Co-creating synergies can be fun. It might be very easy...or very difficult;-) Synergy is an abundance that we get by combining things. MAKE NOTES ON SYNERGY and BISOCIATION.

*1. KEY WORDS: combination / abundance / surprise

• 2. Synergy occurs when things work together...to create 'MORE-THAN (!?) their ingredients.
• 3. Simple, 'free-standing' synergies are less common than complex, messy ones.
• 4. They may defy familiar realities (e.g. our beliefs/assumptions in language).

THE FACILITATION PROCESS

• Brief participants as a team + in the big space.
• Help the participants to choose ONE of the 3 ideas/products/systems to use.
• Use the theatricality of the space (lines+stations) to explain that 4 players = 6 synergies.
• if a participant has not have brought any - borrow someone else's or offer suggestions.
• Choose so that you have 4 contrasting things (similarity may be boring/difficult).
• When the bisociation processes begins - make sure participants jot down their ideas / innovations, insights and synergies and file them appropriately.

FILE SYNERGIES BY USE - we will use the following categories for storing ideas, as they are created. They are intended to act as 'attractors' within the creative process.

1. FUN
2. FOOD
3. SHELTER
4. TRANSACTION
5. VALUE CREATION
6. CARE+COMMUNITY
7. MOBILITY+METABOLISM

PHASE ONE The schedule of activities simple. A 15 minute briefing session for the 4 participants ensures that everyone can focus onto the task in hand without hesitation or confusion. Each participant has a 15 minute bisociation sessions with each of the other three, in turn. This means that there are 3 parallel sessions. NB - it may possible to run 20 minute sessions if the second facilitator chooses to pre-brief groups who arrive 15 mins early.

WHAT DO THE COLOURS MEAN?

The colours mean nothing. Participants are arbitrarily assigned a colour (numbers / letters too hierarchical). We want difference + inclusivity.

PHASE TWO This only applies if we choose 4 people to conduct second workshops that continue on from the first one. These would run using the SYNERGIES as a starting point. This means that new synergies can be found by combining existing ones. Theoretically, there is no limit to the growth in synergies, provided the new synergies could be noticed and synergised with others. This process would produce an exponential growth of synergies that would soon become a 'synergy-of-synergies'.