What does research innovation actually mean?
Lauren Ball
Professor of Community Health & Wellbeing at The University of Queensland. Creatively blending research excellence, leadership and strategy to empower our most influential thought leaders.
Innovation is a concept that many researchers probably feel familiar with. Most grant applications require a subheading of ‘innovation’, and it’s typically where researchers describe how they are doing something new through their research project.
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However, I’ve only recently learned how far we still need to go in conceptualising research innovation. Outside of academia, organisations that are regarded as highly innovative have frameworks to systematically explore and exploit innovation opportunities. The hallmark of success is the value created through doing something new, rather than the novelty alone.
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Let’s see what else we can learn from innovation outside of a research context.
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There are four distinct types of innovation
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The OECD has defined four official types of innovation:
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Researchers could use these definitions to articulate the type of innovation associated with their research vision and outputs. By using a language known to other industries, researchers will increase the likelihood that the value of their work can be understood.
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Innovation does not only equal ‘newness’
Outside of academia, innovation is generally defined as a new idea that captures value, or an idea successfully implemented.
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This means there are two important components of innovation:
(1)?? The newness
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(2)?? The value created by the newness
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When I reflect on grant applications I’ve written and reviewed, the description of innovation usually misses the second part of the definition, articulating the value created through the new idea or application. The value gain may be hypothetical, but ideally, it would be measurable and predictable through preliminary work, giving confidence that genuine value will be unlocked through the proposed project.
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Research commercialisation
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Australia is considered to be lagging behind many other countries when it comes to research commercialisation, despite our exemplary rankings and standing worldwide. Although there are many possible reasons for this, the lack of focus researchers place on value creation in innovation could partly explain it.
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Universities tend to invest in basic sciences and early feasibility work due to the equipment and expertise available on campus, but it’s possible we lack the mindset and capability to continue into innovation demonstration and launch.
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Key examples of Australia’s commercialised research success include cochlear implants from UMelb, the Gardasil vaccine from UQ, and WiFi from the CSIRO. These examples could be viewed as innovations where researchers have been able to genuinely identify and grow the value created by the newness in the work.
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The lesson for researchers is that innovation efforts must continue for value from great ideas to be realised, even when the new ideas are fully conceptualised.
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Research impact
Australia’s research impact narrative implies that new knowledge created through research should be curated to a point where it can provide benefit to the next user, whether that be a policy maker, health professional, industry partner, patient or taxpayer.
The concept of research impact aligns with the concept of innovation, particularly if you consider knowledge to be an idea that moves along a continuum towards realising value. Essentially, innovation and impact are similar concepts, but the language used to describe them is different. Researchers should be aware of the language of innovation used by businesses, particularly when looking for investment to help realise their research vision.
Tips for writing about innovation
Researchers completing the innovation section of their grants should articulate:
1)??? The type of innovation (as defined by the OECD) that the research is demonstrating.
2)??? How the research creates value, rather than just being novel. Consider whether the value is either (i) saving costs or effort or (ii) gaining capacity, productivity, or quality.
3)??? The magnitude of the value being created through the idea. While all value is important, describe whether the savings or gains are incremental or transformational.
These three components will clearly articulate why investment in your research is worthwhile.
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3 个月Am agree with you. ?
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4 个月Thanks for sharing Lauren Ball. This is an important discussion with increasing complexity in public health challenges and diverse determinants we need to embrace innovation across research and practice to help tackle these enormous challenges. Measuring and sharing incremental learnings along the way is also a really timely and important ongoing conversation for funding opportunities and for the public health community to keep sharing and discussing. Thanks again for starting this conversation.