The economic crisis forces businesses to think harder and listen better to consumers and clients to stop their sales falling. Companies have to get all employees to imagine, create and innovate their products and services. Outsourcing to expensive consultancies is no longer an answer when budgets are cut. Funnily enough, this may have an unexpected positive side when it shows that using more inhouse knowledge and creativity gives better results, because of natural employee commitment to an organisation and their close contact with clients. To achieve this organizational change, it requires the introduction of Democratic Innovation: The right for everyone to innovate. Not just for special groups or units only.

But does this situation only apply to businesses? What about public bodies? What about the EU institutions? Would they too not benefit from fostering creativity and innovative ideas among their own employees?

Last month, I attended the seminar “Imagine. Create. Innovate. What can I do? What can you do? What can we do?”, a cooperation between one of the European Parliament parties and the European Commission (DG EAC), with among others two very inspiring speakers: Dr. Liisa Välikangas of the Helsinki School of Economics and Dr. Charles Hampden-Turner from the University of Cambridge.

Strikingly, Vladimir Sucha, Director for Culture, Multilingualism and Communication at the European Commission, opend the seminar with saying that being allowed to imagine, be creative and innovative would give more personality in what we are doing. Well, that sounds like kicking in an open door: more and better personality is certainly someting the EU insitutions could benefit from to get citizens engaged. How?

First, let’s get in the mood: \”Imagine\” by John Lennon

Secondly, let’s get to work:

1. Introduce the principle of Democratic Innovation in the EU institutions: inspire and allow everyone to come forward with imaginitive, creative and innovative ideas, just like in the beginning days of the EU.

2. Let the Principle of Subsidiarity be the guiding thought: not only EU employees should have a right to imagine and innovate, but also the people in the Member States. (In practice, every EU employee should have the Principle of Subsidarity explained and posted on their desk!)

3. Look through the lens of ideas, rather than people. Let ideas rule, not managers/directors.

4. Get top managers/directors to listen. There is a shortage of people willing to listen, not a shortage of ideas.

5. Do not ‘tidy up’ knowledge and innovative ideas into institutional language. Instead, pass on the logic of discovery. Just because (some of) the EU incrowd in Brussels knows why a new regulation or directive is needed, does not mean that everyone else or the citizens in the Member States understand. Explain through dialogue, annecdotes and storytelling.

Good luck and have fun!