德国阿登纳基金会KAS 创客马拉松

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WhyDoesEuropeNeedGoodIdeas?

Europe’scapacitytoactisbeingputtothetestbysecurityrisks,economicandtechnologicalcompetition,demo-graphicageing,andstrainsondemocratictrustandsocialcohesion.“Newideas”areapracticalrequirementagainstsuchabackdrop.Democraticparticipationbecomesastrategicadvantageonlywhenpluralityistranslatedintoworkablesolutions.

WhatistheKASMakerthon?

TheKASMakerthonisanaction-orientedideationformat.Teamswhosemembersareintentionallydiverseworkintenselywithinacompacttimeframe(usuallythreedays)onpredefinedsocietalorpoliticalchallenges.Theaimisnotacomprehensivestrategy,butoriginalandimple-mentableproposalsthatcanbetranslatedintopoliticalandsocietalpractice.

WhatMakestheConceptDistinctive?

Structuredfour-phaseworkflow(Analysis,Ideation,Execution,Pitch)fromproblem-framingtopitch-readyideas.

Deliberateheterogeneitytoreducepathdependenceandgroupthink.

Participationbydesign:methodssuchastheIdeaRelaysecureinputfromquieterparticipantspriortoevaluation.

Qualitycontrol:toolssuchastheCOCD-Boxtestfeasibilityandoriginality;structuredpeercritique(e.g.TeamSwap)consolidatesproposals.

Builtforuptake:pitchesaredesignedforrealaudiencesanddecision-makers,creatingacrediblepathwayfromideastoagenda-setting.

WhereistheConceptUsed?

Theconceptwasfirstimplementedbyscholarshiphold-ersinCologneandhasnowbecomearegularfeatureintheKonrad-Adenauer-Stiftungscholarshipprogramme(student-initiatedseminars),withnewcohortsadoptingandcontinuingtheformat.Buildingonthiscoredesign,theKASMakerthonEuropewasintroducedin2023:itbroadensparticipationbeyondthescholarshipcommuni-tyandlinksresultstotheStateofEurope(“Europa-Rede”)inBerlinasahighlyvisibleforumforstrategicreflection.

WhichIdeasWereDevelopedDuringthe2025KASMakerthonEurope?

Numerousproposalsweredevelopedatthe2025KASMakerthonEurope.FourselectedideaswerepitchedliveonstageattheStateofEuropeastheformat’sfinalists:

aEuropeansecurityapp(“ReadyEU”)tostrengthen

crisispreparedness;(2)theEurovisionStart-upContest,apan-Europeanentrepreneurshipcompetitioncombiningexpertassessmentwithcitizenmicro-investment;(3)EUGenInvest,anEU-backedstart-in-lifefundforeverychildtosupporteducation,housing,health,orentrepreneur-ship;and(4)theEuropeanMonumentChallenge,invitingcitiestojointlycreatemonumentsthatcombineasenseoflocalbelongingwithEuropeanvalues.

Introduction–TheNeedforNewIdeas 5

TheKASMakerthonConcept 9

TheKASMakerthonProcess 12

WarmUp–TheAnalysisPhase 12

BuildtheMomentum–TheIdeationPhase 13

Makers’High–TheExecutionPhase 15

PhotoFinish–ThePitchPhase 16

PuttingtheConceptintoPractice 17

AnalysisPhase–“DiscoverIt!” 18

IdeationPhase–“IdeateIt!” 19

ExecutionPhase–“MakeIt!” 20

PitchPhase–“ShareIt!” 20

EuropeofIdeas 25

ReadyWhenItMattersMost:

CrisisPreparednessinTimesofUpheaval 26

TwelvePointsforEurope:

EnablingEurope’sStart-UpFuture 27

FromDemographicChallengetoSharedOpportunity:ReimaginingEurope’sIntergenerationalContract 28

UnitedinDiversity:StrengtheningEurope’s

SenseofBelonging 29

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“Europeisaboutideas.

Itisaboutfindingthe

politicalcouragetoturnthoseideasintoreality.Thatistheessenceof

Europe,thatiswhathasdrivenusforwardfor

thelastdecades,andthatisthespiritweneedto

recapturenow–thatsenseofhopeandpossibility.

Weneednewideas.”

ThesewerethestrikingwordsthatopenedEuropeanParliamentPresidentRobertaMetsola’skeynoteaddresstotheStateofEuropeinNovember2023.Theappealresonatesbecauseitcapturesafundamentaltruth:theEuropeanprojecthasneverthrivedoninertia.Itslegiti-macyreliesontheabilitytocraftinnovative,convincingresponsestonewhistoricalchallenges.

Fordecades,theKonrad-Adenauer-Stiftunghasaccompa-niedEuropeanintegrationprocessesthroughpoliticaldialogue,researchandcapacitybuilding.Togetherwithitspartners,thefoundationhasbeenorganisingtheStateofEuropeinBerlinsince2010.ThisannualeventhasgrownintooneoftheleadingpublicforumsonEuropeanaffairsinGermany.Itspurposeisnottodiscussday-to-daypolitics.Instead,itoffersastagewhereleadingEuro-peanactorsreflectontheUnion’sconditionandarticu-latelonger-termhorizonsforitsdevelopment–beforeanaudiencethatincludespoliticalpractitioners,civilsociety,academia,andtheinterestedpublic.Indoingso,theStateofEuropeprovidesavenueforstrategicreflectionandforarticulatingfreshideastomeetthechallengesahead.

Democraciesdonotexcelbyreservingfuture-orientedthinkingforpoliticalelites,butratherbyunleashingtheircitizens’knowledge,creativityandexperience.Theytrans-formdiverseperspectivesintosharedprogress,turningsocietalpluralismintoasourceofinnovation.Intimesofacceleratedchange,participationisnotonlyademocraticvalue,butastrategicresource;expandingtheUnion’scapacitytoinnovateanddeepeningcitizens’trustindemocraticinstitutions.Thisparticipatorystrengthgivesdemocraciesadecisiveedgeoverautocracies,whichstifleinvolvementandthussquandertheirsocieties’potentialforrenewal.

Atthesametime,theEuropeanWayofLifeisunderpres-sure.TheUnionfacesamultitudeofexternalandinternalchallenges.Avolatilegeopoliticalenvironmentandheightenedsecurityriskscoincidewitheconomichead-winds,intensifiedtechnologicalcompetition,anddemo-graphicageing,andthisputspressureonwelfarestates.Inmanymemberstates,socialcohesionischallengedbypolarisation,erodingtrustininstitutions,anddoubtsaboutthecapacityofdemocraticprocedurestosolveproblems.Strategicreflections,suchasthoseintheKon-rad-Adenauer-Stiftung’s“ShapingEurope”1scenariostudy,underscorehowcloselythesestrandsareinterwo-venandhowstronglyEurope’sstrategicroomforma-noeuvrein2030willdependondecisionstakeninthisdecade.Againstthisbackdrop,Metsola’scallfor“newideas”isnotrhetoricalornamentation.ItisapracticalrequirementforsustainingEurope’scapacitytoactwhileremaininganchoredinitsvalues.

Participation,however,isnotself-executing.Democraticsystemsrequireformatsthattranslatepluralityintopro-ductiveproblem-solving,andpoliticalpartiesplayacen-tralroleinthistransmission.Theyaggregateinterests,structuredebatesandturndiffusepreferencesintoco-herentprogrammesanddecisions.Atthesametime,formatsmoretightlyboundbytimemaycomplementthislong-termworkbycreatingfocusedspacestothinkout-sidetheboxandtoarriveatinnovativeideaswithinashortperiodoftime.

Oneformatthathasprovenparticularlyusefulforsys-tematicallydevelopingsuchideasistheKASMakerthon.Itisanaction-orientedideationformatwithacompactandclearlystructuredtimeframethatisdesignedtohelpdiverseteamsmovefromaninitialsharedunderstandingofachallengetoconcrete,implementableapproaches.

Since2023,theKonrad-Adenauer-StiftunghasinvitedyoungtalentfromacrossEuropetotakepartinthisprocessandtopresenttheresultsoftheirworkattheStateofEurope.Itcreatesadirectlinkbetweenstruc-turedcitizen-driveninnovationandhigh-levelpoliticaldebate.

ThispublicationbuildsontheconvictionthatEurope’sneedfornewideasalsoimpliesaneedforeffectivetoolstogeneratethem.Itpursuesthreeaims.First,itintro-ducestheKASMakerthonconcept,outliningitsunderly-ingrationaleandcoredesignfeatures.Second,ittracesthepracticalimplementationofthisconceptinthecon-textoftheKASMakerthonEurope2025,showinghowtheprocessunfoldsinpractice,whichadaptationsweremadeontheground,andwhatorganisersandpartici-pantslearntalongtheway.Third,thepublicationpre-sentsthesubstantiveoutcomesofthe2025Makerthon

–ideasdevelopedbyyoungEuropeansonkeychallengesrangingfromsecurityandcompetitivenesstodemo-graphicchangeanddemocraticcohesion–andthusdemonstrateswhattheformatcanproduce.

IfEuropetrulyis“aboutideas”,thenrefininghowwecre-atethemisavitalsteptowardsshapingitsfuture.TheKASMakerthonembodiesyearsofiterativerefinement–tested,tweakedandvalidatedacrosscontexts.Itactsasatoolkitforparties,youthorganisations,thinktanksorcivicgroupstomobiliseEurope’scollectiveingenuity.Thispublicationisalsointendedtoserveasinspirationandguidanceforreplication.

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TheKASMakerthonisanaction-orientedideationformatthatbringstogetherdiverseteamsforintensive,time-boundcollaborationonpredefinedsocietalorpoliticalchallenges.Ratherthandrawingupcomprehensivestrat-egies,itaimstogenerateoriginalandimplementablesolutions.Participants(Makers)arehighlycommittedindividualsfromavarietyofdisciplinesandwithstrongtrackrecords.Workinginteams,theydevelop,test,anditerativelyrefineideasthatcanbetranslatedintocon-creteinitiatives,projects,andpolicy-relevantproposalsdesignedforreal-worldapplicationandpoliticaluptake.

IncontrasttoestablishedHackathons,whichtypicallyfocusontechnicalordigitalprototyping,Makerthonsfocusonsocial,creative,andgovernance-orientedap-proaches.Theformatisstillcomparativelynewandisnotyetwidelyinstitutionalised.Accordingly,thereisnostand-ardised“Makerthonmethod”.Existinginitiativesvaryconsiderablyintheirdesign,suchastheparticipationmode(in-person,digital,hybrid),temporalstructure(compactblockformatsversusmulti-sessionprocessesoverseveralmonths),participantselection(curatedco-hortsversusopenaccess),andthesequencingofprocesssteps.

TheauthorofthiscontributiondevelopedtheconceptpresentedhereandagroupofKonrad-Adenauer-StiftungscholarshipholdersimplementeditinCologneinMay2022forthefirsttime.Itwassubsequentlyrefinedbasedonpracticalexperience.Theinitialaimwastobetterleveragethethink-tankpotentialofadiverse,high-per-formingscholarshipcommunityforthefoundation’swork.Followingpositivefeedbackandtangibleoutputs,theKASMakerthonhasbecomearegularfeatureintheKonrad-Adenauer-StiftungScholarshipProgramme’ssem-inarportfolio.Sincethen,atleastoneMakerthonperyearhasbeendesigned,organisedandexecutedbytheschol-arshipholdersthemselveswithintheframeworkofstu-dent-initiatedseminars.Importantly,aftertheoriginalinitiatorscompletedtheirfundingperiod,newcohortsadoptedandcontinuedtheformat;indicatingrobustnessandthevalueparticipantsattributetoit.Methodological-ly,theformatisstructuredaroundoneoverarchingchal-lengeandtypicallyfoursub-challenges,eachaddressedbyateamofsomesixtoeightparticipantsandresultinginatotalgroupsizeofapproximately24to30people.

Buildingonthiscoredesign,theKASMakerthonEuropewasintroducedin2023asaspecialisedvariantthatdelib-eratelybroadenstheparticipantbasebeyondtheKon-rad-Adenauer-Stiftung’sscholarshipholders.Itbringstogetheryoungtalentfromoutsidethescholarshipcom-munity,includingparticipantsfromacrossEuropeandinternationalcontexts,whichenrichestheprocesswithadditionalprofessional,institutional,andculturalper-spectives.Whiletheunderlyingmethodologyremainsunchanged,theresultsarepresentedinthehigh-profilesettingoftheKonrad-Adenauer-Stiftung’sStateofEuropeeventinBerlin.This,inturn,ensuresdirectaccesstopoliticaldecision-makersandabroaderEuropeanaudi-ence.

Figure1:ThefourphasesoftheKASMakerthon.

TheKASMakerthonProcess

TheKASMakerthonprocessprovidesatime-boundframeworkthatstructurestheworkoftheMakersfrominitialproblem-framingtothepresentationofsolutions.Theformatisconductedasanin-personeventandusual-lytakesplaceoverafocusedthree-dayblock,enablingintensivecollaboration,sustainedmomentum,anditera-tiverefinementofideas.Itsfour-phaseworkflowissum-marisedinFigure1.Thesubsequentsectionsspecifyeachphaseindetail.

Fromanoperationalstandpoint,theKASMakerthonben-efitsfromaroomlayoutthatreflectsitsalternationbe-tweenplenaryinputsandparallelteamwork.Ideally,onelargerplenaryroomisavailablefortheCoachBriefing,PitchCoaching,andtheInternalHeats(fordetails,seethesubsequentsections),complementedbythreeadditionalbreakoutroomsthatcanbeassignedasdedicatedteamworkspaces(withtheplenaryroomdoublingasafourthteamroomduringparallelwork).Sincetheprocessreliesonvisualclustering,posting,andstructuredpeerfeed-back,eachworkspaceshouldbeequippedwithpin-boardsorwhiteboardsandabasicfacilitationkit(flip-chartpaper,markers,stickynotes,tape,andcolouredvotingdots),toenablerapidsynthesisandconsistentdocumentation.

TheorganisersselecttheMakersinadvanceandassignthemtodeliberatelyheterogeneousteams.Indoingso,careistakentocombinesubject-matterexpertswithparticipantsfromoutsidetherespectivefieldineachgroup.Thisteamdesignisintendedtofosterunconven-tional,out-of-the-boxthinkingandtoavoidpath-depend-ent,discipline-boundsolutionpatternsandgroupthink.Fromtheoutset,theoverarchingchallengeandsub-chal-lengesareintroducedandcontextualised,supportedbyexpertinputtoestablishasharedunderstandingoftheissuesatstake.Thecoreoftheprocessliesinteam-basedworkonthesub-challenges:fourparallelgroupsofMak-ersdevelop,test,andrefinesolutionapproacheswithintheoverarchingthematicframe.Theprocessculminatesinstructuredpitches,inwhichTeamAnchorspresenttheirgroups’proposalstoanexternalaudienceandpoliticaldecision-makers.

WarmUp–TheAnalysisPhase

TheAnalysisPhasepreparesMakersbothsubstantivelyandsociallyfortheKASMakerthon’sintensivework.Itaimstocreateasharedunderstandingoftheoverarchingchallengeandsub-challenges,whilealsobuildingsuffi-cienttrustwithinthegroupforopen,creative,andattimescontroversialdiscussion.Thephasebeginsaheadoftheon-sitemeetingandcontinuesthroughthefirstplenaryactivitiesonsite.

Inafirststep,participantsreceiveaccesstopreparatorymaterialaheadoftheMakerthon.Thismaterialtypicallycombinesmoredemandingresources(suchasscientificarticles,policypapersoranalyticalreports)withlow-thresholdformats(suchaspodcasts,explanatoryvideosorshortbriefings).Self-studyisvoluntaryandself-direct-ed.Participantsareinvited,butnotobliged,toengagewiththematerial,andareexplicitlyencouragedtodrawontheirownpriorknowledge,experience,andsources.Thisapproachlowersentrybarriers,accommodatesdif-ferentlearningstyles,andtimeconstraints.Moreover,itavoidstheimpressionthatthereisasingleknowledgebasefromwhichallsolutionsmustbederived.

InorderfortheMakerthontosucceed,itmaybebenefi-cialforparticipantsnottobeembeddedintightlyknit

pre-existinggroupstructuresandnottohavestrongpriorsocialtiesthatshapeinteractionsinadvance.Freshcon-stellationsencourageparticipantstomeetoneanotherwithanopenmindandtoengagewithargumentsratherthanestablishedrolesoralliances.ThatiswhyaMakersHuddletakesplaceuponarrival,allowingparticipantstointroducethemselves,andgettoknoweachother.Thissequenceofshortinteractionexercisesisimportantforfosteringaconstructiveatmosphere,sothatparticipantsfeelateasecontributingtheirideas,raisingconcerns,andbringingforwardpreliminarythoughtsduringthesubse-quentphases.

Oncetheinitialsocialgroundworkhasbeenlaid,asub-stantiveorientationthroughaCoachBriefinginplenarytakesplace.Invitedexpertsgiveconcisepresentationsthatcovertheoverarchingchallengeaswellasall

sub-challenges,outliningkeytrends,dilemmas,andpointsofcontention.InpreviousMakerthons,distinguishedscholarshavecontributedtothisinput–forexample,ProfDrCorneliaWollandProfDrKarl-RudolfKorte–aswellastopic-specificpractitioners.Theroleoftheexperts

isnottoprescribesolutionsortochampionspecificposi-

tions.Rather,theirtaskistoraiseparticipants’awarenessaboutkeyissues,highlightrelevantconstraintsandblindspots,andofferfundamentalinsightsthatmayinform,butdonotpredetermine,theideationprocess.Onlyalimitednumberofclarifyingquestionscanbeaddressedintheplenaryduetotimeconstraints.Ideally,expertsupportremainsavailablethroughouttheKASMaker-thon.However,inthecontextofinitiativeseminars,ongo-ingattendanceisoftenunrealistic.ItthereforesufficesifexpertsattendtheCoachBriefingandareavailableagain

fortheInternalHeats(fordetails,seethesubsequentsections).Thissupportcanbeorganisedflexibly.Sincethesameexpertsdonotneedtocoverbothelements,theInternalHeatscandrawonadditionalordifferentcoachesasneeded.

Takentogether,theseelementsoftheAnalysisPhase–optionalpreparatorymaterial,deliberateteamcomposi-tion,aninteractiveMakersHuddle,andanon-prescriptiveCoachBriefing–guaranteethatparticipantsenterthesubsequentideationworkwithbothaminimumcommonknowledgebaseandasupportivegroupclimate.ThiscombinationisakeystrengthoftheKASMakerthonfor-mat.Itlevelstheplayingfieldwithoutenforcinguniform-itybycreatingconditionsinwhichdiverseperspectivescanbeproductivelybroughttobearoncomplexsocietalandpoliticalchallenges.

BuildtheMomentum–TheIdeationPhase

TheIdeationPhasemarksthetransitionfromsharedprob-lemunderstandingtothedeliberategenerationof

amultitudeofpotentialapproachestothedefinedchal-

lenges.Aftertheplenaryintroduction,thepre-assignedteams(typicallyfourgroups,TeamsI–IV)conveneintheirrespectiveroomstostrengthentheirspecificviewpointwithinthegivensub-challenge.Divergentthinkingisexplic-itlyprioritisedatthisstage.Noproposalisruledoutinad-vanceandcriticismorevaluationisdeliberatelyomitted.

Theemphasisliesoncreativevision,opennessandcuri-osity.Theobjectiveistoproduceasmanydifferentap-proachestoaddressingtheproblemaspossible.Tochan-nelthiscreativityinawaythatisbothparticipation-orientedandefficient,theKASMakerthonusestwocomplementarymethods:theIdeaRelayandtheIdeaCircuit.

IdeaRelay(in-team):inafirststep,participantsworkinsilenceandindependentlyreflectonthesub-challenge.EachMakerwritesdownapproachesorideaelementsonasheetofpaperinshort,self-containedentries.Whensomeonefeelsliketheyhavenothingfurthertocontrib-uteatthattime,theysignalthisbyturningthesheetaround.Thesheetsarethenpassedtothenextpartici-pant,whoreadswhathasalreadybeenwrittenandaddsfurtherapproachesorvariations–withoutcriticising,filteringorrankingpreviousentries.Thisrelaycontinuesuntilallsheetshavecirculatedthroughtheteamandarefinallyplacedinthecentreofthetable.

Oncethesilentphaseisover,theteambrieflyorganisesthecollectedmaterial.Theentriesarereadout,grouped,summarised,andconsolidated.Overlapsaremerged,relatedideasareclustered,andinitialthematicstrandsbegintoemerge.Crucially,thisstepisnotsubjecttoeval-uation.Itssolepurposeistostructureandpreservetheincreasingnumberofrawapproachideas,ensuringthatallvoicesarecaptured–includingthoseofmorereservedparticipants–andthattheseinitialpotentialwaysfor-wardremainasbroadaspossiblepriortoanyformofassessment.AsafinalstepwithintheIdeaRelay,there-sultingclustersaretransferredontopinboardsorwhite-boardsineachteam’sroominaclearandlegibleform.

Thepurposeisdocumentation,notcompletion.Boardentriesmaystillbeincompleteandlooselystructured.

PotentiallyFeasible

StandardIdeas OriginalIdeas

Figure2:TheCOCD-Box.

Not(Yet)Feasible

IdeaCircuit(cross-team):inasecondstep,theteamsbroadentheirsetofapproachesbydeliberatelyintroduc-ingexternalperspectives.AllMakersvisittheotherteams’rooms,reviewthedisplayedmaterial,engageinshortdiscussions,andaddnewprompts,extensions,andalter-nativeapproachideasdirectlyonmoderationcardsorstickynotes.

ThisIdeaCircuitdeliberatelyinvolvespeoplewhoarenotworkingindepthontherespectivesub-challenge.Theirexternalviewoftengiverisetoassumptionsthatinsiderstakeforgranted,highlightsparallelsbetweendifferentsub-challengesandtriggersfreshcombinationsofpartialapproaches.Atthispoint,thegoalremainstofosterexpansion,nottopassjudgement.Commentsandaddi-tionsaretreatedasfurtherapproachoptionsandbuild-ingblocks,notasanevaluativefilter.FollowingtheIdeaCircuit,eachteamreconvenesinitsownroom,reviewstheinput,andintegratesitintoitsclustersasadditionalideamaterial.

Thisway,theIdeationPhasecombinesfocusedteamworkwithstructuredcross-teamstimulation.Theresultisarich,well-documentedpoolofpreliminaryapproachestothechallenges–individualideas,combinations,andpos-sibleresponseoptions–thatisintentionallyunfilteredanddiverse.Thispoolprovidestherawmaterialonwhichthesubsequentphaseofconsolidationandfeasibilityassessmentcanbebuilt.

Makers’High–TheExecutionPhase

Uptothispoint,theKASMakerthonhasfocusedongen-eratingasmanyapproachesaspossible.TheExecutionPhaseshiftstheemphasisfrombreadthtopracticalityandoriginality.Itscoretaskistoidentifythoseideasthatarebothpromisingandcanberealisticallyimplemented.Ideasthatareclearlyunfeasiblewillnotbetakenseriouslybystakeholders.Forthisreason,thecollatedapproachesarenowassessedandprioritisedwithaviewtoreal-worldapplication.

TheKASMakerthonusestheCOCD-Box2asasimplebuteffectivetoolforthisassessment.Approachesarecatego-risedalongtwodimensions:easeofimplementation(fea-siblevs.unfeasible)andoriginality(standardvs.original).Thiscreatesfourfieldsinthematrix(seeFigure2).Eachteamatfirstdiscussestheapproachestoclarifyassump-tions,constraints,andintendedeffects.Basedonthisshareddiscussion,eachMakerthenindependentlyas-signseveryproposaltoaCOCD-fieldbyplacingacolouredsticker.Theresultingstickerdistributionillustrateswhichcategorisationcommandsmajoritysupportandwhereassessmentsdiverge.

Bluecanbeusedforstandardornon-innovativeideas.Practicalexperienceshowsthatsometypesofproposalstendtofallintothiscategory.Afrequentpatternisge-nericexchangeformats(“bringingpeopletogether”)orbroadinformationcampaigns.Theseideasarenotdis-missed,butaretreatedasbaselineoptions.Thefocusofthediscussionthenshiftstohowteamscanmovebeyondsuchstandardapproachestowardsmoredistinctive,tar-geted,andinnovativeproposals.

Themostrelevantideasarethosethatreceivethehigh-estnumberofredandyellowstickers.Redideasarees-peciallyvaluable,astheypromiseahighimpactwitharealisticchanceofimplementation.Yellowideasarealsodiscussedfurther,withtheexplicitaimofidentifyinghowtheirfeasibilitycouldbeimproved.

Oncetheteamshaveidentifiedtheirmostpromisingapproaches,theyprepareaFrontrunnerShowcaseintheirbreakoutroom.EachFrontrunnerShowcasefeaturesonlyasmall,curatedsetoftopproposals–usuallythree.

Thesearepresentedinaclearlystructuredandvisuallyaccessibleformat–forexamplethroughconcisehead-ings,diagrams,drawings,models,orbulletpointsdis-playedonpinboardsorwhiteboards.ThepurposeoftheFrontrunnerShowcaseistomaketheproposalseasytounderstandataglanceandtoestablishasharedrefer-encepointforstructureddiscussionandfeedbackwithotherparticipants.

TheFrontrunnerShowcaseisfollowedbytheTeamSwapinordertointroducethesecuratedproposalstoanexternalperspective.Inthisphase,theoriginalteamsaretempo-rarilydissolvedandreorganisedintomixedreviewgroups.Theorganisersassemblethegroupssothateachincludesmembersfromdifferentoriginalteams,whilemakingsurethatnooneevaluatestheFrontrunnerShowcasetheyhelpedtocreate.Eachreviewgroup–namedTeamCo-logne,TeamCadenabbia,TeamBonn,andTeamRhön-dorf–isassignedtooneunfamiliarFrontrunnerShowcaseandvisitsitwitha“freshpairoflegs”.Thegroupjointlyinterpretsthedisplayedproposals.Itclarifieswhichprob-lemisbeingaddressed,identifiestheapproaches,andas-sesseswhatappearsparticularlystrong,unclear,orchal-lenging.Suggestionsforimprovementarerecordedonmoderationcardsandleftinthebreakoutroom.Thisway,theideasaresubjecttoconstructivescrutinybyparticipantswhohaveworkedondifferentsub-challengesandcanthereforecrediblycontributenewperspectives.

Finally,theoriginalteamsreconveneintheirownrooms.Theyreadthroughthefeedback,discussit,anddecidewhichsuggestionstheywanttoadopt.Theythenrefinetheirapproaches,clarifyopenquestions,and,wherenecessary,adjusttheirproposalsonthebasisofthis.AttheendoftheExecutionPhase,eachteamhasasmallsetofrefined,practice-orientedsolutionapproachesthatarereadytobepreparedforpresentationinthesubsequentPitchPhase.

PhotoFinish–ThePitchPhase

ThePitchPhaseturnstherefinedsolutionapproachesintoconcisepresentationsthataresuitableforanaudi-enceandcanbecommunicatedbeyondtheMakerthon,especiallytoexternalstakeholdersandpoliticaldeci-sion-makers.TheKASMakerthonisnotdesignedtopro-duceresults“forthedrawer”.Itsambitionistopromotepoliticalandsocietaldebatebyarticulatingconcreteandactionableproposals.ThePitchPhasethereforefocuses

onchannellingcomplexideasintoclearmessages,testingtheirplausibilityunderexternalscrutinyandframingtheminawaythatenablesuptakebyr