Collaborations of Consequence NAKFI's 15 Years Igniting Innovation at the Intersections of Disciplines (2018) / Chapter Skim
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3 The Creative Destruction and Evolution of the Futures Model
3 The Creative Destruction and Evolution of the Futures Model
Pages 57-80
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From page 57... ...
LESSON 5: CREATIVE DESTRUCTION SUPPORTED THE EVOLUTION AND RELEVANCY OF THE FUTURES MODEL This lesson will be explored in three parts: • Creative Destruction at the Macro Level: Welcoming Arts and Design Disciplines • Creative Destruction at the Micro Level: Transformation of Process • The Impact of the Transformation on NAKFI and Its Participants 57
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From page 58... ...
The assumption of continuity is replaced by embracing the challenge and opportunity of discontinuity where no one takes for granted that what worked in the past will be effective in the future. There were multiple forces operating in 2015 that supported a shift in NAKFI's focus and untimely led to its creative destruction.
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From page 59... ...
The call for input on the 2015 Futures Conference topic Art, Design and Science, Engineering and Medicine Frontier Collaborations: Ideation, Translation, Realization suggested that the reunification of the arts, sciences, and humanities presented opportunities, challenges, and risks analogous to the conversation about interdisciplinary research when NAKFI was conceived in the early 2000s. In addition to great enthusiasm from the experts who provided input, there was general agreement that every frontier of human inquiry is art–science-based in nature in that intuition and imagination are
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From page 60... ...
A record number of researchers and other creative practitioners applied to attend the 2015 Futures Conference Art, Design and Science, Engineering and Medicine Frontier Collaborations -- more than 400 in total. On the applicant survey, 93% strongly agreed that "there is potential for collaboration between people from disciplines as diverse as art, design, engineering, science, and medicine to achieve meaningful ends they could not achieve if they worked alone." Applicants were also clear where they believed the greatest potential outcome for collaboration across these disciplines might be found.
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From page 61... ...
Early indicators informed the 2016 conference -- which returned to the pattern of concentrating on a cross-cutting topic -- while building on the experience of the general emphasis in 2015 on the art–design–science interface. Discovering the Deep Blue Sea: Research, Innovation, Social Engagement incorporated several previous Futures Conference themes, such as complex systems, synthetic biology, imaging science, and ecosystem services.
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From page 62... ...
The 2016 Futures Conference Discovering the Deep Blue Sea engaged scientists, engineers, and medical researchers, working with artists and designers, in an exploration of this unique habitat. Creative Destruction at the Micro Level: Transformation of Process The topic of art, design, and science would challenge traditional models for funding, conducting, and engaging communities with scientific research.
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From page 63... ...
Opening up the conference design in these ways created a space for previously unimagined outcomes to thrive and provided flexibility for the participants to follow their curiosity and passion as the seed ideas evolved. Each year, small groups wrestled with how to approach leadership.
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From page 64... ...
Design Students Enter the Mix In 2016, NAKFI's graduate student science writing program became a test bed for investigating how the active participation of design students in the conference would affect the seed idea group process and generate outputs that would be engaging to a broader audience. Through a partnership with the Designmatters program of the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California, Designmatters students actively participated in the conference by visualizing and synthesizing ideas that surfaced during the small groups.
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From page 65... ...
However, for the overwhelming majority of participants, the experiment contributed to integrative creativity, crosspollination, and idea synthesis. In Their Own Words: The Value of Designers in the Mix… 2016 conference participants responded to the survey question: "How would you describe the experience of having design students as part of the seed idea groups?
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From page 66... ...
In 2016, the creative engagements were focused on the conference topic of the deep blue sea (see Box 3-2 and Appendix VIII)
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From page 67... ...
Kennedy. Creative engagements in the words of 2015–2016 conference participants… "It was exciting experiencing sci-art with sci-artists and having a ‘tangible' context for focused discussion." "It provided a contemplative space." "[One of the engagements sparked new]
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From page 68... ...
Their ability to thrive where other species are struggling also means that jellyfish routine ly obliterate fragile ecosystems by causing dead zones and a lack of dissolved oxygen underwater. While these troubles are beginning to garner public attention, what to do about them remains unclear.
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From page 69... ...
The inspiration material appropriate for all attendees told stories about art–science "aha" moments and provided a behind-the-scenes look at planning a Futures Conference. Each seed idea challenge included a suggested list of readings and talks.
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From page 70... ...
Our ideas about the evolution of shape developed alongside our participation in Seed Team A, where the difficulty of creating a systems level understanding of information emerged." NAKFI also entered the world of social media and set up a Twitter account in 2015 that was integrated with NAKFI's website. Participants were encouraged to use the social media platform as another means to connect with their seed idea groups and conference cohort prior to, during, and following the conference.
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From page 71... ...
" The groundswell of support and early indicators suggest that the intentional inclusion of the arts, design, and humanities into the Futures Model opened new imaginative paths toward addressing the world's increasingly complex problems and creating a hopeful future. Navigating the unknown in 2015 and 2016 required the staff and committee members to engage in new thinking about communication vehicles, collaborations with internal and external partners, and the relevance of public engagement with the program.
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From page 72... ...
The shift already has led to new fields of research, an interdisciplinary PhD program, museum exhibits, public engagement activities, and stories in high-profile publications such as the New England Journal of Medicine (Wellbery, 2015) and The New York Times (Klein, 2018)
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From page 73... ...
"Ideation, Translation, and Realization." DASER events in 2016 through 2018 featured attendees and projects from the 2015–2016 Futures Conferences and winners of the NAKFI Challenge. Feedback from this collaboration coupled with the demonstrated ability for the 2015–2016 Futures Grants projects to engage the public with important, complex issues positively influenced the way many NAKFI STEMM participants think about public engagement as an imperative rather than an option.
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From page 74... ...
Can the resulting acoustic datasets motivate people to choose their actions to shape the future they wish for; for example, a healthy ocean? " Spence drew from her NAKFI conference experience in how she interacted and organized projects with the other resident artists.
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From page 75... ...
Following the shot of inspiration, subgroups organized to explore ocean memory from various perspectives. At the conference, the subgroups spent their remaining time exploring questions that arose from their interactions -- independently and coming together periodically to cross-pollinate.
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From page 76... ...
So, the time at NAKFI coincided with a transformation, where uncertainty of the future was replaced with a tangible career plan, which I could not have predicted before NAKFI. This work includes several NAKFI alumni collaborators who have traveled between labs and studios and generated original data and products.
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From page 77... ...
Thus, I would like to be involved in further discussions between the scientists and art community, as well as bioethicists." (Anonymous, 2015 Futures Conference Participant) "The most striking aspect for me was the presence of the embedded artists and writers who are not specialists in our field.
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From page 78... ...
Childhood memories turn into adult actions to survive the latest threat." Today, the 2016 conference groups in which Deming found herself both a mentor and a student are working to create this safe place through three interconnected Futures Grants and a NAKFI Challenge Award, Ocean Memory: A New Cross-Disciplinary Approach to Global-Scale Challenges. "Our team
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From page 79... ...
NAKFI helped prepare me for bringing this group together." (Anonymous 2015 Futures Conference Participant) "The novel robotic devices that have emerged from this NAKFI experience have already been utilized on a joint Schmidt Ocean Institute/NOAA OER [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Ocean Exploration and Re search]
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From page 80... ...
For more information on the three interconnected Futures Grants on Ocean Memory, see Appendix III. To learn more about the NAKFI Challenge Award Ocean Memory: A New Cross-Disciplinary Approach to GlobalScale Challenges, visit www.oceanmemoryproject.org.
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