Share ideas.
Take the next step together.
The WirkFabrik network tool helps you collect ideas and discover what you have in common. This guide shows you how, step by step.
All you need to get started is your event link or event code.
1. Open your shared board
Click the link you received from the event organiser. It opens your shared noticeboard. In the tool, this is called a “board”.
Only received a code? Open the network tool on your event platform. Enter the code in the “Event code” field and click the arrow beside it.
2. Write down your idea
A contribution is called an “input” in the tool. The “Input” section has three fields:
- Topic: What is it about?
- Challenge: Where do you need help?
- Idea / next step: What would you like to try?
Filling in one field is enough. You can also use all three. Keep it short and specific. Try to focus on one thing per contribution.
For example:
Topic: Use less electricity at work.
Challenge: We do not know which machines use the most electricity.
Idea: We are looking for another business to measure electricity use and share experiences with.
Under “Add your perspective (optional)”, you can add your industry or region. This helps others understand your contribution. You can also leave these details out.
Under “Pop-up in your city (optional)”, you can enter a city and country. Where would you like a pop-up implementation atelier? These are hands-on workshops where people work on practical ideas together. Your details help us plan suitable cities. You can fill in both fields or just one. We do not need an address.
Your city and country are visible with your contribution on the board and included in exports. If you do not want this, leave the fields blank.
3. Save your contribution
Click “Put input to work” at the bottom of the form. This means submitting and saving your contribution.
Wait for the message “Contribution saved.” You can then add another idea.
Important: Your contribution is not saved until you submit it. Wait for confirmation before closing the window.
4. Discover similar ideas
Click “Refresh results” to see new contributions.
The tool groups similar topics together. These groups are called “clusters”. Click “View inputs” to read the contributions in a group.
Want to see everything? Choose “View all inputs”. You can also search for a word there, such as “energy” or “education”.
5. Find out what you can do together
Under “Cross-connections”, the tool suggests contributions that might fit together.
Click “Compare inputs” and read both contributions. Discuss: Do we have a similar problem? Can we learn from each other? What could we try together?
The suggestions are there to help you think. You decide whether they make sense. The tool does not contact anyone or arrange conversations.
A useful next step is small and specific: Arrange a short conversation or a shared experiment, for example. Agree who will take care of it and when you will follow up.
6. Take the results with you
Want to keep working with the contributions after the event? Choose “Download CSV” in the contribution list. You will receive a file you can open in Excel, for example.
If you selected a topic group or search results first, “Selection as CSV” downloads only those contributions.
Each contribution stays on the board for 30 days after it is saved. Download the results in time if you want to keep them longer.
Organising your own event?
Here is how to provide a shared board:
- Open the network tool and click “Start a new board”.
- Open “Share board”.
- Click “Copy link” and share the link with your participants.
If copying does not work, select the displayed link and copy it yourself. Ask everyone to use the same link so that all contributions end up in one place.
What you should know about your details
Anyone with the board link or event code can read the contributions. Please do not include confidential information.
You can leave a way to reach you under “Add contact details (optional)”. You must agree to these details being stored. Details in this contact field are not displayed publicly and are not included in downloaded files.
If something goes wrong
- The code does not work? Use the full event link or ask the event organiser.
- The form shows an error? Read the message beside the field and correct your entry.
- Not sure whether your contribution was saved? Check the board before submitting it again.
- Topic groups are not showing? Try again later. You can often still read the contributions using “View all inputs”.