Why innovation is everyone’s job
We often make the mistake of thinking innovation is not part of our role, because it’s not something explicitly included in our job description. However, there are no rules on who or where innovative ideas should come from.
I have worked within the innovation space for almost my whole Civil Service career. During this time I have had the pleasure of working on projects ranging from using Virtual Reality to demonstrate the potential impacts of flooding, to my current role where we are using Generative AI to empower Government Communication Service members to be more efficient in their roles.
I have seen innovative ideas come from a range of Civil Service colleagues. However, I have also noticed how the most successful ideas are often developed by those working close to the subject matter, and I think this is something we should embrace.
Innovation succeeds when subject matter experts embrace change
I have seen first-hand the benefit of when innovative ideas are offered or nurtured by those ‘in the know’ – the subject matter experts working within a specific area everyday. When a colleague really understands a business area, knows how it will impact an audience, has the experience of lessons learned and can clearly see what a successful outcome looks like, they are in pole position to spark a successful change.
A key theme I have recognised across all successful innovation projects is they have all embraced co-creation between colleagues with different expertise. At the centre of this collaboration should be the individuals directly involved in the business area. Any efforts to implement innovative ideas will always benefit from the insight of colleagues with experience of the specific problem. These individuals are critical in guiding the solution towards a successful outcome using their unique expertise.
What you can do to spark innovation in your area
Whether it’s considering how your team will contribute to the cross-government missions or exploring how you can take advantage of emerging technologies – there has never been a better time to take a moment to consider how you could improve and do things differently in your area.
There is no set blueprint for successful innovation. However, here are some basic principles that can act as good guidelines.
- Always start with the problem. This means forgetting about future states for a moment, and really digging into the root cause of the issue to understand it fully. Doing this means you’re less likely to be distracted by solutions that look great, but only fix the symptom rather than the cause.
- Work transparently. Share your challenges and invite colleagues to help solve the problem together. Your most experienced colleagues will bring some great insight from past projects, and your newest team members will bring a fresh perspective. There is no monopoly on good ideas, so get everyone involved.
- And finally, forget about perfection. You’re probably not going to find the perfect solution with your first idea. So, don’t worry about quality in the very early stages of ideation and just collect as many ideas from as many different perspectives as possible. You can then work with these to prioritise, develop and test the ones with the most potential. It is said that James Dyson developed over 5000 prototypes before he created the world’s first bagless vacuum cleaner – let’s hope it doesn’t take you that many attempts!
Embrace innovation with the One Big Thing Innovation Masterclass
Nobody understands the challenges of a role better than those who experience it every week. As a subject matter expert, you are in a brilliant position to be the driver for change in your area.
Your ideas may lead to a minor enhancement or to a complete transformation in how your team operates. Either way, you will have sparked improvement; and if we all do that, it soon adds up to a positive impact.
So, why not organise a session today with colleagues in your team to dive into a problem and begin ideating potential solutions. There are some brilliant resources available to Civil Servants to help you with this initial session, and these can be found in the Innovation Masterclass on Civil Service Learning.