Redland

Supporting Innovation

Innovation is usually considered to be a matter of technology - a ground-breaking new computer system, new personal telecommunications technology or a software package with new capabilities. Certain disruptive changes to the business environment - merger, acquisition, re-structuring - are also frequently labelled 'innovative', generally by senior managers doing their best to overcome the resistance of a skeptical workforce. The Western view of innovation is one of 'punctuated equilibrium' in which a new idea or system is introduced, people get used to it (not always gladly or productively) and business continues as usual until the next innovation.

We question this view. If organizations have robust systems in place to continuously improve work processes and manage knowledge assets, and if these systems are generally supported at the level of culture and practice, innovation occurs more quickly, more smoothly and with less disruption. This, of course, is the rub - few European or Anglosphere organizations have such systems. In order to overcome the gaps commonly found in continuous improvement and knowledge management, we have developed a 'bridging' methodology known as ICON.

ICON is an organizational innovation methodology which renders innovation simultaneously understandable from four perspectives: strategy, operations, change management and the management of knowledge assets. ICON can help your organization or department to align new technologies or ways of working with stakeholder expectations, with corporate strategy and with the culture of your organization. We take a much broader view of innovation than simply new systems and technology: regulatory change, process re-design and planned change to services can all have innovative aspects. Furthermore, it is often the case that, when exposed to the ongoing scrutiny of continuous improvement, existing processes can reveal considerable scope for innovative (discontinuous) change as well as incremental change.

As with all of our activities, we feel strongly that our clients benefit most from a bespoke approach to training and consultancy, but we have also created some standard 'off the peg' products which can be adjusted to fit client needs.

Variants Key

Universal

Financial Services

Central Government

Local Government

Healthcare

Higher Education

Third Sector

Courses

Two courses on innovation are available:

Innovation in Service Provision

Variants: (1 day)

This course is aimed at process owners and junior managers in large, functionally-structured work organizations. Our ICON methodology is used to help understand process changes from the perspective of customers / end-users:

• Impact of proposed innovation, using stakeholder, financial and operational models. For financial impact reporting, full compatibility with IRIS standards is assured.
• Contribution to the 'service package' received by the customer: techniques to understand the degree to which innovations align with and support customer definitions of quality.
• Originality: the extent to which examplars and resources exist for the planned innovation - is it feasible, or worthwhile, to pursue completely untried and unsupported ideas? What implications / opportunities exist in terms of knowledge assets?
• Novelty: various techniques for explaining, coaching and overcoming customer or service-user resistance to new ideas.

The ICON system is conceived as a rigorous and robust methodology for 'doing' innovation in the content of large corporations and public sector agencies. The course can be delivered either as an introduction to ICON, using case studies to demonstrate the four stages; or it can be arranged in support of a specific service innovation project within your organization. For further information, please contact us.

Managing Organizational Innovation

Variants: (1 day)

This course is aimed at senior managers in large, functionally-structured work organizations. Organizational innovation (structural, technical and regulatory change) is considered through the prism of the ICON methodology:

• Impact of proposed innovation, using stakeholder, financial and operational models. For financial impact reporting, full compatibility with IRIS standards is assured.
• Contribution to organizational and / or functional strategy: techniques to understand the degree to which innovations align with and support organizational strategies.
• Originality : the extent to which examplars and resources exist for the planned innovation - is it feasible, or worthwhile, to pursue completely untried and unsupported ideas? What implications / opportunities exist in terms of knowledge assets?
• Novelty: various techniques for explaining, coaching and overcoming resistance to new ideas within the organization.

The ICON system is conceived as a rigorous and robust methodology for 'doing' innovation in the content of large corporations and public sector agencies. The course can be delivered either as an introduction to ICON, using case studies to demonstrate the four stages; or it can be arranged in support of a specific innovation project within your organization. For further information, please contact us.