FAQ
How do I get ready and what will we actually be doing during Innovation Week?
How do I register?
What if I have too much work to do?
Who are the Mentors?
Do I need a team?
Do I have to have an idea to participate?
Can I only work on my own idea?
Does my idea have to be ground-breaking?
What types of ideas can we send in or work on?
Can I share my idea now, with everyone?
Can I send in more than one idea?
Do I work my regular work hours during Innovation Week?
What resources/assistance is provided for Innovation Week?
Should we work at our desks?
What are we supposed to have accomplished by the end of the week?
How can I keep up on the news about Innovation Week??
Why are people being asked to vote on innovations at the end?
How do I get ready and what will we actually be doing during Innovation Week?
Check out the Getting Started page for more info.
How do I sign up?
Follow this link to sign up and let us know you’ll be joining us.
What if I have too much work to do?
Innovation Week has been planned since last July to allow teams time to arrange work commitments to allow the maximum possible participation. If you have any concerns, please ask your manager how your work can be adjusted to allow you to participate. You may also reach out a Mentor for tips on how to more fully participate.
Who are the Mentors?
The members of the Innovation Week committee are available to answer questions, advise you on participation, suggest ways to plan to your work, and otherwise help you clear roadblocks that stand between you and Innovation Week. You can find their contact information on the Contact Us page.
Do I need a team?
No. We encourage everyone to collaborate, but sometimes you just have to go it alone.
Do I have to have an idea to participate?
No, but everyone is welcome to send in as many ideas as they would like and we encourage you to do so! You can post an idea you've been thinking about for years, or something you just thought of.
Can I only work on my own idea?
No! If you see a great idea that you’d like to work on, ask the person who contributed the idea if you can to join their team.
Does my idea have to be ground-breaking?
Not at all. Your idea could be something that isn’t new, but is new to UCOP.
What types of ideas can we post or work on?
Anything. Incremental change is good, and sometimes the entire mold needs to be chucked out the window. This is your chance! Don’t be shy.
Can I share my idea now, with everyone?
Please do! Just go to the website and fill out the idea form, or send it in with your registration. We’ll post it and other participants can get in touch to team up with you.
Can I post in more than one idea?
Please do. You never know whom you might inspire.
Do I work my regular work hours during Innovation Week?
You may. You may also work more hours if you wish. Talk it over with your team to decide what will work best for you.
What resources/assistance is provided for Innovation Week?
Your Mentor can advise you if you have needs beyond what is normally available to you at work. Please check in with us.
Should we work at our desks?
You can work at your desk, or in a conference room, or possibly other spaces. We will get folks set up with a collaboration app called Slack which will help a team work together even if they are not sitting right next to each. It provides chat, voice/video meetings, file sharing, and/or screen sharing. Use what you need, ignore the rest.
What are we supposed to have accomplished by the end of the week?
While there are no specific requirements for what teams have to accomplish, it’s in your best interest to plan your work around what you want to present at the end. Examples of presentations may include:
- Wireframes
- Fully developed website or functioning web app
- Partially-working website or app
- Non-working website or app
- Smoking pile of debris
- Presentation of how you fleshed-out your idea (poster, powerpoint, prezi, etc.)
- A video
- Charts, diagram, workflow, or other way to represent a design for a process or something tangible that could be built later
- Lessons Learned from a failure
- Live demos
How can I keep up on the news about Innovation Week?
We’ll be sending more frequent updates to the listserv. You can follow the event on Twitter (url). There is also a Slack chat room (“channel”) where you can be a part of the conversation. This event belongs to all of us. We want to hear your input.
Why are people being asked to vote on innovations at the end?
Competition is not a central theme of Innovation Week, and this is reflected in the open scope for ideas and minimal rules. We do believe, however, that friendly competition is beneficial to all parties and reflects the realities of innovation. It’s important to have real-world pressures and obstacles. But we also want this to be fun, so we’re going to ask people to vote by "investing" in the ideas that teams present with play money and we’ll keep a tally of how much investment the idea receives.