Future Proof Labs 3.0: Design for Synergy

Together with The Hague University of Applied Sciences, we participated in the Future Proof Labs 3.0 project. Within this project, we developed a method for analyzing co-creative projects and better understanding the dynamics within collaboration. Our focus was on designing and guiding group processes, creating an environment where synergy can emerge—a state in which the energy and impact of the group become greater than the sum of individual contributions.

To better understand this, we explored how different intelligences within a group can be aligned. We discovered that successful collaboration depends on five levels of intelligence:

• Action intelligence: hands-on work, achieving results
• Emotional intelligence: maintaining the right motivation at any moment
• Intellectual intelligence: (problem) analysis, strategies, and objectives
• Social intelligence: connecting, building trust, respect, communication, and leadership
• Creative intelligence: creativity, vision, thinking outside conventional boundaries

By recognizing and activating these levels of intelligence within co-creative processes, it becomes possible to foster synergy and achieve meaningful change. We wrote a chapter on our findings for the book "Innovating with Labs." The book can be ordered here.

• Developing a framework that enables facilitators to guide co-creative collaboration more effectively.
• Gaining insight into the different levels of intelligence that contribute to successful collaboration.
• Developing tools and methodologies that assist in aligning these intelligences within teams.

• A structured approach to co-creation, based on five levels of intelligence.
• Practical insights and methodologies for facilitators to foster synergy.
• Presentation of the findings within the Future Proof Labs 3.0 project and further application within our own co-creative processes.