Everyday innovation report - Nesta

Executive summary
The imperative to promote innovative working
remains strong in all sectors despite the current
economic climate. However, although these
aspirations exist, many working practices that
promote innovation are not being readily
adopted by organisations. When comparing
sectors, this is particularly prevalent in public
sector organisations. Here, some working
practices may actually inhibit innovative working.
Similarly, whilst the employee characteristics and
behaviours that enhance innovative working
(such as motivation for change, openness
to ideas and original problem solving) can
be clearly identified and measured, there is
limited evidence that organisations are actively
integrating the research evidence into corporate
HR policy and practice.
Leadership capability, organisational culture,
and organisational values are among the most
important organisational factors and initiatives
that enhance innovative working. Although
there is a growing awareness of this, there is a
persistent gap between what we know about
these factors and how they are put into practice;
how to enhance innovative working continues
to be the most significant challenge for
organisations. This report uses several practical
examples to show how to promote everyday
innovative working at the employee, group,
leader and organisational levels.
The research reported here focuses upon
the critical role employee characteristics and
behaviours play in innovative working and
reveals the key organisational factors that
enable or inhibit innovation. Most importantly,
we present the practical implications regarding
how to best facilitate innovative working and
promote innovation in organisations. The
evidence base for this research was drawn from a
comprehensive review of the relevant literature,
key stakeholder interviews, case studies and
a UK-wide survey facilitated by the Chartered
Management Institute (CMI) based on 850
responses from CMI member organisations.
Innovative working remains an
imperative for most organisations
In the context of the current economic crisis
and pressing social challenges, organisational
capacity to innovate and improve productivity is
becoming an imperative.
Results from the survey indicate that innovation
is considered one of the few proactive strategies
an organisation can take to regenerate growth
and fight a recession. Innovative working
is expected to be reinforced in the current
economic climate to meet the demands of
an increasingly competitive marketplace. Of
the 850 responses, 78 per cent considered
innovation ‘very’ or ‘extremely important’ to
their organisation’s agenda in terms of products,
processes or business models. There were
surprisingly high levels of optimism regarding the
future; 77 per cent of respondents report being
‘optimistic’ about the future of their organisation.
Despite some interviewees viewing the current
economic climate as a strong incentive to
innovate in all aspects of their business, others
report the need to focus on certain types
of innovation like incremental innovation in
business processes, which typically require fewer
resources than more radical forms of innovation.
This concurs with a third of survey respondents
who expect the available resources for innovation
to be significantly reduced. Importantly, the
public sector was found to be less focused on
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