The document introduces Innobox, a toolkit created by Verke to help organizations develop innovations in youth work. Innobox contains exercises to help groups identify problems in youth work, generate solutions, and develop ideas. It encourages creative thinking through warm-up activities and considering how to make ideas more exciting. The session demonstrated some exercises, such as combining random objects to spark new ideas. Innobox aims to enable organizations to create new approaches or improve existing ones in youth work.

1. Let’s Get Innovative
with Innobox!
Suvi Tuominen & Juha Kiviniemi, Verke
@verkeorg
Glasgow, 3.9.2019

2. • Verke as organisation
• Background and overall
picture of Innobox
• Innovation Exercises
• What else is in Innobox?
In this session

3. Round of introductions

4. Verke - National Centre of Expertise for Digital Youth Work

6. Verke’s goals 2018-2019
1. Knowledge of ways of using digital media and technology
will increase and expand in the field of youth work
2. The structures of youth work will support the use of digital
media and technology in youth work
3. Innovative youth work services and concepts using digital
media and technology will be created

7. What does Verke do?
Train professionals:
Last year over 2600 participants
in 14 provinces
Produce materials:
videos, guides, article
publications, podcasts etc.
Consult:
Innovation partnerships,
memberships in steering groups
Facilitate networking:
SomeCamp, Friday chats, other events
Research:
Surveys on digital youth work,
research collaborations
Communicate:
newsletter, blog,
social media, #digi10-challenge

8. Innobox - background

9. www.digitalyouthwork.eu

10. Innobox enables organisations to create
new things or improve old ones. So take
up the challenge and create something
new – perhaps something amazing!

11. Innoboksin idea ja sisällöt

15. Megatrendit

16. Let’s Try It Out!

17. What are warm-up exercises needed for?
The purpose of warm-up exercises is to warm up the
mind and brain. If you begin brainstorming without
warming up, there is a danger that your ideas will be
too familiar and boring. Indeed, the best ideas are
sometimes born of crazy thoughts that can be altered
to create the perfect project.

18. Warm-up: Combinations
• Group task
• Supplies, A4 paper, pen
• Creativity is key, not viability of final concepts
• Time: 10 minutes (including discussion)
• All ideas are bad at this point!

19. List down new uses for a combination of..
• An overhead projector and a scale
• Watering can and a rolling suit case

20. Task 1: Identifying problems
In this exercise, “problems” are things that could be done better or things that
are not currently given enough attention. The problems may be related to
encounters with young people, a matter pertaining to practical activities or
any other youth work issue. For example, you may think about your working
week and the challenges and problems you face.
Problems – both small and large - can be identified surprisingly quickly just
by looking around a little (we do not (necessarily) mean looking at the
colleagues sat around you). At this point, it is not worth thinking about the
magnitudes of problems, as all issues are on the same footing at this stage.

21. Task 1: Identifying problems
• List down problems and issues related to youth work
• Remember to keep the perspective on youth work practice.
Normally issues would also be explored from young
people’s perspective separately.
• Write down all issues, in the end highlight 1-3 most
important ones
• Time: 15 minutes

22. Task 2: Problem-solving
Now it is time to go through the listed problems from the
perspective of youth workers and begin considering what we
could do about them.
What is the best way of solving each problem? Select three
issues related to youth work and think about solutions to them.
In a full Innobox process, this would form the basis of new
innovations.

23. Task 2: Problem-solving
• Propose solutions to the issues listed in the previous
exercise
• Try to be as concrete as possible, ie. “we need to do more
stuff” isn’t detailed enough
• Try to come up with new solutions, even if the problem is a
familiar one
• Time: 15 minutes

24. Task: WOW -factor
The aim of this exercise is to write down on Post-It notes what is
“blah” (dull) about your idea and what is “wow” (jaw-dropping).
You may also come up with new features at this stage.
In addition, you should consider what could be eliminated from
your idea and create version 0.5 – the bare-bones version.
Finally, write down what would need to be added to your idea to
double its value and significance and create version 2.0.

25. Task 2: Problem-solving
• Everyone in the group should think of at least one thing
to put in each place in the grid. · Stick your Post-It notes
on task sheet 5 (Wow), which is in the Innobox.
• Together, go through the ideas in the grid.
• Consider whether any of these notes will change your
original idea.

26. Task: WOW -factor
Idea:
Using Maker activities (coding, electronics, building
stuff, arduino, robotics, 3D-printing etc) in youth work
settings

27. How was it?

29. What else is in the box?

32. Innoboksin loput sisällöt

33. How to order your own Innobox?

36. Thank you!
Juha Kiviniemi
juha@verke.org
Suvi Tuominen
suvi@verke.org
Verke
Tel. +358 9 310 89067
info@verke.org
Twitter: @VerkeOrg