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Using the previously collected outcomes, prepare the materials on your skills, knowledge, competencies, experiences, personality and cultural and labour environments for brainstorming.

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• If you are brainstorming alone, read through the materials to familiarise yourself with it.

• If you are inviting others to join you, prepare a summary of the materials and share it with the participants in advance, to give them the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the background.

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Prepare for the brainstorming session by familiarising yourself with the workflow, and gather the necessary materials, such as sticky notes, markers, whiteboards and anything else you need to select ideas. Make sure the space is free from distractions. If you are inviting participants, send out invitations and arrange catering if possible.

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(Group setting) Start the session by introducing the topic and explaining the session rules.

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(Group setting) Do a warm-up or icebreaker exercise. Choose something suitable for the participants, whether you are working alone or in a group. Examples include relaxation techniques to quiet the mind, practical mind-opening exercises such as free writing, small physical activities, or a combination of these.

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Start generating ideas and brainstorming. These ideas should be generated spontaneously and without judgement as they come to mind. Write each one quickly on a sticky note, using a few words or a short sentence. Capture every idea, whether good, bad, odd or seemingly impossible. Focus on quantity, not quality. The number of ideation rounds required depends on the topic and the amount of available material.

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(Individually) Write your ideas on sticky notes as they come to your mind. After five minutes, for example, shift your perspective and start generating ideas from this new viewpoint. These new perspectives could include that of a beginner, an expert, a child, a professional in a specific sector, or an opposing viewpoint. It could also be linked to certain conditions, such as having unlimited resources or only 24 hours. Change your perspective as many times as necessary. 

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Take breaks. Stepping away helps your brain to reset. You can then return to brainstorming with fresh ideas, either later on or even the next day.

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(Group setting) Moderate the timing of the brainstorming session. Ten minutes is usually long enough to generate new ideas. Continue if the group is still coming up with new ideas, or stop if they start to run out of steam. Encourage contributions to keep the energy up. After each question, participants can either write their ideas on sticky notes individually or verbally suggest ideas, which you can then write down.

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Group brainstorming works best with three to ten people. This allows everyone to contribute and build on each other’s ideas while staying focused on one conversation at a time.

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Collect and organise the ideas. Add the sticky notes to a whiteboard or a large sheet of paper. Categorise the ideas and group similar ones together. Look out for themes, patterns or unexpected links. This is where insights begin to emerge. Give each category a heading and add any necessary explanations. If you are working in groups, discuss the meaning of each category.

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Highlight important, exciting and feasible ideas and elements that align with the goal and are worth exploring further. Remember that you do not have to choose just one idea or promising path; several options may be valuable.

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Document the results. After the session, take pictures and write up the outcomes. Keep any ideas that were not selected, as these may be needed later.