The Creativity
Initiative
At Research Theory, we believe that creativity drives good science. The Creative Initiative aims to foster creativity among scientists in order to help them unlock their creative (and therefore scientific) potential.
The Scientific Odyssey
You are already a creative person solving challenging problems. Our goal is to help you develop your creative process in science so that you can work at an elite level in a sustainable way.
FIND FLOW
SEE WHAT OTHERS MISS
GET UNSTUCK
What is the workshop?
​Each session will have a combination of group, partner, and individual exercises that diagnose a common problem researchers face and a strategy for overcoming it. You’ll go from playing games to designing games that support your research.
01
Out at Sea
Creativity begins with venturing into the unknown and letting go of outcomes and expectations. By embracing failure and learning to have fun with the process, this session establishes a playful mindset that we believe sets the stage for true creative growth.
02
Charting Your Course
How do you get un-stuck? This session shows you ways to map and move through creative ideas. We'll demonstrate five ways of moving through the unknown, and give you the tools to track your own creative journey. The goal is to build an awareness and openness so you can see what others miss.
03
Weathering the Storm
Your environment and the people around you have a big impact on your creativity. How can you curate your projects, crew, and time to support your creativity? Our goal is to help you make the most out of the team you have, and get the support you need.
04
The Edge of the Map
Now you're ready to put theory into action! Integrate skills from the first three sessions to solve problems in a new way.
05
Your Odyssey
Take everything you've gained from the course and apply it directly to a real problem you're working through!
What should I expect?
These sessions are based on the best creative pedagogy we know: improvisational theater. Each session will have a combination of group, partner, and individual exercises. Some group participation is required, but the focus is on your individual creative process. Sessions will have a safe and open atmosphere, like a sandbox for creativity.
Online Enrichments
Enrollment also gives you access to the enrichments. These are supplements to the in-person experience designed to expand on the ideas taught in person and give context for the creative processes we hope to foster.
Evaluating Creativity
How can you measure creativity? How do we know if this workshop is effective?
We're developing a multimodal program evaluation to understand the creative state of researchers and the impact we're having. Our goal is to link short-term proxies like creativity in a video game environment with long-term scientific output to put these theories to the test.
Survey
Course Feedback
Game-Based Pscyhometrics
Come explore creativity with us!
If you'd like to learn more, or join our experiment, let us know!