INITIAL SITUATION The restrictions imposed by Covid-19 have fundamentally reshaped social interaction. Previously implemented processes of communicative collaboration are currently being put to the test. Work and communication processes have to be rethought. Our previous forms of communication are constantly changing. How do communication and collaboration structures gain more depth and quality in terms of content? What are the necessary conditions for successful transformation? How can communication, exchange, collaboration and participation succeed even under pandemic conditions? But how can proximity be established at a distance? Each and every individual had and has to discover and reflect on these issues again and again and find a practical way of dealing with them. This also creates uncertainty. Things have to be renegotiated constantly. This experience is also reflected in institutional processes. Organizations with their previous business models and fields of activity are under pressure due to the new needs. How do organizations react to these radically changed conditions? CREATIVE AGILITY In different contexts one can observe that success in fulfilling tasks or projects is not only a question of professional skills, competencies or manpower available but rather a question of the ability to free oneself (mentally) from previous structures, to creatively adapt to new situations and to communicate to each other in a respectful but also effective way- both face-to-face and digitally. CHALLENGES AND NEEDS - In confusing and uncertain times (Covid-19) especially managers and executives need new/appropriate instruments for navigation. Arts-based thinking and working strategies should be implemented in organizations in order to evoke changes in perspective and, above all, to break up and improve communication habits in digital and analog form. - Creativity and communication as a basic condition for team- and solution-oriented cooperation could be improved in many organizations. - In connection with this, workflows and processes of all kinds in companies can be brought to a better level - their quality often does not fail due to professional qualifications. STRATEGIC GOALS - Development of a training concept in the form of a modular toolkit - Preparation of new training materials for digital and analog use - Testing the appropriate mix of digital and analog learning formats - Improvement of the key competences creative agility and communication, especially under restrictive conditions due to Covid-19 - Courage to use artistic strategies to create cohesion and support solution finding and innovation - Improved handling of ambiguity. INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS The main result of this project is the development of a modular training concept in form of a toolkit in three dimensions (arts-based, knowledge-oriented and methodological-didactic) for the individual design of suitable training curricula. For this purpose, an artistic intervention in the form of a narrative research will be developed, tested, evaluated and a guideline for implementation in organizations will be created (IO1). The findings will be used in order to prepare three pilot courses (each with 2-3 digital units and a face-to-face 2-day course), which will be tested in each of the partner countries for their applicability and usefulness for the implementation of art-based strategies, the improvement of communication and language culture, the increase of solution finding and innovation in organizations and, if necessary, with adaptions (IO2). For this purpose, a set of new training materials will be developed for the digital and analog application (narrative plot board, lecture performance video clips, study papers on arts-based strategies, communication, language culture, storytelling and ambiguity, set of cards with values, game instructions and a guideline for the toolkit). These training materials are prepared for the corresponding digital and analog applications (IO3). With the use of these three products we also want to find out what conditions and what dose of remote learning (digital) and face-to-face learning (analog) are necessary to ensure and train creativity and collaboration. TARGET GROUPS The competence for successful work, cooperation and effective communication - both digitally and in analogue - is particularly relevant for key persons in (public) organizations and companies. In addition to managers and executives, these can be trainers, internal coaches/mentors and employees as well as volunteers with key functions or key knowledge. CONCLUSIO The modular training concept is intended to provide a valuable toolkit for creative agility in order to transform digital and analog communication in organizations.
Creative agility is about putting the solution-oriented result usually found in management on the back burner for the time being and opening up to the process-oriented task. The goal is to enable managers and people in key functions via training to find a common language and act collaboratively. PROJECT OBJECTIVES - Develop a modular training using arts-based strategies and new training materials. - Conduct three needs-based pilot trainings. - Testing the situationally appropriate mix of digital and analog teaching/learning formats - Improving the key competency Creative Agility, especially under constraining conditions (Covid-19) - Courage to use artistic methods and strategies to create or strengthen group cohesion and support solution orientation and innovative thinking and action - Improved handling of ambiguity and contradiction in today's VUCA world.
The project was APPLIED FOR because the project team identified clearly identifiable challenges and needs from organizations in advance. ADDRESSED NEEDS - In dynamic-complex times (with Covid-19 and beyond), organizations need new or appropriate leadership tools for orientation and navigation. - By means of art-based strategies - borrowed from artists inside in their processes towards the new - leaders and people in key functions should be given tools to act in situations of uncertainty with decision-making and action capability, to communicate more effectively and to push forward innovation. - Creativity, agility and communication are therefore basic prerequisites for team- and solution-oriented collaboration, which are not established or need improvement in many organizations. - In connection with this, workflows and processes in companies can be designed with less friction.