EU Publication 2009 - ASIT Recognised as European Good Practice for Corporate Creativity

In 2009, the European Union recognised ASIT as a good practice for fostering creativity and innovation in business. This official publication, produced as part of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation, documents the ASIT method as deployed in France since 2002 by SolidCreativity. The 4-page document presents the approach, its concrete results and its potential for international transfer.

The publication highlights ASIT's structured and repeatable nature, which distinguishes it from traditional creative approaches such as brainstorming or lateral thinking. The method's effectiveness is attested by its adoption by leading companies (EADS, Thales, SKF, Michelin, Rio Tinto Alcan) and its integration into university curricula (Bordeaux, ESTIA Biarritz).

Publication content

The context: European Year of Creativity

In 2009, the European Union launched the "European Year of Creativity and Innovation" initiative to promote good practices in creativity across learning and cultural awareness. As part of this initiative, a compilation of good practices was produced, covering several sectors: business and entrepreneurship, arts and creative industry, science and research, society, education and public administration.

ASIT was selected for this official compilation, alongside other recognised European initiatives. This selection constitutes institutional validation of the method at the European level, acknowledging its concrete contribution to stimulating innovation in organisations.

The two founding ideas behind ASIT

The publication identifies the two observations that gave rise to ASIT:

• Innovation blockers are multiple: human, cultural, historical or structural factors impede innovative developments in corporate environments.
• A few valid ideas are sufficient: to innovate products and services, it is not necessary to generate hundreds of ideas. A few relevant, well-structured ideas make the difference.

The method builds on the principles of "converging creativity": using the cause of the problem instead of fighting it, not complicating in order to innovate, and treating constraints as creativity levers. Once internalised, these paradigms permanently transform the way problems are approached.

The structured 5-tool approach

The publication details the ASIT process in several stages:

1. Trigger: ASIT is used when a person or group fails to find an appropriate solution or wishes to explore alternative paths.
2. Preparation: the problem is rephrased, its components are listed, and the focus shifts to searching for solutions (not causes).
3. Constraint integration: constraints are embraced as creativity drivers, not obstacles.
4. Deployment of 5 tools: each tool enables observing the problem from a different angle and proposing innovative solutions.
5. Assessment and selection: every suggestion is assessed and critiqued. ASIT does not seek quantity of ideas (like brainstorming) but regroups efficient ideas into a structured solution.

What sets ASIT apart from other methods

The EU publication highlights several innovation elements that differentiate ASIT from traditional creative approaches:

• Speed and effectiveness: enables rapid modification of an existing product or service and anticipation of its future development.
• Constraints become opportunities: where other methods try to eliminate them, ASIT exploits them ("the simplest solutions are the most efficient").
• Highly structured method: unlike brainstorming, lateral thinking or mind mapping, ASIT provides step-by-step guidance.
• Problems treated as objects: each problem is divided into smaller, more manageable pieces.
• Multidisciplinary dialogue: fosters exchanges between groups, multidisciplinary workshops and synergies.

The publication also emphasises a key point: "The practice itself is not creative but the results, themselves, are creative." ASIT is not a free creativity exercise. It is a structured tool that helps people and companies achieve creative results in a reliable, repeatable way.

Documented results and recognition

Academic and industrial validation

The EU publication documents several levels of validation:

• Academic proof: evidence has shown real improvement in the capability of solving problems creatively.
• Adoption by industry leaders: EADS (now Airbus), Thales, SKF, Michelin and Rio Tinto Alcan are among ASIT users.
• University integration: ASIT is a fully credited course at the University of Bordeaux and ESTIA (Biarritz).
• Accessibility: the method can be understood in a few minutes.

Concrete examples cited

Two examples illustrate ASIT's effectiveness in the publication:

The i-Lock anti-theft device: this device was designed during an ASIT creativity session in 2002. The use of the method clearly made a difference compared to existing solutions. The idea did not emerge until the ASIT session, demonstrating the method's ability to unlock paths inaccessible through conventional approaches.

The Nintendo Wii console: the publication cites the Wii as having been designed with the ASIT method. The worldwide success of this console illustrates the commercial potential of solutions generated through structured creativity.

International deployment

Initiated in France in 2002, formalised in 2004 with the creation of SolidCreativity, the ASIT method has since been deployed internationally: Israel, the United States, China and several European Union countries. The publication highlights the method's transferability, designed to apply to a variety of products and services requiring diversification.

Bibliographic information

Full reference and document access

Full document access (PDF): https://asit.info/publication/FR_ASIT_method_of_creative_resolution.pdf

This 4-page document is available for free download on ASIT.info. It is part of the official European Commission compilation of good practices for 2009.

Context within ASIT bibliography

This institutional publication complements the academic work on ASIT. Horowitz's founding thesis (1999) laid the scientific foundations, while this European recognition attests to the method's practical impact in business a decade later. Subsequent theses by Pialot (2009), Tyl (2011) and Maume (2016) have since confirmed and extended ASIT's applications.

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