May 11, 2017

New interactive tool lets VUMC community share creative ideas

Sharing ideas is powerful. IdeaShare, a tool to share ideas among groups of people, and even vote about which ideas you like best, is coming to Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) beginning May 16.

by Wayne Wood and Cynthia Manley

Sharing ideas is powerful.

IdeaShare, an interactive tool to share ideas among groups of people, and even vote about which ideas you like best, is now open to everyone at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC).IdeaShare

An email invitation will be sent to everyone at VUMC next week, but you can start participating now at VUMC.spigit.com. You can access IdeaShare from anywhere and at any time on desktop or mobile.

“Creative ideas come from everyone. Wouldn’t it be great if there was an easy way to share these ideas?” said Freddie Easley, assistant director of Finance and Administration, summing up the motivation behind the IdeaShare initiative.

“The best and strongest organizations engage broad and diverse communities for ideas,” added Ronald Alvarez, M.D., chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Continuing through June 20, IdeaShare will allow everyone to share ideas on four themes: how people can communicate better with each other at the Medical Center, how we can connect with each other around topics that excite us, how we can quickly respond to challenges we face, and how we might change our employee benefits.

“We are excited about this opportunity that is available to everyone at VUMC,” said Reed Omary, M.D., M.S., Carol D. and Henry P. Pendergrass Professor of Radiology and Radiologic Sciences and chair of the department and a leader of the Medical Center’s Strategic Directions team. “We would like to provide our community a new way to discover, learn and share their ideas with one another.”

Here’s how to participate:

  • Go to VUMC.spigit.com to set up an account in IdeaShare, which is quick and easy to do.
  • Share ideas in response to one or more of the questions (as many as you like).
  • Comment on others’ ideas.
  • Help push the ideas you like best to the top. During the last two weeks of IdeaShare, you’ll get to participate in a process called “Pairwise” where two ideas are presented together and you can select the one you like better.

“Working in Shared Governance, I hear great ideas all of the time,” said Erin Tickle, MMHC, R.N., director of Shared Governance.

“The challenge is that we do not have a mechanism to capture and share them. IdeaShare will allow each of us to post ideas and see what others are thinking. It’s a great way to connect and spread ideas outside of our ‘bubbles.’”

For FAQs about IdeaShare, go here.

For more information about VUMC’s Strategic Directions, go here.