Building the skills for local innovation

The need The main critical challenges with developing and sustaining local innovation include the will to change, the authority to act, the capacity to change and access to resources to make that change happen. “ Most new ideas do not come as a flash of inspiration to a lone genius inventor; they come from how people create, combine and share their ideas. The capacity to unlock and harness the talent, energy and imagination of all individuals is crucial to making innovation stronger and more sustainable. The effects of innovative people are self reinforcing: innovative businesses are attracted to highly skilled and creative workforces and, in turn, innovative people are drawn towards exciting and challenging career opportunities. Furthermore, innovative people generate new ideas that require skilled people to implement and exploit them.” (DIUS Innovation White Paper)

The main critical challenges with developing and sustaining local innovation include the will to change, the authority to act, the capacity to change and access to resources to make that change happen.

“ Most new ideas do not come as a flash of inspiration to a lone genius inventor; they come from how people create, combine and share their ideas. The capacity to unlock and harness the talent, energy and imagination of all individuals is crucial to making innovation stronger and more sustainable. The effects of innovative people are self reinforcing: innovative businesses are attracted to highly skilled and creative workforces and, in turn, innovative people are drawn towards exciting and challenging career opportunities. Furthermore, innovative people generate new ideas that require skilled people to implement and exploit them.” (DIUS Innovation White Paper)

The rationale What? Develop methodologies and techniques to develop the capacity for self-improvement an innovations, knowledge and skills marketplace to match make needs and resources communities of practice to facilitate collaboration in developing innovations to support local priorities Why? Develops local and interregional capacity and learning and the long tail principle of democratising the tools of production “ Access to the external resources that help change happen, including people, money, skills and networks, as well as the positive feedback that comes from providing the public with better services.” (NESTA & Young Foundation) “ Develop a cadre of innovators with successful track records who could bring with them preferential access to funding for individual projects.” (NESTA)

What?

Develop methodologies and techniques to develop

the capacity for self-improvement

an innovations, knowledge and skills marketplace to match make needs and resources

communities of practice to facilitate collaboration in developing innovations to support local priorities

Why?

Develops local and interregional capacity and learning and the long tail principle of democratising the tools of production

“ Access to the external resources that help change happen, including people, money, skills and networks, as well as the positive feedback that comes from providing the public with better services.” (NESTA & Young Foundation)

“ Develop a cadre of innovators with successful track records who could bring with them preferential access to funding for individual projects.” (NESTA)

Transformational and adaptable We propose transformative ways of developing local innovators[1] & intermediaries[2] and enabling them to match make people with skills they want to share and people with skills they want to learn We propose to use collaborative tools which can be adapted to other local areas and situations across Europe

We propose transformative ways of developing local innovators[1] & intermediaries[2] and enabling them to match make people with skills they want to share and people with skills they want to learn

We propose to use collaborative tools which can be adapted to other local areas and situations across Europe

Matchmaking innovation needs and skills What? Develop an interactive toolkit to improve innovation skills, collaborative learning & transferability Develop an online marketplace for public innovation where problem seekers find problem solvers. This would bring together groups of professionals from public services, universities and SMEs to submit, share & rate ideas and innovations to improve services and access funding develop their own “niche” services using the “long tail” principle screening the ideas and market the best ones to an R&D fund How? Kent County Council and the Technological Institute of Aragon propose to develop the interactive toolkit and manage the social tools used (i.e. blogs/wikis/etc). encourage the participation and generation of new ideas and innovations in Aragon & Kent, as well as the distribution of relevant public sector information for innovators develop experience pilots between enterprises, workers and organisations to share learning and transferability generate reports and gather good practices in Aragon and Kent Need similar resource commitment from public sector organisations, higher education and/or technology institutes from one other EU region Power of Information, Cabinet Office, 2007

What?

Develop an interactive toolkit to improve innovation skills, collaborative learning & transferability

Develop an online marketplace for public innovation where problem seekers find problem solvers. This would bring together groups of professionals from public services, universities and SMEs to submit, share & rate ideas and innovations to

improve services and access funding

develop their own “niche” services using the “long tail” principle

screening the ideas and market the best ones to an R&D fund

How?

Kent County Council and the Technological Institute of Aragon propose to

develop the interactive toolkit and manage the social tools used (i.e. blogs/wikis/etc).

encourage the participation and generation of new ideas and innovations in Aragon & Kent, as well as the distribution of relevant public sector information for innovators

develop experience pilots between enterprises, workers and organisations to share learning and transferability

generate reports and gather good practices in Aragon and Kent

Need similar resource commitment from public sector organisations, higher education and/or technology institutes from one other EU region

Building capacity through collaboration What? Develop skills training & capacity building for developing local innovation through collaboration/partnership between universities & services (including public, voluntary & business sectors) through activities such as time trading matchmaking users and providers collaborative fundraising Why? Develops skills in innovation & intermediaries and connects supply and demand. This would also provide the dual benefit of narrowing the gap in research on services in the HE sector & developing a cohort of innovators.

What?

Develop skills training & capacity building for developing local innovation through collaboration/partnership between universities & services (including public, voluntary & business sectors) through activities such as

time trading

matchmaking users and providers

collaborative fundraising

Why?

Develops skills in innovation & intermediaries and connects supply and demand.

This would also provide the dual benefit of narrowing the gap in research on services in the HE sector & developing a cohort of innovators.

Contact Noel Hatch Kent County Council t: 01622 696830 e: [email_address] http://www.kent.gov.uk/innovation

Noel Hatch

Kent County Council

t: 01622 696830

e: [email_address]

http://www.kent.gov.uk/innovation