Idea Advocate
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Idea advocate is a simplified form of the dialectical approach and was developed by the Battelle Institute in Frankfurt, Germany. The method has an Idea Champion to offer continual support and enthusiasm for a project in the development stage. Assume that the group of original ideas for solving some issue has already been concentrated to a small number, say 3 – 6 of strong contenders:
- A participant (the ‘idea advocate’) is allocated to each idea to present a case for that idea. Someone already familiar with the idea, or who initiated it, or who would have to implement it would be ideal choice.
- If required the ‘idea advocate’ is permitted a set amount of research time to prepare their case.
- Ideas advocates then make presentations of their assigned cases to the relevant decision makers and other idea advocates.
- Each case is then discussed and decisions made. If a particular case was illuminating then a straightforward selection can be made, however, if there are several strong cases several rounds of elimination will take place.
- Ensuring there are no differences in power and status amongst the idea advocates is essential. The more sophisticated approach outlined in Dialectical approaches handle the balance between positive and negative evaluation better.