Any discussion on innovation in the public sector soon turns to the problem of risk. Surely public services are simply too risk averse to take big risks? And anyway shouldn’t we want them to avoid risks with things like traffic light systems or nuclear safety?
Many Collaborative Consumption ideas are pioneering new spaces, and changing users’ behaviour in some shape or form so their biggest initial barrier is typically inertia.
I spent a day last week on teleconferences with a number of charities, trying to help them to articulate a big problem of theirs - which they had agreed to submit to a 'Troubleshooter Day' - to be run by a big telecommunications corporate as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility work.
Big Data is a great buzzword - but how many are really innovating with data - and what's stopping those who aren't?
Interest in the role of external economies and spill over effects as an influence on regional and local growth has grown remarkably in recent years.
As I go about scoping some new research on big data, open data and some of the opportunities and challenges for innovation, I've been wondering if there's an equivalent to the Uncanny Valley of robotics that governs how comfortable we feel with the data that we share.
In one sense, you would be hard pushed to find someone who argued for less rigour in education - who doesn't want students to learn as much, and as deeply, as possible. The crux comes when people start defining the learning processes and the content that constitute 'rigour'.
Eighteen months ago I was asked to give a talk on the outlook for the coalition at the Carlton Club, one of the high temples of British Conservatism. I came across my notes this week, which provided a reminder of just how quickly political moods can change.
Louis Coffait at the Pearson Centre for Policy and Learning has put together a good blog post about using open data to improve education.
I spent a few days last week in Canada, working with some of our partner organisations in technology, business and social innovation.
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