Patterns of Growth- how innovation spreads and grows

Patterns of growth- how innovation spreads and grows is taken from a report by Nesta, called “In & Out of Sync”. I like this very much for all innovation understanding but here the emphasis is placed on social innovation.

Although patterns of growth vary in detail, they highlight four necessary conditions for putting innovative products, services and (different) models into practice sustainably and on a large scale:

1. ‘Pull’ in the form of effective demand, which comes from the acknowledgement of a need within society, and from the recognition of that need by organisations (or consumers) with the financial capacity to address it;
2. ‘Push’ in the form of effective supply, which comes from: first, the generation of innovative ideas (by creative individuals and teams, potential beneficiaries and users, often inspired by anger, suffering or compassion); second, the development of those ideas into demonstrably workable forms; and third, their communication and dissemination;
3. Effective strategies that connect ‘pull’ to ‘push’, and find the right organisational forms to put the innovation into practice and;
4. Learning and adaptation to ensure that the innovation achieves social impact, and continues to do so as the environment around it changes.

When these elements are all in sync, innovations achieve ‘resonance’ with their environment and come to appear natural, even obvious.

However, many promising innovations have foundered because critical elements were missing or ‘out of sync’.

There might be wide recognition of a need – but not on the part of organisations with power and money.

There might be plenty of innovative ideas, but a failure to communicate them widely or to develop them adequately.

Or there might be no organisations with the capacity to implement promising innovations effectively.

If any one of these factors is deficient, the potential of the innovation will not be realised.

I just simply like this and thought I share it with you.

Source referral :In and out of sync- NESTA report. (http://www.nesta.org.uk)