The document describes the internal innovation pipeline process at the HHS IDEA Lab, which includes discovery, testing, and implementation phases. It notes that government traditionally struggles with testing innovations in a customer-driven way before large-scale implementation. The HHS IDEA Lab launched an Ignite Accelerator program to help employees test ideas, and key learnings included the need for more training on identifying user needs and conducting sophisticated testing before rollout. The program was adjusted to focus on earlier discovery and testing phases where support is most needed.

1. The Internal
Innovation Pipeline of
the HHS IDEA Lab
Read Holman, HHS IDEA LAB
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
January 2016

2. 2
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
Testing
An innovation is prototyped
and tested in increasingly
sophisticated ways.

3. 3
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
Testing
An innovation is prototyped
and tested in increasingly
sophisticated ways.

4. Government doesn’t
do this well.
4
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
Testing
An innovation is prototyped
and tested in increasingly
sophisticated ways.

5. Government doesn’t
do this well.
If testing is done, then it’s
approached as an itemized list
of technically-driven tests...
instead of as a spectrum of
increasingly sophisticated
customer-driven tests.
5
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
Testing
An innovation is prototyped
and tested in increasingly
sophisticated ways.

6. 6
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
Testing
An innovation is prototyped
and tested in increasingly
sophisticated ways.
Government doesn’t
do this well.
If testing is done, then it’s
approached as an itemized list
of technically-driven tests...
instead of as a spectrum of
increasingly sophisticated
customer-driven tests.
“Is it secure?”
“Is it 508 compliant?”
“Did it go through clearance?”
“Does it meet the requirements?”
“Does anyone actually want this thing?”
“Even if people say they want it, will they
actually use it when given the tool?”
“If they do use it, will the tool have the
intended effect on the user?”

7. These questions mitigate for
technical risk.
“Does it work?” is interpreted as
“Is it up and running?”
7
Government doesn’t
do this well.
If testing is done, then it’s
approached as an itemized list
of technically-driven tests...
instead of as a spectrum of
increasingly sophisticated
customer-driven tests.
These questions mitigate for
outcome risk.
“Does it work?” is interpreted as
“Is it having an impact?”
“Does anyone actually want this thing?”
“Even if people say they want it, will they
actually use it when given the tool?”
“If they do use it, will the tool have the
intended effect on the user?”
“Is it secure?”
“Is it 508 compliant?”
“Did it go through clearance?”
“Does it meet the requirements?”
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
Testing
An innovation is prototyped
and tested in increasingly
sophisticated ways.

8. 8
The incentives for government are
simply not aligned with the goals
our missions statements demand.
Our internal processes have thus
evolved not to just hinder but to
resist and reject doing things in a
customer-centric and
outcomes-oriented way.
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
Testing
An innovation is prototyped
and tested in increasingly
sophisticated ways.

9. 9
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
Testing
An innovation is prototyped
and tested in increasingly
sophisticated ways.
For example:
Do prototypes have to be 508
and FISMA compliant?
Do all item of feedback have to
go through Regs.gov?
Does talking to more than 9
people trigger the PRA?

10. These and other questions are
answerable.
BUT their very existence
scares employees from operating
in this “testing” space and
scares management away from
allowing for experimentation.
10
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
Testing
An innovation is prototyped
and tested in increasingly
sophisticated ways.

11. 11
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
These and other questions are
answerable.
BUT their very existence
scares employees from operating
in this “testing” space and
scares management away from
allowing for experimentation.
So we roll out large-scale
programs without proper testing.
And we’re surprised
when they fail.

12. 12
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
These and other questions are
answerable.
BUT their very existence
scares employees from operating
in this “testing” space and
scares management away from
allowing for experimentation.
Or even worse…
They putter along with
questionable impact but with so
much up-front money invested that
they are (politically) hard to
kill/change.

13. 13
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
These and other questions are
answerable.
BUT their very existence
scares employees from operating
in this “testing” space and
scares management away from
allowing for experimentation.
Or even worse…
They become idea-driven (rather
than a data-driven) programs.

14. In 2013, we launched Ignite (Round 1)
to support employees who wanted to test new ideas
HHS Ignite Accelerator
(6 months + $10k @ 20% time)
14
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
Testing
An innovation is prototyped
and tested in increasingly
sophisticated ways.
To address these issues…

15. In 2013, we launched Ignite (Round 1)
to support employees who wanted to test new ideas
HHS Ignite Accelerator
(6 months + $10k @ 20% time)
15
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
Testing
An innovation is prototyped
and tested in increasingly
sophisticated ways.
HHS employees with innovative ideas
pitched to get 6 months of funding and
coaching to test out their idea with
customers before pitching to Sr
Leadership during our own Shark Tank.
70 teams applied. 13 were selected.
5 got full follow-up support to continue.

16. We had these Key Findings:
More training needed to help teams
identify the right problem to address.
Some teams went into the “Rollout”
stages without sufficient testing.
HHS Ignite Accelerator
(6 months + $10k @ 20% time)
16
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
Testing
An innovation is prototyped
and tested in increasingly
sophisticated ways.
In 2013, we launched Ignite (Round 1)
to support employees who wanted to test new ideas

17. We had these Key Findings:
More training needed to help teams
identify the right problem to address.
Some teams went into the “Rollout”
stages without sufficient testing.
HHS Ignite Accelerator
(6 months + $10k @ 20% time)
17
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
Testing
An innovation is prototyped
and tested in increasingly
sophisticated ways.
In 2013, we launched Ignite (Round 1)
to support employees who wanted to test new ideas

18. Round 2 (Summer 2014) --> Round 4 (Summer 2015)
Teams started in early phase. Partnered w UMD for training + coaching.
HHS Ignite Accelerator
(3 months + $5k @ 25-50% time)
18
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
Testing
An innovation is prototyped
and tested in increasingly
sophisticated ways.

19. HHS Ignite Accelerator
(3 months + $5k @ 25-50% time)
We had these Key Findings:
Teams don’t need funding
...for Discovery or early-stage tests
Not many teams are conducting
sophisticated tests / getting that far
down the pipeline
19
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
Testing
An innovation is prototyped
and tested in increasingly
sophisticated ways.
Round 2 (Summer 2014) --> Round 4 (Summer 2015)
Teams started in early phase. Partnered w UMD for training + coaching.

20. HHS Ignite Accelerator
(3 months + $5k @ 25-50% time)
We had these Key Findings:
Teams don’t need funding
...for Discovery or early-stage tests
Not many teams are conducting
sophisticated tests / getting that far
down the pipeline
20
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
Testing
An innovation is prototyped
and tested in increasingly
sophisticated ways.
Round 2 (Summer 2014) --> Round 4 (Summer 2015)
Teams started in early phase. Partnered w UMD for training + coaching.

21. HHS Ignite Accelerator
(3 months + $5k @ 25-50% time)
We had these Key Findings:
Teams don’t need funding
...for Discovery or early-stage tests
Not many teams are conducting
sophisticated tests / getting that far
down the pipeline
21
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
Testing
An innovation is prototyped
and tested in increasingly
sophisticated ways.
Round 2 (Summer 2014) --> Round 4 (Summer 2015)
Teams started in early phase. Partnered w UMD for training + coaching.

22. Round 5 (Spring 2016) = The Current Round
Teams started in early phase. Partnered w UMD for training + coaching.
HHS Ignite Accelerator
(3 months + $3k @ 50% time)
Ignite Finalist Stage
(2 months @ 10% time) Hypotheses
Allows us to scale by training more
employees (there are 47 Finalist teams).
Allows the teams that get into Ignite to
travel further down the pipeline.
22
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
Testing
An innovation is prototyped
and tested in increasingly
sophisticated ways.

23. HHS Ventures Fund
(15 months @ 50% time + $100k)
23
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
Testing
An innovation is prototyped
and tested in increasingly
sophisticated ways.
The HHS Ventures Fund
takes to the next level innovative projects with early-but-demonstrated impact

24. HHS Ventures Fund
(15 months @ 50% time + $100k)
24
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
Testing
An innovation is prototyped
and tested in increasingly
sophisticated ways.
The HHS Ventures Fund
takes to the next level innovative projects with early-but-demonstrated impact
● Also competitive: Teams pitch to a panel of Sr Leadership who select those to fund.
● Requires Executive Sponsor to signal internal Agency support.
● This stage involves re-integrating with established government processes and policies.
● We help them navigate the bureaucracy. AND we work to ensure the core principles of
customer-centered iterations are maintained (this is hard).

25. The HHS Ignite Accelerator
Ignite Finalists Round
The HHS Ventures Fund
Live
New products, services, and
processes that have been
validated get implemented.
Discovery
User needs are
researched and pain
points are identified.
Testing
An innovation is prototyped
and tested in increasingly
sophisticated ways.
Our
Internal
Innovation
Pipeline

26. Learn more at
hhs.gov/idealab
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