Creative Slip Writing provides a remarkably simple process for getting ideas from constituents that can lead to significant improvement in the quality of service, more enthusiastic, motivated staff, and increased gifts from constituents by volunteers who have used the creative process.
How it works: each participant is given a pad of paper. The group leader presents a problem or simply asks for ideas for improving a service. He or she asks each person in the group to write on a slip of paper their ideas, without pre-judging them, one idea to a slip, within a five minute time limit. The papers are collected, the ideas categorised, all are then copied and the results returned to the group quickly for further discussion - either as a big group or by categories in workshop settings. Alternatively, the ideas may be given to key staff to develop further or to implement directly. All the ideas can be deposited in the leader's idea bank.
The benefits: This method allows the collection of many ideas from a vast reservoir of constituents in a relatively short period of time. The anonymity leads to honest and near 100 per cent participation. It works even in auditoriums with fixed seating. Participants can be energised to reach organisational goals.
Charles Clark, 623 Grant Street, Kent, Ohio 44240, USA (tel 216 673 1875).