Creativity Audit Tool

2.1 Audit Tool Description

The innCREA Creativity and Pioneering Audit Tool is an interactive resource, available online on the project website, which should be followed to better conduct a creativity audit.

The creativity audit has an analytic role and it constitutes one of the first steps an organisation has to follow before launching a policy supporting creativity.

Purposes of the audit tool are:

to investigate the organisation’s or team’s creativity,
to identify the factors and variables influencing the creative potential of students and personnel at an individual, organisational, leadership and team level,
to develop an analytical tool (typically questionnaire) tailored to the needs, personnel, the nature of work etc. including all the above-mentioned factors and variables,
to try to evaluate these factors by developing suitable scales of measurement and quantification,
to analyse the data statistically in order to identify the problematic areas (factors) requiring improvement to better focus management and team efforts,
to progressively and synthetically propose an initial set of actions which should be followed so as the organisation/team begins its first steps in implementing an initial action plan nurturing creativity at work.

The major goals of the audit tool are:

assess creativity in all spheres (individual, team, organisational, leadership);
try to evaluate the needs of labour at individual, organisational, leadership or team level by building proper scales of measurement;
support HEIs and local companies so that they can benefit from creativity and pioneering innovation in the Universities’ teaching programs and working place;
provide HEIs with the necessary tools to better develop abilities to identify students’ obstacles to creativity and pioneering innovation and take necessary actions;
increase HEIs innovation capacity by providing them with the necessary creativity tools and encourage HEIs to use the tools in a practical manner in everyday activities.

The innCREA Creativity Audit Tool will not only refer to organisations but also to individual respondents like students. It may apply to individual respondents, working groups or student’s working groups during educational courses, organisations or leadership.

2.1.1 Individual sphere questionnaire

Questionnaire to be filled in by a respondent: employee, student, leader, academic staff requesting they to assess the level of their creativity.

On the first part, when answering the questionnaire’s questions, the person must rate their creativity-related characteristics according to a scale with “Very high”, “High”, “Medium”, “Low”, “Very low” values.

These creativity-related characteristics concern:

openness and tolerance: ability to keep an open mind in processing information and consider a variety of concepts and perspectives; willingness to embrace new things, fresh ideas, and novel experiences joined with the ability to embrace differences; not closed to ideas and customs different from one’s own
ability to accept criticism: ability to listen closely to criticism without interrupting; thinks that criticism is a way to gather feedback and sees opportunities to get better and evolve; does not defer critical reflection but rather enhances and improves ideas by considering criticism
sensitivity to problems that emerge after everything has been going smoothly: capacity to consciously recognize problems along with inspiration to take action and influence every part of the creative process, from the creation of the initial idea, to the problem solving required to course correct and see a project through until the end
ability to take risks: ability to look for new ways of doing things and new ideas that may result in loss or failure and be able to use it in a positive way
readiness in taking action: preparedness for actions in refusal of habitual schemes and stereotypes of behaviour, perception and thinking; independence of judgments; originality, courage of imagination and thought, etc.
flexibility in taking action: the capacity to adjust to short-term change quickly and calmly, so that you can deal with unexpected problems or tasks effectively. Flexibility involves having an open, team-centred attitude, being open-minded and looking at situations from different perspectives
originality in taking action: ability to come up with an idea or a course of action on your own and to explore and try out by your own initiative something that’s never been done or thought previously
courage to submit and share original ideas: capacity to lean into discomfort and vulnerability to share an idea, or to dare sharing ideas with others without doubts, fears, insecurities and all the other difficult feelings that come with opening oneself up to feedback from others
curiosity and initiative in taking actions: ability to be inquisitive and open to new experiences also by having self-initiative, a proactive approach and perseverance in overcoming difficulties that arise in the pursuit of a goal
willingness and openness to cooperate with your other people: capability to consider other perspectives and to be favourably disposed or inclined to successfully work toward a common goal with others.

The respondent is asked:

which characteristics best describe them among:
how often they recognize the need to develop creativity skills how often their obligatory activities like job or studies cause stress
how often obligations make them act under pressure

2.1.2 Team sphere questionnaire

Questionnaire to be filled in by each member of a team requesting that they assess the level of their team’s creativity.

Concerning their organisation, the respondent is asked to rate:

if teams are formed to increase creativity
organisation employees or students willingness to participate in the work of the teams responsible for generating new ideas and solutions
“What tasks are set for teams responsible for creating new ideas and solutions”:

if there are any conflicts between co-workers within a team rating
the quality of cooperation of the team of which they is a member;

the level of motivation to cooperate with colleagues;
the level of independence of team members in achieving organisational goals;
the level of team’s autonomy in organisational decision-making;
the willingness of individual team members to take responsibility for the work of the team;
the willingness to share knowledge among team members.

2.1.3 Leadership sphere questionnaire

Questionnaire to be filled in by a respondent, a leader in an organisation, team leader requesting them to assess the level of creativity in their organisation.

In this case the respondent is asked to indicate:

for what purpose is creativity used in their organisation
in their organisation what creativity is related to
what enhances creativity in their organisation
how pro-innovative leadership styles are developed in the organisation.

2.1.4 Organisational sphere questionnaire

Questionnaire to be filled in by a respondent: academic staff, employees of other departments, e.g. administrations, management, marketing, business requesting their to assess the level of creativity development and application in their organisation.

On the first part, when answering the questionnaire’s questions, the respondent must rate their organisation’s employees creativity-related characteristics according to a scale.

As for organisational sphere questionnaire, these creativity-related characteristics concern:

openness and tolerance
ability to take criticism from a supervisor
sensitivity to emerging problems that occur after everything has been going smoothly
ability to take risks
readiness to take action
flexibility in taking action
originality in taking action
courage to submit and share original ideas
curiosity and initiative in taking actions
willingness and openness to cooperate with their colleagues

Then the respondent is asked to rate:

if there are conflicts between co-workers in their organisation according
which qualities characterise employees in their organisation
how often employees report the need to develop their creativity skills
rate if working in the organisation cause stress to employees
if employees’ daily tasks at work cause stress
if strategic or programmatic documents of their organisation include the importance of developing creativity and how creativity is important in the institution in everyday actions on a practical level
if they have ever undertaken a creativity audit in their organisation
if their organisation supports its employees in developing their creative thinking and creativity
if their organisation identifies potential sources for the development of innovative ideas
if there any mechanism in their organisation which makes it possible to use the creative potential of members at each level:
if their organisation culture focuses on the development of creativity:

2.2 Assessment and interpretation of results

Once the respondent has completed the questionnaire, the system provides a result based on the answers given. This result measures the current creativity knowledge in the sphere in which the audit was undertaken.

The audit tool can be used periodically to measure progress and the techniques offer the flexibility to be used repeatedly by changing topics and increasing complexity and difficulty.

The resultant analysis helps the respondent to be aware of which soft skills to improve and to identify the problematic areas requiring enhancement to better focus efforts.

For each area, five short courses related to creativity and pioneering innovation techniques are suggested to promote and develop creativity soft skills.

Diagnosis in particular areas for particular organisations will require a correlation of the type of course with the results obtained in a given area. Therefore, to ensure flexibility, the respondent can choose from the courses indicated by the tool that best suits the specificities and needs, selecting one of the indicated courses.

2.2.1 Individual sphere

The following scale for the assessment of the results obtained is:

low level of creativity score up to 17 points: try at least 4 short exercises;
an average level of creativity obtained from more than 18 to 34 points: try at least 3 exercises;
a high level of creativity obtained with a score of more than 35 to 52 points: try at least 2 exercises;
a very high level of creativity with a score over 52 points: try at least 1 exercise,

The exercises indicated for this level are the following:

Moodboards
Biomimicry
Six questions
Morphological analysis
SCAMPER

2.2.2 Team sphere

The following scale for the assessment of the results obtained is:

low level of creativity score up to 14 points: take at least 4 short courses;
an average level of creativity obtained from more than 15 to 27 points: take at least 3 short courses;
a high level of creativity obtained with a score of more than 28 to 41 points: take at least 2 short courses;
a very high level of creativity with a score over 41 points: take at least 1 short course,

The exercises indicated for this level are the following:

False rule
LOESJE
Do Nothing
Lotus Blossom
Swot Analysis

2.2.3 Organisational sphere

The following scale for the assessment of the results obtained is:

low level of creativity score up to 18 points: take at least 4 short courses;
an average level of creativity obtained from more than 19 to 37 points: take at least 3 short courses;
a high level of creativity obtained with a score of more than 38 to 56 points: take at least 2 short courses;
a very high level of creativity with a score over 56 points: take at least 1 short course,

The exercises indicated for this sphere are the following:

Focus Group
Six Thinking hats
Bionics
5W2H Method
TRIZ

2.2.4 Leadership sphere

The following scale for the assessment of the results obtained is:

low level of creativity score up to 11 points: take at least 4 short courses;
an average level of creativity obtained from more than 12 to 23 points: take at least 3 short courses;
a high level of creativity obtained with a score of more than 24 to 35 points: take at least 2 short courses;
a very high level of creativity with a score over 35 points: take at least 1 short course,

The exercises indicated for this level are the following:

Worst possible idea
Mind Mapping
Headstand Technique
Synectics
Phillips 66

2.3 Description of the Courses to Develop Creativity

University professors can increase the quality and effectiveness of the higher education that they offer their students in their courses by building a bridge between university education and the dynamics and needs of the world of work. In fact, as well as cultivating students from an academic point of view, professors must help students to know and develop soft skills, and in particular creativity.

The proposed teaching activities can be delivered in class or online, alternating between in-person and distance learning, and are designed to truly support students and their potential. Appropriate courses have been identified for each level, so they are detailed below divided by level.

Conducting a crash course will make academic staff aware of which soft skills they should promote and develop in students. InnCREA crash courses are designed to provide a method for:

developing creativity skills using specific innCREA creativity and pioneering innovation techniques
adjusting the techniques to the level of competence of students
raising awareness among students of the importance of these skills for personal success and development in current and future dynamic labour markets

And also HEI teachers and other academic staff will:

boost their own qualification through the innCREA tools
improve their professional performance and career plans
gain knowledge of the growing importance of soft skills for successful integration in the current and future labour market
have the competence and knowledge to boost their students’ soft skills using the creativity and innovation techniques with regard to improving their career prospects
adopt updated teaching strategies according to students’ competence levels and labour market needs and future trends
gain knowledge of how to raise awareness among students on the importance of these skills for personal success and development in the current and future dynamic labour market

The crash courses offer lesson plans for focusing on each of the four identified types of creativity important in work environments (crash course chapters 2. individual, 3. team, 4. leadership, 5. organizational), an overall introduction and overview (crash course chapter 1), and the audit tool and assessment (crash course chapter 6). The innCREA audit tool and exercises can also be utilized separately, modified to suit course content, and incorporated into HEI curriculum.

InnCREA crash courses include the following features:

The soft skills most important at the individual level and their importance in the labour market
Learning objectives for students and HEI staff developing creativity soft skills in the specific areas of individual, team, leadership and organizational creativity
Course structure, learning method and delivery
Lesson plan
Learning content
How the specific soft skills can be developed/taught and measured/assessed
Strategies for teaching the soft skills required for business and work life
Activities/exercises to increase creativity
Additional resources

Through desk research, survey, and interview processes, the innCREA partners identified the most important soft skills to develop for work life and grouped them as (1) an individual, (2) a team member, (3) a leadership role, and (4) the organisational level.

The 20 exercises included in the innCREA teaching materials were chosen by a process of desk research by the innCREA project partners. These 20 exercises were chosen as the most effective for developing creativity and pioneering innovation skills.

2.3.1 Individual level

The five exercises chosen to develop individual creativity are listed by judged degree of difficulty as follows:

1. Moodboard

The Moodboard method can be used for presenting the essence and the idea of something visually, for example, a dream house, dream university work space, a dream job or a person. Moodboards are used for developing concepts, for communicating ideas to other team members or to externals (e.g. stakeholders) to keep a goal and its essence in mind. Its visuality can also open minds for new ideas. A moodboard can also be used as a guiding document” to remind what is wanted during the working process.

2. Six Questions

The Six questions in this method are Who, What, When, Where, Why, How. Six questions is one of the most common and effective techniques for analysis and creative thinking. These questions allow users to see the problem from different perspectives and stimulate their thinking. The technique is also known as 5W1H.

3. Morphological analysis

Morphological Analysis is a creativity method and product/process development tool which details elements of a product and then starts to combine them into new and unique solutions for the defined problem. Morphological Analysis is a creativity method which uses observation and analysis of different dimensions of a product as the starting point for finding solutions to the issue at hand by combining them into new and unique solutions.

4. SCAMPER

The SCAMPER method is a collection of nine idea-spurring prompts for transforming any object, service, or process into something new. The aim is to improve the product/service by finding new viewpoints in a systematic way. The method can be applied to an existing product, or it can also be used during the product development phase for ideas or for concepts.

SCAMPER is a mnemonic for:

(S) Substitute;
(C) Combine;
(A) Adapt;
(M) Modify or Magnify;
(P) Put to some other use;
(E) Eliminate;
(R) Reverse or Rearrange.

5. Biomimicry

Biomimicry is a creativity technique which takes inspiration from the solutions in nature for product development and problem solving. For example, the shape of bird wings has inspired the shape of aeroplane wings. Similarly, colour camouflage is inspired by nature. In biomimicry structures, technical solutions, colours, functionalities etc. from nature are studied and transferred into product development and problem solving. Biomimicry is hence part of normal product development, but inspiration is looked at from nature, and therefore a normal product development or problem solving process can be used.

2.3.2 Team level

The five exercises chosen to develop team creativity are listed by judged degree of difficulty as follows:

1. Do Nothing

Do Nothing is a method to be used in a situation when we make the assumption that something must be done about a particular issue or problem. Instead, ask what happens if we “do nothing”? This usually leads to one of three possible outcomes:

1. The problem doesn’t need to be solved

2. You will have a better idea is the benefits of solving the problem

3. You will have generated some alternative problems to solve

The technique is not as straightforward as the title suggests and is easily misunderstood. It does not mean that one should ignore a problem and it will go away, although that may be a solution in some cases.

2. LOESJE

The basis of the technique is to write short thematic slogans that invite constructive discussion. The slogans can also be presented as posters. It is a technique based on playing with words, which allows one to go beyond the usual language patterns and effectively activate creative thinking.

The texts that are placed on printed materials (posters, postcards, stickers) are usually created in the framework of creative writing workshops, and they aim to share ideas and concepts, to express one’s own opinions using short slogans. Loesje workshops are an opportunity to express one’s views and inspire action, especially in the immediate environment.

3. Lotus Blossom

In Lotus Blossom, the petals around the core of the blossom are figuratively “peeled back” one at a time, revealing a key component or theme. This approach is pursued in ever widening circles until the subject or opportunity is comprehensively explored.

This technique can be used in scenario planning and is very useful for forecasting strategic scenarios. It is designed for groups and is used to provide a more in-depth look at various solutions to problems. It begins with a central core idea surrounded by eight empty boxes or circles. Using brainstorming, eight additional ideas (solutions or issues) are written in these boxes. In the next step, each of these eight ideas becomes the core of another set of eight surrounding empty boxes, which are filled in by new ideas using brainstorming. The process continues until a satisfactory solution or a sufficient number of ideas have emerged

4. Swot Analysis

SWOT Analysis is a technique used to assess the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of a project, business, product, service, or any other situation in which a decision must be made to achieve a goal.

Each of these factors needs to be carefully examined to plan the growth of the organisation by making the information gathered about a specific issue systematic and providing key information for defining strategies and positioning in the market.

5. False Rule

False rule creativity technique is a provocation technique that uses the free association process our mind triggers trying to connect a problem situation with a rule or restriction that has no obvious connection with it. Thus, it stimulates breaking the rules, which is the hidden origin of creativity and raises attention to the organizational challenges to creativity.

The main goal of this technique is to support creative thinking by “getting out of the box” assumptions in combination with random stimuli. The technique may be used in team sessions, or individually, to support participants to change their initial perspective and facilitate the idea flow.

Although the steps may look simple to follow, this technique may be challenging for people without previous experience in the field of creativity.

2.3.3 Organisational level

The five exercises chosen to develop organisational creativity are listed by judged degree of difficulty as follows:

1. Focus Group

The focus group technique is one example used to explore the opinions, knowledge, perceptions, and concerns of individuals in regard to a particular topic.

The focus group typically involves six to ten individuals who have some knowledge of or experience with the topic. The group discussion is led by a moderator who guides participants through a series of open-ended questions. The information gathered can provide important clues to human attitudes and values as they relate to the topic. The technique can also be used successfully in conjunction with other research tools, such as surveys, either to help develop a questionnaire or to explain specific survey results.

In promoting creativity, focus groups can be a great tool as it allows for more open discussion and open-ended questions.

2. Six Thinking Hats

The six hats technique can be used to improve problem solving skills in a group by looking at a problem from the different perspectives the six hats represent. It encourages flexible thinking and working together with different kinds of people.

White hat – neutral objective defined by facts, information, data and figures.
Red hat – emotional view defined by feeling and intuition, hunches and gut instincts.
Black hat – judgement defined by caution and problems and judgement.\
Blue hat – process control defined by managing thinking, organising and controls.
Yellow hat – logical positive define benefits and sunny.
Green hat – creativity defined by creativity and solution, energy and new ideas.

The six hats thinking aims to bring different and new viewpoints into a decision making or development. The technique uses roleplay channelled through hats of different colours each representing a different way of thinking. In this technique you “put on” or “take off” one of the six thinking hats to indicate what type of thinking is being used. The person with a specific hat on, e.g. a green hat, will act and thing according to the hat “personality”, “hat’s” way of thinking,

Each hat will provide their different viewpoints to the problem/topic which e.g. a moderator can collect and overall facilitate the discussion.

3. 5W2H Method

Solving a problem and implementing corrective actions that will be effective first requires identifying the causes of the problem. The 5Why technique enables a team to find answers to questions about the cause of recurring problems. This method mobilises employees to think analytically and try to identify the problem independently, which positively affects their involvement in the life and functioning of the company or organisation. It’s about arriving at a problem through deduction, detailed analysis of the problem from different viewpoints.

Appropriate use of the 5W2H method helps to verify the problem from a broader perspective and enables more accurate decisions to be made.

4. TRIZ

The basis of the technique is to identify and define the problem that is the basis for seeking a solution, and the areas of application are primarily technical problem-solving.

The main features of this technique are:

1. No matter what field of knowledge or industry the patents are from, the abstracted problems and the way they are solved will be the same.

2. The evolution of technical systems manifests a certain tendency, which results in analogous methods of problem-solving.

3. Actual innovations can often only be formulated by scientifically examining one’s own field of activity from outside.

5. Bionics

Bionics technology can be used at any level and at any institution. It can be used for developing creativity at the company level by directing thinking towards the development and improvement of products through the observation and use of solutions created by nature, or in education to develop the creativity of pupils or students and direct their development according to market needs.

In this case, the technique has been used pioneering to solve problems at the state level where there is a deficit of skilled workers.

2.3.4 Leadership level

The five exercises chosen to develop leadership creativity are listed by judged degree of difficulty as follows:

1. Phillips 66

The Phillips 66 discussion technique is very well suited to situations in which you have many creative, willing people at your disposal, but the challenge is how to use this potential so that everyone gives something.

The technique is one of the varieties of Brain-storming and is characterised by:

Working in small teams
Focusing on finding the idea that will best solve the problem
Allows ideas to flow within groups and share ideas with others for development
Allows all group participants to contribute

2. Headstand Technique

In the Headstand technique, users will focus on approaching their problems from an opposite angle, for instance what does not work, what may go wrong or which activities will never solve a problem. As such, this technique allows users to exploit their frustration for the better. In order to solve the problems, they will need to firstly try to solve them.

Headstand technique can be completed individually or in teams, but is recommended to be used in a group of minimum 2 participants. For instance, instead of asking “Why aren’t my oranges selling?”users may ask “How do I make my oranges not sell?”. Through this, users will know plenty of reasons for their unsatisfactory sales of oranges.

3. Worst Possible Idea

The Worst Possible idea creativity technique is based on some of the main characteristics of creativity. It stimulates ‘combinatorial creativity: the dissonance of a bad idea prompts the brain to reorient and redesign until a related “good” idea pops out: “Often it’s only when comparing two ideas that the best idea – a hybrid of the two – is discovered.” It facilitates challenging assumptions – every bad idea reveals an alternative way of thinking and the idea illustrates important aspects of the problem that may have been overlooked. The Worst Possible Idea creativity technique successfully overcomes most of the drawbacks of classical brainstorming (personal shyness, eliminate the pressure of having to come up with good ideas, awkwardness, when, instead of developing ideas in diverging directions, dominant team members suppressing other maybe better ideas).

4. Mind Mapping

Mind mapping works by writing an idea or a topic in the middle of a sheet of paper, and then expanding the idea or writing sub-topics by writing more details around it and linking them visually, e.g., with lines. These sub-ideas or sub-topics will again divide into smaller ideas around each sub-idea or topic it is directly linked to. This helps to obtain the overall idea of the idea in hand and what is related to it in order to obtain an overall idea of the elements and ideas linked to the initial topic. A mind map helps to identify and visualise all the aspects linked to the idea.

5. Synectics

The Synectics method is a heuristic method of conceptual design and creative problem solving through the use of analogies and metaphors. It uses the almost unlimited capacity of the human mind to search for solutions by, among other things, comparing contrasting elements of a system and by supporting the thought process by creating an environment and carefully selecting inventors, the so-called “Synectors”.

2.3.5 Soft Skills Associated with the 20 Selected Exercises

In the area of individual creativity, the following five soft skills were judged to be most important for an individual worker: adaptability, attentiveness, critical thinking, inventiveness, and problem-solving. These skills can be developed by the exercises Moodboard, Six Questions, Morphological Analysis, SCAMPER and Biomimicry.

Soft skill ability	Exercises to develop this skill
adaptability	biomimicry, moodboard, SCAMPER, Six Questions
attentiveness	biomimicry, morphological analysis, Six Questions
critical thinking	biomimicry, moodboard, morphological analysis, SCAMPER, Six Questions
inventiveness	biomimicry, morphological analysis
problem-solving	biomimicry, moodboard, morphological analysis, Six Questions

The five exercises chosen to develop individual creativity are listed by judged degree of difficulty as follows:

1. Moodboard – for scores below 20%

2. Six questions – for scores 20%-40%

3. Morphological analysis – for scores 40%-60%

4. SCAMPER – for scores 60%-80%

5. Biomimicry – for scores over 80%

Someone with a lower score of individual creativity, would be advised to start with the Moodboard exercise and then try the next exercise, Six Questions, and then continue down the list as they gain more experience and familiarity with using creativity exercises. Someone with a higher score, might start with a more challenging exercise.

In the area of team creativity, the following five soft skills were judged to be most important for team members: communication, collaboration, leadership, negotiation skills, and problem-solving. These skills can be developed by the exercises Loetsje, Lotus Blossom, SWOT, False rule and Do Nothing.

Soft skill ability	Exercises to develop this skill
communication	Loetsje, Lotus Blossom, SWOT, False rule
collaboration	Loetsje, Lotus Blossom, False rule, Do Nothing
leadership	SWOT, False rule
negotiation skills	Loetsje, Lotus Blossom, SWOT
problem-solving	Loetsje, Lotus Blossom, SWOT, False rule, Do Nothing

The five exercises chosen to develop team creativity are listed by judged degree of difficulty as follows:

1. Do Nothing — for scores below 20%

2. LOESJE – for scores 20%-40%

3. Lotus Blossom – for scores 40%-60%

4. Swot Analysis – for scores 60%-80%

5. False Rule – for scores over 80%

Someone with a lower score of individual creativity, would be advised to start with the Do Nothing exercise and then try the next exercise, LOESJE, and then continue down the list as they gain more experience and familiarity with using creativity exercises. Someone with a higher score, might start with a more challenging exercise.

In the area of leadership creativity, the following five soft skills were judged to be most important for leaders: adaptability, confidence, collaboration, curiosity and. These skills can be developed by the exercises Phillips 66, Headstand Technique, Worst Possible Idea, Mind Mapping, and Synectics.

Soft skill ability	Exercises to develop this skill
adaptability	Worst Possible Idea, Mind Mapping, Headstand Technique, Phillips 66
confidence	Worst Possible Idea, Mind Mapping, Headstand Technique, Synectics, Phillips 66
collaboration	Worst Possible Idea, Mind Mapping, Synectics,Phillips 66

The five exercises chosen to develop leadership creativity are listed by judged degree of difficulty as follows:

1. Phillips 66 — for scores below 20%

2. Headstand Technique – for scores 20%-40%

3. Worst Possible Idea – for scores 40%-60%

4. Mind Mapping – for scores 60%-80%

5. Synectics – for scores over 80%

Someone with a lower score of individual creativity, would be advised to start with the Phillips 66 exercise and then try the next exercise, Headstand Technique, and then continue down the list as they gain more experience and familiarity with using creativity exercises. Someone with a higher score, might start with a more challenging exercise.

In the area of organisational creativity, the following five soft skills were judged to be most important for an organisation: adaptability, communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and resilience. These skills can be developed by the exercises Focus Group, Six Thinking Hats, 5W2H Method, TRIZ and Bionics.

Soft skill ability	Exercises to develop this skill
Adaptability	Six thinking hats, Focus group
Communication	Six thinking hats, BIONICS, Focus group, 5W2H
critical thinking	BIONICS, Focus group, 5W2H
problem-solving	TRIZ, Six thinking hats, BIONICS, 5W2H
Resilience	Six thinking hats, Focus group

The five exercises chosen to develop organisational creativity are listed by judged degree of difficulty as follows:

1. Focus Group – for scores below 20%

2. Six Thinking Hats – for scores 20%-40%

3. 5W2H Method – for scores 40%-60%

4. TRIZ – for scores 60%-80%

5. Bionics – for scores over 80%

Someone with a lower score of individual creativity, would be advised to start with the Focus Group exercise and then try the next exercise, Six Thinking Hats, and then continue down the list as they gain more experience and familiarity with using creativity exercises. Someone with a higher score, might start with a more challenging exercise.

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