Neuroscience has found a well-established relationship between physical activity, creativity and learning, which are key ingredients to innovation. Active collaboration is a new concept, inspired by our research into active learning and embodied learning from the classroom. It’s all about encouraging people at work to get out of passive behaviors and become more physically and emotionally engaged in the creative process.

Physical movement engages cognitive-processing areas in the brain, which research has shown to help offload working memory. This allows people to free up energy in other areas of the brain to develop novel ideas. Static sitting sabotages our ability to concentrate. Standing or moving throughout the room boosts attention by pumping oxygen and fresh blood through the brain. Research has also shown using our hands to gesture, draw or write, engages our sensorimotor systems not tapped when inactive. Environments that allow for a range of postures and positive stimuli also encourages engagement.

Stanford researchers found that walking boosts creative inspiration: It increased a person's creative output by an average of 60 percent. In another Stanford study conducted by the d.school and reported in the book “Make Space,” researchers looked at four prototype spaces to understand how working environments impact collaboration. The space that encouraged students to stand and move around “facilitated a hearty crop of ideas.” Conversely, “students comfortably seated on couches often settled back into criticizing others ideas rather than jumping into creating new ones.”

Microsoft Surface Hub 2S and Steelcase Roam support active collaboration by encouraging physical activity to promote better cognitive outcomes and emotional engagement. Teams feel a sense of shared purpose and encouragement to explore and build on each others ideas.