Innovation Exchange

“The desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world” wrote espionage novelist John LeCarre. Yet since the rise of the ‘knowledge economy’ that is where most leaders stay, locked away by organisational priorities and packed schedules. This can be an effective approach when we already know what needs to be done and just need to get on with it. But for complex challenges like creating independent living, we also need to invest in exploration and discovery, to tap into the emerging opportunities for innovation, and to develop ‘next practice’. What new thinking, model or approach – be it tacit, fragmented, unproven or distant today – will be core to public services tomorrow? So we invited together a group of innovators – from the third sector and public sector – to be our ‘search party’ over two intense days (26-27 March). Their challenge was to identify some of the key opportunity spaces for the future of independent living. We designed an immersive field trip to a number of people, projects and places rich with raw insights – some familiar territory, others less so (more here). To extract the most from these visits, the group was encouraged to learn and practice new skills of observation, much like an anthropologist might in the field, eg.: - Experience ‘vu-deja’ (looking at things as though for the first time), – Let your curiosity be in charge, using all your senses, – Suspend judgement, for longer than what feels normal, – Focus on ‘what’, not ‘why?’ (parking your hypothesis for now). In addition, and unlike a conventional field trip (eg. in & out, see & leave), the group had structured time to share insights, add up pieces of the picture, and find connections between what different people were observing. On a number of occasions insights from the same visit were very different, leading to some of the most important conversations, and ultimately an expanded, shared sense of the possibilities. We weren’t really sure what we’d find, but wanted to make sure we could share the experiment with the rest of you working in the area of independent living. So a camera was introduced as the ‘shortest member of the group’, and all of us tried to make sure it got to see and hear what the group did. First screened at the Festival of Ideas last week, you can now see the short film here.

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Here are some of the themes and opportunity spaces that emerged: Themes in the insights: People use the same service in their own unique ways Simple solutions use social networks (respect / reciprocity) Energetic and innovative teams are key to delivery Personal touch is everything ‘Want’ is a bigger pull than ‘need’ Innovators struggle to sell what they know or have ‘Small services’ can manage to serve people the best People are willing to pay in environments where they’re getting a ‘good deal’ Good design is inclusive design Social interaction is a big pull to use services Time taking to secure funding makes innovation inefficient or impossible Opportunity spaces: – How to get social entrepreneurs to capture the imagination of investors? – How to create products and services that users want, not what they think they need? – How to make a service that feels like a ‘good deal’? – How to involve society in the creation of independent living? – How to create partnerships that link complimentary services regardless of which sectors the organisations are classified within? My hope is that this initial intervention will help set the tone for the kinds of creative collaborations the Innovation Exchange can support, not just for scoping opportunities on behalf of the sector, but for generating ideas and implementing them. Would love to hear what you make of it. This intervention was designed and delivered by The Hub. For more information please get in touch on menka.parekh@the-hub.net or 0207 841 8900.