Mental Health Ideas Lab

An innovative approach to founding research groups

What is the project about?

The Ideas Lab brought together 29 international researchers from a wide range of disciplines to develop innovative research approaches for improving the mental health of children and adolescents. The starting point was a set of research questions contributed by individuals with lived experience, family members, and professionals through the crowdsourcing project “Tell Us!”. Over the course of five days, participants worked in rotating interdisciplinary teams to identify research needs and develop concrete project ideas. Throughout the process, they were supported by mentors, facilitators, and experts with lived experience. The aim was to establish new interdisciplinary research groups and develop fundable research projects, with a particular focus on supporting children of parents with mental illness.

What is the goal of the project?

The Ideas Lab aimed to foster the formation of interdisciplinary research teams and the development of innovative research projects addressing societally relevant challenges in the field of child and adolescent mental health. It provided participants with a unique opportunity to establish new collaborations, integrate diverse perspectives, and jointly develop competitive research proposals with strong potential for external funding.

Who participates in the project?

The Ideas Lab brought together 29 international researchers from 15 countries. Participants were carefully selected from a wide range of disciplines, including psychiatry, psychology, neuroscience, sociology, health sciences, computer science, education, law, and the arts and humanities. This diverse composition was designed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and support the development of innovative solutions to challenges related to the mental health of children and adolescents.

How are participants involved in the project?

Participants were actively engaged in a multi-day, interactive co-creation process. Working in rotating teams, they collaboratively developed research questions and project ideas, received continuous feedback from mentors, and presented their concepts multiple times for further refinement. The programme incorporated a range of methods, including icebreaker and networking activities, structured creativity and ideation exercises (“How to...?” sessions), iterative team development, Mentor Clinics, and peer feedback. Prior to the Ideas Lab, participants were connected through an online platform (“Hub”) to facilitate networking, knowledge exchange, and collaboration.

How are participants recruited for the project?

Participants were recruited through an international open call as well as targeted outreach to researchers. To this end, nearly 1,000 contacts from academic networks, scientific journals, and research institutions were approached. A subset of potential candidates also received direct invitations via email or telephone. As a result, 136 researchers submitted applications, from which 30 participants were selected to take part in the Ideas Lab.

What are the results of the project?

The central outcome of the Ideas Lab was the development and selection of two interdisciplinary Ludwig Boltzmann Research Groups, D.O.T. and Village, which implemented innovative research and intervention approaches for children of parents with mental illness between 2018 and 2021. The Ideas Lab provided participants with the opportunity to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries, build new networks, and jointly develop innovative research projects. Through intensive exchange with researchers from different fields, as well as with people with lived experience, new perspectives emerged and fundable research consortia were formed. From a societal perspective, the Ideas Lab helped ensure that research questions directly contributed by people with lived experience and their families were taken up and translated into concrete solutions for children of parents with mental illness. As a result, two interdisciplinary Research Groups were established, working on preventive and supportive measures with direct societal benefit.

Project lead

Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft, Open Innovation in Science Center

bssvpr.bvf@yot.np.ng