Berlin, Mar 6, 2017

Creativity is widely understood as the generation of novel and valuable ideas. Drawing on empirical comparisons of an arts-based and a science-based field, both of which are in turmoil because of disruptive economic, technological and regulatory changes, this research unit seeks to contribute to the development of a multi-disciplinary theory of organized creativity. The aim is to go beyond individual- and group-centered theories that presently dominate creativity research, education, and training, by providing a better understanding of the conditions under which creativity can be socially organized. The very notion of organized creativity evokes immediate tension: creative processes are inherently uncertain and elude intentional organization, but nonetheless unfold typically among networks of actors embedded in different temporal-spatial contexts which necessitate at least some degree of organization. The basic premise of the proposed research unit is that creative processes involve social structures and practices for shaping degrees of uncertainty as a central “ingredient” of creativity. More specifically, we submit that certain practices of organizing creativity involve attempts to foster, channel, and control creative endeavors by inducing, reducing, tolerating, amplifying, or coping with uncertainty.

See: https://www.researchgate.net/project/Organized-Creativity