If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me - more than happy to help.

 Good luck!

The conversation will focus on:

The experiences of the Innovation Exchange so far and its future plans
The rise of ‘innovation brokers’ like the Exchange
The challenge of evaluation
Discussion of a draft tender for an evaluation of the work of Innovation Exchange

Time: 11am-1pm, 15th July
Location: Resource Centre, 356 Holloway Road, London, London N7 6PA

To register to part of this conversation, please click here.

Click here for directions to the event. If you have any questions or queries, please email Raj Cheema.

“A new type of organisation is emerging within the world of public services. They are known as ‘innovation brokers’. Not a very glamorous title, and not necessarily a title that these organisations would claim for themselves, but they are modelling themselves on intermediary organisations that have existed in other sectors for years – such as innovation and science parks, incubators, accelerators, exchanges, labs and studios.”

“But, in principal, what’s wrong with charities delivering public services? Aren’t you doing exactly the same for welfare reform and helping the long term unemployed into work?”

 His reply was:

” Third sector organisations are fantastic at in terms of reaching out to the people who are most vulnerable, in being innovative and we’ve got our Innovation Exchange and extra resources going into building the capacity of the third sector, so that partnership is alive and kicking”.

 If you want to hear the programme, click here. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below or emailing us.

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So why am I bothering asking the question in the subject title?  Because for me the Exchange has the potential to work most effectively when there is collaboration between people who are not used to working with each other. It’s about much more than finding the next new thing.  It’s also about helping people to work together – the kind of people who seem to be on two parallel roads that hardly ever meet but head in the same direction.

Our research strongly supports this (shortly to be published online – watch the space!).  The insights from the Festival of Ideas demonstrated this; commissioners and innovators interested in similar areas openly conversed about their lack of relationship. Collaboration is a key element in the future of the Exchange. And strong collaboration comes from trust. My question is: how do we build trust between people who think they come from different worlds? Something that could be the most powerful ingredient in bringing real innovation that grows.  

I was speaking to local innovators who asked me why we had invited them to the festival. They didn’t understand how they fitted into the circle of people that were there. Innovation happens at all levels and in all environments. In some it’s encouraged, and in others it’s feared. Our job was to ensure that there was a diverse environment for people to engage in – so that they could tell us where we went wrong and how can we do better in the future. Building trust is not an easy task, but it can become easier if you tell us what you want us to do to help in this process.