Projects

ewi – Institute of Energy Economics at the university of Cologne

Thought Leadership Format

How do we transform a traditional conference into a modern version?

It’s a tricky thing time and time again: you’ve been running something successfully for a long time, making it ever more efficient – and yet, “suddenly” it doesn’t work anymore. That’s the moment when you realise that you’ve gotten out of touch with the markets and its zeitgeist. We bring you back into it. In this case together with our client we co-created a “plug-in” conversation based on an online community interlinking several international university institutes. As their topic is energy we had quite a run together ending up with what we regard as the most beautiful conversation platform about energy we can imagine.

applied methods:

  • Futures Thinking
    Futures Thinking offers ways of addressing, even helping to shape, the future; but it is not about gazing into a crystal ball. It illuminates how policy, strategy, and action can promote desirable futures and help prevent those we consider undesirable. It stimulates strategic dialogue, widens our understanding of the possible, strengthens leadership, and informs decision-making.

    Futures Thinking is a method for informed reflection on the major changes that will occur in the next 10, 20, or more years in all areas of social life, including education. Futures Thinking uses a multidisciplinary approach to pierce the veil of received opinion and identify the dynamics creating the future.

    While the future cannot be reliably predicted, we can foresee a range of possible futures and ask which are the most desirable for particular groups and societies. A variety of methods – qualitative, quantitative, normative, and exploratory – help to illuminate the possibilities, outline policy choices, and assess the alternatives.
  • Radical Openness
    How people connect and collaborate is transforming. By shunning old, secretive practices and embracing transparency, smart organisations share intellectual property within themselves and the community. Through this practice they gain speed and interaction productivity that reconnects them to the pace of change happening around them.
  • The Applied Vision Transformation
    TAVT is a coaching method designed by Christopher Peterka for the systematic recording and activation of ideas with the aim of their valorisation.
  • Netnography
    Netnography is an online research method originating in ethnography, which is applied to understanding social interaction in the contemporary digital communications context. It is defined as a specific set of research practices related to data collection, analysis, research ethics, and representation, rooted in participant observation. In netnography, a significant amount of the data originates in and manifests through the digital traces of naturally occurring public conversations recorded by contemporary communications networks. Netnography uses these conversations as data. It is an interpretive research method that adapts the traditional, in-person participant observation techniques of anthropology to the study of interactions and experiences manifesting through digital communications (Kozinets 1998). The term netnography is a portmanteau combining "Internet" or "network" with "ethnography". Netnography was originally developed in 1995 by marketing professor Robert Kozinets as a tool to analyse online fan discussions about the Star Trek franchise.

applied services:

  • Advisory
    For a decent amount of time and – much more importantly – with intense practical experience we have specialised in change and innovation culture across industries, cultures, and generations. So, once you think you should get some seriously senior expertise aboard for your project, we're happy to look into your request.   Typically, moments that involve the following topics suggest the need to talk to us. Yet, this list is not exclusive. Basically, if you've read through this and made it to this point: we're happy to hear from you - even if it's about your wedding. - Innovation Formats - Intercultural Diplomacy - Creative Direction
  • Assessments
    You're comfortable with your core business. Now you're going for a new market or are simply interested in getting a professional, external opinion on your innovative idea? We assess it quickly, to the point, and based on cutting-edge expertise. As a result you get a personal presentation face to face and a brief evaluation in writing. Some exemplary causes for assessments usually are: - Market Opportunities - Digital Fitness - Organisational Innovation Culture - (Dark) Data Potential
  • Design
    Innovation and change needs the participation of the people on whom you rely to make things happen. This is where the art of design comes into play. Because without a professional, desirable design, all communication is wasted (aka nothing). If your change or innovation project is no fun - it's basically dead before you have even begun to activate it. So, may we encourage you to make things attractive, even “sexy”? Please. We support you with: - Ideation - Art Direction - Creative Direction

credits: 

 

Anne-Katrin Ahrens

Art Direction

gannaca

 

Christopher Peterka

Idea & Advisory

gannaca

 

Franziska Barth

Project Management

 

Prof. Dr. Marc O. Bettzüge

Client
ewi

 

Melanie Tillmann

Client

ewi

 

Prof. Wolf Ketter

Client

ewi