This presentation was delivered by Steve Rowe of the Navy Innovation Center, Navy Warfare Development Command, on May 7 as part of GovLoop's Career Energizer Event.
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Why is the Navy
Focusing on Innovation?
• The Challenge
– Global proliferation of advanced technology is closing
our advantage over potential adversaries
– Reduced budgets mean many proposed solutions will
be unaffordable
• Increasing the pace and scope of innovation will
yield more, and potentially more affordable,
solutions, allowing us to maintain our warfighting
edge
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An enhanced Navy culture of innovation can address these challenges
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Easier Said than Done:
Roadblocks and Resistance
• Junior leaders perceive senior leadership as
unreceptive to new, disruptive ideas
• No time in workday remains for innovative tactics
development
• Limited resources allocated for new ideas in fiscally-
constrained environment
• Lack of incentives exist to innovate
• Policies not in synch with current techniques and
technologies
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The Innovation Campaign:
Mission, Goals, Efforts
• The mission: Improve
warfighting capabilities by
reinvigorating and
sustaining a Navy culture
of innovation
• End State Goals:
– More strongly embraces
innovation
– Reap the benefits of new
ideas
– Leverages new technology
developments
• Lines of Effort: How we
are trying to do it
– Major Innovation Campaign
Events
– Fleet (headquarters) and
Waterfront Engagement
– CNO Rapid Innovation Cell
– Virtual Presence
• Discussion and debate
• Idea collection (harvesting),
refinement, and voting
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Major Events: What We
Learned…So Far
March 2012
Maritime Symposium
• Tested physical /virtual hybrid
event
• Identified best practices and
historical lessons
• Led to development of
Innovator’s Guide
• Ways to become more
creative
• Conditions conducive to
innovation
• Ways to move ideas through
complex organizations
• Contacts and resources
June 2012
Junior Leader Symposium
• Senior advocacy needed to get an
idea adopted
• Must embrace the unique
strengths of the Millennial
Generation
• Navy technology often makes life
harder, not easier
• Innovation largely eclipsed by
other duties
• Junior leaders dissatisfied with the
personnel system
October 2012
Pacific Rim Symposium
• Must move beyond major programs
• Need compelling story and strategic
communications approach
• Policy is often greatest barrier
• Periodically revisit “failed” ideas
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February-March 2013
Online Crowdsourcing
• Objectives, tools and audiences
must be aligned
• Need menu of tools (with supporting
policy)
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Fleet and Waterfront
Engagement
• Develop partners at the “Fleet” (headquarters)
and “Waterfront” operating force levels
– Help understand requirements
– Build stakeholder support for rapid innovation
– Gather ideas and grow local (bottom up) solutions
– Co-opt operators into testing innovative ideas
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CNO’s Rapid Innovation Cell
Disruptive Thinkers
• Select junior leaders to develop
disruptive technological and tactical
solutions that can be rapidly fielded
• Monthly virtual / live workshops
• Small team (~ 12 junior officers)
• Each member proposes and “owns”
a project
– Laser communications
– Shipboard 3D Printing
– “Madden” Navy
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What I’ve Learned
• All levels are important
– Senior leadership advocacy and resources to turn ideas into capabilities
– Middle management foster ideas and test / adopt small scale innovations
(or not)
– Working level closest to the problems, less constrained by current
paradigm
• It takes time to find what works…for each purpose and audience
– Still learning and adjusting 1 year into our innovation campaign
• It takes a network
– You’ll need expertise and support outside your own organization
– “Big” ideas often come from combining different perspectives (Medici effect)
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Navy Innovation Campaign
Summary
• Top down (senior leadership) support
• Defined goals with activities based on
strategy-to-tasks analysis
• Collaborative – growing network of partners,
stakeholders and advocates
• Adjusting as we go (and learn)
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The Navy practices innovation on a daily basis – but we can do a better job of
tapping the potential collective creativity of our personnel. Innovation will
become more important in the face of rapid change and financial constraints.
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Questions?
Visit the Navy Center for Innovation
https://www.nwdc.navy.mil/ncoi/default.aspx
Email us at:
NWDC_NRFK_INNOVATIONS@navy.mil
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R. Steven Rowe
Innovation Campaign Division Chief
(757) 341-4309, DSN 341-4309
Robert.s.rowe@navy.mil
Robert.s.rowe@navy.smil.mil
Editor's Notes
The Innovation Campaign supports the CNO’s Sailing Directions. CNO has said that the Navy will:Innovate to: Use new technologies and operating concepts to sharpen our warfighting advantageEvolve and remain the preeminent maritime force. Reach & effectiveness of ships & aircraft will be greatly expanded through new and updated weapons, unmanned systems, sensors, & increased powerUnmanned systems will employ greater autonomy and be fully integrated with their manned counterpartsOur primary mission is warfighting. Efforts to improve capabilities, develop people, and structure our organizations should be grounded in this fundamental responsibility.NWDC has put intellectual energy into what we need to do to achieve innovation campaign strategic goals.