INNOVATION

The act of introducing something new (the american heritage dictionary) A new idea, method or device (Webster online) Change that creates a new dimension of performance (Peter Drucker) The introduction of new goods, new methods of production, the opening of new markets, the conquest of new sources of supply and the carrying out of a new organization of any industry (Joseph Schumpeter) Innovation is a new element introduced in the network which changes, even if momentarily, the costs of transactions between at least two actors, elements or nodes, in the network (Regis Cabral) The three stages in the process of innovation: invention, translation and commercialization (Bruce D. Merrifield) The ability to deliver new value to a customer (Jose Campos) Innovation is the way of transforming the resources of an enterprise through the creativity of people into new resources and wealth (Paul Schumann) Innovation does not relate just to a new product that would come into the marketplace. Innovation can occur in processes and approaches to the marketplace (David Schmittlen) The 4Ps of Innovation: Innovation is often in the eye of the beholder - what may be new and radical for one person, may be old news for another. Despite this subjectivity in identifying and classifying innovation, there has been useful work in thinking about the focus of different innovation processes, guided by the question: what is it that innovation processes seek to change and improve?

The 4Ps model developed by John Bessant and Joe Tidd provide a powerful tool for such analysis. It builds on the hypothesis that successful innovation is essentially about positive change, and puts forward four broad categories where such change can take place:

'Product innovation changes in the things (products/services) which an organization offers 'Process innovation changes in the ways in which products and services are created or delivered 'Position innovation changes in the context in which the products/services are framed and communicated 'Paradigm innovation changes in the underlying mental models which shape what the organization does

Product innovation Perhaps the most commonly understood form of innovation is that which introduces or improves a product or service a change in what is offered to end users. The Bic ballpoint pen is an example of a product innovation, which has also benefited from a range of incremental innovations since its original invention. The emblematic humanitarian product is food, which is the dominant form of assistance. Different forms of food aid might be seen as incremental innovations. There may also be innovative products which help to achieve humanitarian goals. For example, the LifeStraw is a portable water filter developed by Vestergaard-Frandsen which enables individuals to drink clean water from almost any source. Process innovation Innovations can also focus on processes through which products are created or delivered. Because so many of the products used in relief settings are initially developed for non-relief contexts, a natural focus for humanitarian innovation is to consider how an existing product might be used in resource-poor or rapidly changing settings. Examples of process innovations that have had a positive effect on the humanitarian sector are the increasing

stockpiling of goods in strategic locations, or the use of pre-made packs and kits. Position innovation The third focus of innovation involves re- positioning the perception of an established product or process in a specific context. Position-based innovations refer to changes in how a specific product or process is perceived symbolically and how they are used. For example, Levi-Strauss jeans are a wellestablished global product line, originally developed as manual workers clothing materials, but then re-branded as a fashion item. In the humanitarian context, position innovations include changes in the signals that are disseminated about a humanitarian organisation and its work. This may relate to the way in which aid is marketed and packaged for potential donors. Alternatively, it may involve a repositioning of humanitarian assistance within a particular operational context or for particular users. An example of the former can be seen in attempts by humanitarian agencies in different complex emergencies to develop principle based cross-agency positions in relation to belligerent parties in complex emergencies which amount to a set of conditions under which humanitarian aid would be delivered, and a clear articulation of the situations where it would not. Agencies such as Disability International or HelpAge International are position innovators in that they call for the delivery of humanitarian products and services to groups that are often excluded. Paradigm innovation The final P relates to innovation that defines or redefines the dominant paradigms of an organisation or entire sector. Paradigm-based innovations relate to the mental models which shape what an organisation or business is about. Henry Ford provides a pithy quote, when talking about the development of the Model T motor car: If I asked people what they wanted, they would have asked for a five-legged horse. Examples of paradigm innovation in the international humanitarian sector include an increasing emphasis on local ownership and leadership of responses to crises as an alternative

to internationally dominated responses. A greater and more central role for aid recipients is another example, and finally, perhaps the most radical innovation is the idea of disaster risk reduction approaches, which if successful can negate the need for any kind of response. Innovation Types "Innovation" is most often used in describing new inventions, but innovation is so much more. Often times we dont even recognize innovation because it is so pervasive. The Warren Company has identified the following seven types of innovation. Sometimes companies focus on one type of innovation but often times several of the types will be part of a companys innovation toolkit. 1. Technical invention: Product Creation/Development with a new core technology. Next/new generation, breakthrough/discontinuous technology:

Example: composite hockey stick

2. Systems solution: Rethinking and integrating existing systems to solve complex customer problems:

use solution alliances to integrate complexities often generates new solutions to existing problems usually closely linked to customer Example: self-serve check-outs

3. Product improvement: Continuous improvements making the product more:

efficient, effective leveraging existing core technology useful or user friendly integrated with other products, technologies, or systems valuable to users Example: automobile

4. Process improvement: Make processes:

simpler faster more accurate more reliable less expensive more integrated Example: lean manufacturing.

5. New business models: Reconfigure the nature of how business is framed to serve the customer:

make it easier to do business create more integrated products and services devise better ways to be profitable use resources in a new way Example: Dell Computers, selling computer online rather than through dealers

6. Market extension: Develop new products, services to:

support Existing Customers Market Bases who buy our current products facilitate product/technological adoption and create value from usage introduce new services & value streams Example: IBM migrated from being a hardware/software company to a services company.

7. Socio-organizational: Design new human relationships to:

increase results (strategic alliances & value networks) reorient or restructure human interaction (Facebook, employee ownership, diversity of thought) enable people to interact differently with technology

Example: Westjet employee ownership

Innovation process

Heuristics
Heuristic refers to experience-based techniques for problem solving, learning, and discovery. Where the exhaustive search is impractical, heuristic methods are used to speed up the process of finding a satisfactory solution; mental short cuts to ease the cognitive load of making a decision. Examples of this method include using a rule of thumb, an educated guess, an intuitive judgment, or common sense. In more precise terms, heuristics are strategies using readily accessible, though loosely applicable, information to control problem solving in human beings and machines. The most fundamental heuristic is trial and error, which can be used in everything from matching nuts and bolts to finding the values of variables in algebra problems.

Types of Heuristics:

Anchoring and adjustment

Describes the common human tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered (the "anchor") when making decisions.

Availability heuristic

A mental shortcut that occurs when people make judgments about the probability of events by the ease with which examples come to mind.

Representativeness heuristic

A mental shortcut used when making judgments about the probability of an event under uncertainty.

Nave diversification

When asked to make several choices at once, people tend to diversify more than when making the same type of decision sequentially.

Escalation of commitment

Describes the phenomenon where people justify increased investment in a decision, based on the cumulative prior investment, despite new evidence suggesting that the cost, starting today, of continuing the decision outweighs the expected benefit.

Familiarity heuristic

A mental shortcut applied to various situations in which individuals assume that the circumstances underlying the past behavior still hold true for the present situation and that the past behavior thus can be correctly applied to the new situation. Especially prevalent when the individual experiences a high cognitive load.

Synectics

Synectics is a problem solving methodology that stimulates thought processes of which the subject may be unaware. This method was developed by George M. Prince and William J.J. Gordon The process was derived from tape-recording (initially audio, later video) meetings, analysis of the results and experiments with alternative ways of dealing with the obstacles to success in the meeting. "Success" was defined as getting a creative solution that the group was committed to implement. The name Synectics comes from the Greek and means "the joining together of different and apparently irrelevant elements." Gordon and Prince named both their practice and their new company Synectics, which can cause confusion as people not part of the company are trained and use the practice. While the name was trademarked, it has become a standard word for describing creative problem solving in groups. The Synectics study has attempted to research creative process in vivo, while it is going on." According to assumptions:

Gordon,

Synectics

research

has

three

main

The creative process can be described and taught; Invention processes in arts and sciences are analogous and are driven by the same "psychic" processes; Individual and group creativity are analogous.

With these assumptions in mind, Synectics believes that people can be better at being creative if they understand how creativity works. One important element in creativity is embracing the seemingly irrelevant. Emotion is emphasized over intellect and the irrational over the rational. Through understanding the emotional and irrational elements of a problem or idea, a group can be more successful at solving a problem. Prince emphasized the importance of creative behaviour in reducing inhibitions and releasing the inherent creativity of

everyone. He and his colleagues developed specific practices and meeting structures which help people to ensure that their constructive intentions are experienced positively by one another. The use of the creative behaviour tools extends the application of Synectics to many situations beyond invention sessions (particularly constructive resolution of conflict). Gordon emphasized the importance of "'metaphorical process' to make the familiar strange and the strange familiar". He expressed his central principle as: "Trust things that are alien, and alienate things that are trusted." This encourages, on the one hand, fundamental problem-analysis and, on the other hand, the alienation of the original problem through the creation of analogies. It is thus possible for new and surprising solutions to emerge.