Creative approaches to problem solving

Want to try and create change in a complex environment? Struggle to find engaging ways to solve problems and collaborate effectively with everyone involved? Then download our Creative Approaches to Problem Solving (CAPS) toolkit, which details 25 tried and tested methods to help you.

Most of these activities can be deployed over short time frames (such as a workshop), however they also work in the context of longer projects. This is not by any means an exhaustive list or a prescriptive guide. These tools can be adapted and modified to suit the context and challenge, and can even be knitted together to form longer strings of tools in response to particular needs.

The CAPS toolkit groups the methods according to five objectives:

• Gaining insight and input to help inform decision-making
• Seeking new perspectives to spark alternative thinking
• Reframing a problem to open up new ways of looking at it
• Harnessing new ideas to brainstorm different solutions
• Prioritising solutions to make decisions about how to move forward.

We encourage Q members to post about their experiences of using creative methods on the Q website.

This toolkit is for those interested in stimulating creative ways of solving problems in ways that encourage co-creation. It is useful for collaborative activities in a variety of settings such as running meetings, workshops and team away days.

Through developing Q, we have tried and tested a number of methods for creative collaboration and problem-solving.

This document collates a number of activities we have found useful, and brings them together with some tips and ideas for Q members interested in applying these, or similar, methods in their own organisation.