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HOW-NOW-WOW

Phases of the Innovation Cycle

Initial idea → Inspiration

Inspiration → Planning

Planning → Development

Support to farmers

Group of farmers

One-on-one

Goal

To organise and narrow down brainstormed ideas by assessing their feasibility and ease of execution, helping to identify the most impactful options ready for implementation.

Description

After a brainstorming session, participants can use this idea selection matrix to organise ideas based on two criteria: how easy or difficult they are to implement (y-axis), and how original they are (ranging from conventional to highly original on the x-axis).

  • Difficult to implement – Conventional ideas: Unoriginal ideas that are also difficult to implement should be discarded, as they offer little value for the effort required.

  • Easy to implement – Conventional ideas (NOW): These are low-hanging fruit—straightforward ideas that can be executed quickly and with minimal risk, offering immediate impact.

  • Difficult to implement – Original ideas (HOW): Although innovative, these ideas may currently be beyond the organisation’s capabilities. They should be noted and revisited when implementation becomes more feasible.

  • Easy to implement – Original ideas (WOW): Creative and practical, these ideas have high impact potential and can be actioned relatively easily. The team should prioritise planning for their implementation.

More info

Preparation times

0-2 hours

Execution times

0-2 hours

Materials needed

  • Flipcharts 

  • Markers 

  • Voting dots