Innovation Labs

The OPEN Method™ is a structured approach used within Innovation Lab workshops. It combines the 4 Stages of Psychological Safety with Polyvagal-inspired activities (inspired by Stanley Rosenberg) to help your team achieve a Flow State. Specifically, purposeful movements prepare the body physiologically for creativity and teamwork.

The OPEN Method™ Framework:

1. Optics:  Opening Ocular Peripheral Vision. Exercises that expand visual awareness, helping shift focus outward and promoting a sense of relaxation.
2. Posture: An open posture promotes messages of confidence through neural pathways. Gentle movements & actions release tension, creating balance and readiness for engagement.
3. Engagement: Connection requires co-regulation and the ability to read facial expressions and vocal prosody. Activities that build interpersonal trust and connection, enhance collaboration and social engagement.
4. Network Thinking:  Techniques aimed at uniting the team’s collective intelligence to explore ideas from a broader perspective.

What Is This Type of Innovation Lab?
This specialized Innovation Lab integrates the principles of psychological safety and Polyvagal Theory to create an environment where teams can connect, engage, and ideate effectively. It focuses on developing Contributor and Challenger Safety as outlined in Timothy R. Clark’s framework, ensuring all team members can confidently contribute ideas and challenge the status quo without fear. Additionally, it uses Polyvagal Exercises—gentle movement activities designed to positively shift the nervous system into a state of safety and connection, enabling more open and collaborative interactions.

Why Are These Labs Beneficial to Teams?
This type of Innovation Lab empowers teams by addressing both psychological and physiological barriers to creativity. The focus on Contributor and Challenger Safety ensures team members feel valued and courageous enough to share and critique ideas. Meanwhile, Polyvagal-inspired activities help regulate the nervous system, encouraging a state of safety and openness. Ultimately, the combination of these elements broadens perspectives, deepens connection, and enhances team synergy. As a result the outputs are more inventive, collaborative, and effective.

What Is This Type of Innovation Lab?
This specialised Innovation Lab integrates the principles of psychological safety and Polyvagal Theory to create an environment where teams can connect, engage, and ideate effectively. It focuses on developing Contributor and Challenger Safety as outlined in Timothy R. Clark’s framework, ensuring all team members can confidently contribute ideas and challenge the status quo without fear. Additionally, it uses Polyvagal Exercises—gentle movement activities designed to positively shift the nervous system into a state of safety and connection, enabling more open and collaborative interactions.

Why Are These Labs Beneficial to Teams?
This type of Innovation Lab empowers teams by addressing both psychological and physiological barriers to creativity. The focus on Contributor and Challenger Safety ensures team members feel valued and courageous enough to share and critique ideas. Meanwhile, Polyvagal-inspired activities help regulate the nervous system, encouraging a state of safety and openness. Ultimately, the combination of these elements broadens perspectives, deepens connections, and enhances team synergy. As a result the outputs are more inventive, collaborative, and effective.

What Are Contributor and Challenger Safety?

According to Timothy R. Clark, Contributor Safety is when individuals feel safe to use their knowledge and skills to contribute without fear of rejection or embarrassment. Challenger Safety occurs when team members feel safe to question the status quo, offer new ideas, and take risks without fear of negative consequences.

Why Are They Important for Team Innovation?

Similarly, Contributor Safety allows team members to freely share their expertise. As a result, your team builds greater engagement and explores diverse perspectives. Meanwhile, Challenger Safety encourages bold thinking, constructive debate, and questioning assumptions. Importantly, you’ll experience heightened group creativity and more breakthrough solutions. Together, these create a culture that supports collaboration, problem-solving, and sustained innovation.

What Are Polyvagal Exercises?

Polyvagal Exercises, rooted in the Polyvagal Theory developed by Dr. Stephen Porges. The practices are designed to regulate the autonomic nervous system by stimulating the vagus nerve. Specifically, these exercises aim to shift individuals out of states of stress or survival responses (fight, flight, or freeze). As a result the shift into states of safety, connection, and social engagement is a great way of also stimulating innovation in workshops. Generally, the practices include breathing techniques, visual exercises, gentle movement. Moreover, vocalization exercises to help calm the nervous system and promote a sense of safety.

Why Are Polyvagal Exercises Beneficial to Teams?

According to Dr. Stephen Porges and Stanley Rosenberg (author of Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve), these exercises are beneficial because they help release stress or dysregulation in the nervous system. By enabling individuals to move from a defensive state into a calm, connected, and engaged state, insights are easier to discover.

Therefore, in a team setting, this shift is critical for fostering collaboration, active listening, and trust. Ultimately, when team members feel calm and safe, they are more likely to contribute openly. Moreover, members can resolve conflicts constructively and remain flexible during challenges. By regulating the nervous system, Polyvagal Exercises can enhance the physiological foundation required for effective teamwork, creativity, and sustained engagement.

Your programme is co-designed to fit your team’s needs. So, first get in touch to discuss the overarching business challenge. Then, the activities are tailored to work for your group.

As a guide, standard in-office one-day workshops start from $4000. Plus, activities, location and group size all factor into the final cost.