How the Curious get Creative

Sep 11, 2009

How the Curious get Creative

Our article in the Sep ‘09 edition of ESOMAR’s Research World. Grab your copy here.

Sony founder, Akio Morita, once said: “Curiosity is the key to creativity.” So, given how curious researchers are, we decided to speak to some client-side researchers to discover ways in which they have used creativity to amplify the value of research.

The Listener
Dr. Simon Roberts, Lead, Design/Social Science, Digital Health Europe, Intel

CONTEXT
Roberts is a well known anthropologist and works at chipmaker Intel. His position probably triggers a few questions. Is he a researcher? Well, yes. And a designer? Well, sort of. Because he sits in an R&D role where as well as carrying out the research bit, he’s also responsible for acting upon the research, making sure key insights find their way into products. He refers to this dual role as a mix of hard impact (creating new products) and softer influence (evangelising insights and ideas within Intel). A combination of military man and diplomat.

CREATIVITY
An issue every researcher regularly faces is how to draw out juicy insights from raw data. In ethnographic circles, Roberts refers to this as ‘ethnographic liquidity’ and he’s keen to understand “how ethnographers can create traction for their work in organisations” in an age where audiences are overloaded with information and communication. It’s important, he says, for researchers to feel they are listened to.

Roberts’ solution has been to turn some of his findings and insights into well-produced booklets and brochures, something he did for a recent global ageing study with hundreds of in-depth interviews: “Let’s put it all in a booklet and make sure that every person in the organisation for whom this is relevant gets a copy on their desk. We can also use it externally to tell a story about our work.”

Pop here for the rest of the article – available only for a limited time – and do subscribe to Research World magazine.