Generating new project ideas

Activity Summary:

 

Brainstorming is a useful way of generating new ideas. We will work in small groups and then come together in a plenary session.

 

What We Will Do:

1. Brainstorming begins with an idea-generating session. Participants should generate as many ideas as possible, without evaluation or censorship. Quantity of ideas at this stage is more important than quality. Participants are encouraged to include wild ideas, new and different approaches, ideas that build on previous suggestions, and suggestions that have worked for them in the past. One person will be designated to record the ideas as they are given. Each small group session will be 20 minutes long.
2. In the same groups, and then in the plenary session, we will discuss the ideas generated and work to create a condensed list or a plan for moving forward. We can use questions, such as the following, to guide our discussion:
   • What does our list tell us about how we see our youth activities in the future?
   • Are there areas or interests that are conspicuously absent from this list?
   • Do the ideas fit within our constraints (resources, time, access)?
   • Can new ideas be generated by looking at and discussing this list?
   • How should we go about selecting from this list?

   We may wish to sort the ideas by placing them into categories. De Bono suggests the following three: those of immediate usefulness, areas for further exploration, and new approaches to the topic.

3. Participants will be asked to explain how they went about selecting a working set of ideas from their initial list or to chose one idea and describe how they might envision carrying it out. Participants should record the ideas generated, their plan for going forward, ideas generated by this exercise that they may want to return to later in the project or use in a future project.
4. Each group will keep a set of notes for future reference and follow-up. These notes will also help us to complete the final report that will be sent to the EU after the project ends.
5. Participants are also encouraged to reflect on the process and the outcome of the project which can be recorded during each activity. These evaluations are also used in the final report.