Let's talk about innovation

We frequently hear the call to ‘be more innovative’. We hear it from government to business and academia; from executive leaders to their workforce; and – occasionally – from our own conscience to ourselves. But what does it mean to ‘be more innovative’; and how can we do it - more frequently, more consistently and more effectively?

In 2023, Jenny Lewis , Rachel Alsop , Olivia Martin and I evaluated the first phase of an innovation network across the National Health Service (NHS) in England. In doing so, we were able to observe people and organisations discussing and applying ideas about how to ‘be more innovative’, and striving to do so more frequently, more consistently and more effectively. We gained valuable insights into the factors that can make being more innovative easier or more difficult, which we think will be of interest to anyone working in health and care services, public services more widely, and any organisation or network looking to ‘be more innovative’.

Over the next few months, in a short series of blogs, we will share our thoughts on:

• the value of collaborative networks as a source of innovative ideas, and as a learning community of practice;
• the power of unleashing the latent potential of people to be innovative, as well as how to make innovation more inclusive and diverse; and
• how to construct effective innovation opportunity pipelines, including demand-led – as well as supply-led - strategies.

If you would like to discuss how you or your organisation can ‘be more innovative’, or learn more about our research, then please get in touch. We would also be delighted to hear from you about your experience of how to ‘be more innovative’.

You can reach us at: [email protected] and [email protected]