Creative illiteracy is an epidemic.
An epidemic that plagues organizations large and small, for-profit and not-for-profit. Often hitting the most-educated the hardest.
Left untreated creative illiteracy leads to unhelpful reporting, bad presentations, jargon-rich analyses, and an overall lack of impact.
Organizations that identify the symptoms often try to intern their way out. Making the lowest possible creative investment and risking the futures of our bright young creatives.
Luckily, there is a solution. A creative capacity development approach based on these three tenets.
- Creativity is a process. A process that can be taught to ANYONE. Not just the young or artistically talented.
- The only way to master creativity, or any other kind of process, is through practice.
- Going it alone leads to burnout. Mentor and peer support by like-minded creatives is required.
An organization trying to grow creative capacity will do the following:
- Provide the authority to try.
- Create space to fail small.
- Use data to ground empathy.
- Build creative support networks.
- Offer an opportunity for creative career growth.
Very few organizations engaged in research and evaluation do this effectively.
This needs to change.