Thinking outside the box

Module 5 no longer concerns actors and the problems they face but rather ways to imagine the future, build consensus and anticipate the risks involved in the options they choose. Chapter 15 opens the topic by providing a commentary on the trendy concept of social innovation – people thinking outside the box and joining efforts to achieve better lives. It also describes a closely related discussion between Canadian government managers, using an online collaborative editing tool to imagine how the Federal Public Service could innovate and break new ground in workplace and public engagement. The authors go on to address the general issue of creativity and how routine calls for out-of-the-box thinking have become a tired message. They make a case for bringing the concept to a higher level, beyond visioning, brainstorming and ideation used as stand-alone tools or as steps inserted into well-packaged methodologies. Using creativity tools is good, but being creative and critical when designing fit-for-purpose methodologies is better. To illustrate the point, the authors describe creative and flexible applications of The Carrousel, combined with other tools, to issues of Cree tourism and animal health in Quebec.