Great article, Yvonne. I'm with you on the challenge of the nebulous nature of the term "innovation" and have found that when I ask folks who work in the sector about their "innovation practices", I get a lot of either blank stares or going on about the new program they launched which is very much like the last. What has worked for me in trying to spread the word about innovation methods is to drill down to what NGOs do...programs...which equal where most of the innovation R&D lives in the private sector...products and services. When you start talking about ways to improve things that are tangible and understandable, it centers the conversation on something real. No, innovation doesn't just lie in service innovation and product development, but I really believe that when you start the process in one area, it spreads to the larger org, then to other orgs, then to the larger network of organizations, etc, etc. People want the skills to make their work better, this is one way to help that happen.
the language of innovation
Great article, Yvonne. I'm with you on the challenge of the nebulous nature of the term "innovation" and have found that when I ask folks who work in the sector about their "innovation practices", I get a lot of either blank stares or going on about the new program they launched which is very much like the last. What has worked for me in trying to spread the word about innovation methods is to drill down to what NGOs do...programs...which equal where most of the innovation R&D lives in the private sector...products and services. When you start talking about ways to improve things that are tangible and understandable, it centers the conversation on something real. No, innovation doesn't just lie in service innovation and product development, but I really believe that when you start the process in one area, it spreads to the larger org, then to other orgs, then to the larger network of organizations, etc, etc. People want the skills to make their work better, this is one way to help that happen.