Often, collective innovation happens when people come together to listen, imagine, share ideas, and take action as a group. For this to truly work, it’s important to use methods that support participation, dialogue, and creativity—core elements of participatory management.
These approaches should be part of the Innovation Department, which plays a key role in encouraging and guiding these processes. This department can organize training, meetings, and activities that promote the use of these tools and help maintain a strong, collaborative innovation environment. Have you ever been part of a simple group conversation that sparked a powerful idea?
Following the ideas of authors like Demo (2021) and Tenório (1998), we recognize that innovation depends on active listening, shared responsibility, and respect for different ways of knowledge.
Here are some useful methods:
- Design Thinking – A people-centered process focused on empathy and testing new ideas. (More about Design Thinking in Module 6)
- Empathy Maps – A tool to better understand how participants feel and see things.
- Co-creation Workshops – Spaces where solutions are built together, based on shared experience.
- Talking Circles – Open, respectful conversations that value local knowledge.
- Visual and Sensory Activities – Creative ways to express and explore ideas.
Storytelling (Lambert & Hessler, 2018) can also be a powerful way to make meaning out of experiences and bring communities closer together. In this light, innovation is not just about ideas — it’s a shared journey of listening, creating, and transforming.