways of working, e.g. resulting in significant savings on meeting costs.Following a collaborative pilot of the Creativity Greenhouse approach, run by the Horizon Digital Economy Hub and EPSRC, the aim of this project is to develop the existing approach (consisting of event structure, technology set-up and evaluation method arrived at during the pilot project) to a stage where it can be used more widely across EPSRC and beyond. The project is proposed to proceed in two stages. Both will involve the Creativity Greenhouse process including distribution of funding resources for real projects. Phase 1 will involve the distribution of resources within the Horizon Digital Economy Hub and will serve as further opportunity to pilot the technology and the process. Phase 2 will involve funding distribution to the broader UK research community as relevant to two of the four priority areas of the RCUK Digital Economy programme and EPSRC ICT programme. Concretely, a previously integrated set of technologies combining Google Apps as backend data sharing platform and Teleplace supporting synchronous communication during facilitated sessions will be re-used. Previously developed resources such as templates and questionnaires will be adapted and the event structure will be adapted. Technology (WP1), resources and event structure (WP2) will then be studied (WP3) and iteratively refined to suit each of the four events leading to a final set that can be re-used for similar activities or other context within EPSRC and beyond.The key output of the project will be the fully developed and evaluated infrastructure to support distributed groups being creative together. The project will conclude by engaging with various stakeholders across the UK funding landscape to understand the impact of this novel infrastructure on governance and policy (WP4). The project includes resources to package and brand this infrastructure for re-use (WP5).