This is the second of two blog articles that follow on from Nesta's roundtable on Systemic Innovation. Yesterday's blog focused on systems, whereas this one is about innovation.
Recently, Paul Ormerod and I were invited to a round-table at Nesta to discuss systemic innovation. After that meeting, we were invited to write a blog reflecting on this issue. I thought it might be neat to write two articles, one on systems and one on innovation.
Six forward-thinking city authorities across Europe are currently working with talented data technologists and designers to leverage technology to innovate their services. The Code for Europe 'Fellows', based in Manchester, Berlin, Amsterdam, Helsinki, Barcelona and Rome, are all starting to map out digital solutions to key challenges the cities have set them.
The ageing population is often described as a burden, or even a tidal wave of need, which is relevant to systems innovation because this perspective is driven by a fear of system collapse. The systems in question - such as pensions and care - are creaking to the point of failure and are major causes for concern.
What would you do with an extra five hours a day? Have a lie in; catch up on work; go on a big night out?
I was in San Francisco last week at the Encore.org conference - a meeting of a couple of hundred Boomers over 50 all committed to achieving social change in the second half of their lives.
I visited Denmark a few weeks ago as part of the Bruce Lockhart Scholarship piece for the Local Government Challenge.
Yesterday, I was delighted to host Skinder Hundal and his team from the excellent New Art Exchange (NAE) in Nottingham to mark a key stage in the evolution of their Culture Cloud project.
Earlier this month I participated in a fascinating panel discussion at the Institute for Government (IfG) on the topic of using experiments to inform policy.
NESTA Provocations are independent essays by thinkers that showcase thought-provoking work on innovation. In our latest Provocation, State of Uncertainty: Innovation policy through experimentation, Jason Potts, Alan Freeman and I, writing in our personal capacities, call on the government to adopt a radically new approach to supporting innovation.
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