School of Arts, Design and Architecture

Creative Leap: Creativity as a competitive advantage in business

In a complex and rapidly changing world, creativity is essential for the development, renewal and success of organisations making it one of the most essential and sought-after skills and assets in today’s work life. It has the ability to drive innovation, problem-solving and operational development.

‘Creative Leap: Creativity as a competitive advantage in business’ is a co-research project funded by Business Finland and Next Generation EU. It researches how creativity can be measured and managed and if creative methods and approaches correlate with financial success. It aims to create a framework to support the impact of individual and organizational creativity within companies in Finland and to model the financial impact of creativity.

Aalto Radical Creatives, Photo: Lina Jelanski — Creative Leap: Creativity as a competitive advantage in business. Photo: Lina Jelanski

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Latest happenings on Creative Leap project

The project has kicked off with events held with Posti, Raisio, Kemira and Fiskars.
Creativity and Collaboration: Transforming the Impossible seminar is held on the 30th September 16-17:30 at Kipsari (Väre, Otaniementie 14, Espoo)

More About the Seminar

Scientifically proven methods for supporting, measuring and developing individual and organizational creativity

Work Package 1 (WP1) of Creative Leap starts with surveys on individual and organizational creativity. Surveys are conducted with partner organisations.
Research then moves on to identifying the elements of creativity and developing a model for individual and organizational creativity.
WP1 is lead by Susanna Rahkamo of Yellow Method and Visiting Professor Mark Runco (Aalto / Southern Oregon University).
Timeline: spring - autumn 2024

Test Your Creative Performance

Creativity as a relational process

How does creativity emerge from encounters in mundane work practices?

Work Package 2 (WP2) takes qualitative critical approach to examine everyday work practices and dominant assumptions of creativity.
It aims to reach a deeper understanding of the values embedded in the organizational culture and offer alternative narratives of how creativity emerges in organizations.
The data collection consists of micro-ethnographic field work and interviews.
WP2 is lead by Assistant Professor Astrid Huopalainen, (BIZ / ARTS, Aalto) and Postdoctoral Researcher Ana Paula Lafaire (BIZ, Aalto).
Timeline: summer 2024 - spring 2025

Framework for modeling the financial impact of creativity and creative activity

How to measure the benefits of creativity for business?

Work Package 3 (WP3) develops a framework to measure the business value of creativity.
The aim is to use qualitative and quantitative analysis to identify the indicators of this value, ideally by using publicly available data on project partners' financial performance.
The first version of the framework and indicators are evaluated with project partners.
WP3 is lead by Professor Matti Rossi (BIZ, Aalto), Assistant Professor Eeva Vilkkumaa (BIZ, Aalto) and Researcher Niina Mallat (BIZ, Aalto).
Timeline: autumn 2024 - winter 2025

The Creative Leap research project, funded by Business Finland, aims to make creativity visible in business.

2.4.2024 News

Welcome to the seminar that brings together academic, societal, and business representatives across sectors to share a vision of creating sustainable futures through collaborative creative approaches.

30.9.2024 16:00 – 17:30 Events

Vihreään asuun pukeutunut Riikka Mäkikoskela istumassa keltaisella tuolilla sivuttain, nojaten käsivarrellaan tuolin selkänojaan. Taustalla on vaalea seinä, jossa on sinisiä, oransseja ja vihreitä aaltoilevia viivoja.

Riikka Mäkikoskela’s leading article in Aalto University Magazine describes the combination of rational reasoning, emotional intelligence and radical creativity as an invisible tool in order to birth something new.

6.9.2023 News