New IDEAS at DMI Conference, Boston, USA

Last week, on Wednesday 8^th August, a paper co-written by three members of the New IDEAS team was presented at the 2012 International Design Management Research Conference.

Innovation through Knowledge Exchange and the Design of Knowledge Exchange Design was the title of the paper. Within this is an explanation of the research projects that have taken place within ImaginationLancaster around knowledge exchange toolkits and the introduction of the terms; ‘First Order’ and ‘Second Order’ knowledge exchange, which are both frequently used in the realm of KE design at the ImaginationLab.  Focussing particularly on ‘Second Order’, we examine how we can enable others to design and use their own knowledge exchange by developing and providing them with a toolkit framework.

The conference took place at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, USA and was organised by the Design Management Institute.  The event was ‘intended to highlight the importance of the contribution of design to organizational effectiveness and success, particularly in the ways that it can improve the new product development process, contribute to better strategic thinking and decision-making, and be an important element in the leader’s toolkit.’  The keynote speaker was Professor Roger Martin from the University of Toronto.

A wide range of paper topics were covered in the presentations that covered the two days, including using design to develop business strategies, the use and analysis of Design Thinking, knowledge exchange for sustainable business and economy, creativity in the work place and creative problem solving, to name just a few.

The conference brought together a multi-disciplinary group of professionals, academics and students from over 30 different counties and was the perfect catalyst for further understanding and conversation between them.  This was also the first conference and paper, which New IDEAS’ designer, Laura has been involved in and she greatly enjoyed the experience and the opportunity to soak up knowledge to inform the project.