14/12/2009
"Many of the great 20th century businesses and organisations were born out of a recession and in many ways recessions provide an important opportunity to improve systems, products and output. But it requires a total commitment and focus and can't be done in half measures."
A new report published today by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) shows that the recession has prompted organisations to make innovation a priority to meet the demands of an increasingly competitive marketplace and return them on a path to growth.
The report, 'Everyday Innovation' includes results from a survey carried out for NESTA by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) on 850 managers in private, public and third sector organisations. It found that 78 per cent of organisations considered innovation important in terms of improving their products and services and 70 per cent said that their focus on innovation has been reinforced.
Over half (58 per cent) of all respondents said that the importance of innovation has increased over the past twelve months as a result of the recession with innovation found to be one of the few proactive strategies that would help them to fight the downturn. Asked about their own activities, 80 per cent also suggested that 'innovation is an important part of my role'.
However, a third of respondents said that whilst they recognised the importance of innovation, the reality in terms of implementing innovation strategies is different. For them, the recession means that resources and facilities for testing new ideas were not available and instead, their focus was on making more effective use of the scarce resources that they have.
Commenting on the report, NESTA's Chief Executive Jonathan Kestenbaum says: 'Many of the great 20th century businesses and organisations were born out of a recession and in many ways recessions provide an important opportunity to improve systems, products and output. But it requires a total commitment and focus and can't be done in half measures.'
The report found surprisingly high levels of optimism regarding the future; 77% of respondents report being 'optimistic' about the future of their organisation. Despite some interviewees viewing the current economic climate as a strong incentive to innovate in all aspects of their business, others report the need to focus on certain types of innovation like incremental innovation in business processes, which typically require fewer resources than more radical forms of innovation.
CMI's chief executive, Ruth Spellman, says: "Right now the ability to innovate is not just critical to success. It is simply a requisite for survival. But the nature of innovation is changing. It is less about 'eureka moments' or silver bullet breakthroughs than about responding quickly to challenges, adopting new ideas and moving fast to seize opportunities."
The report also showed that whilst aspirations for innovation exist, many working practices that promote innovation are not being readily adopted. This is particularly so in public sector organisations which were less focused on promoting innovative working compared to the private and not for profit sectors. 29 per cent of public sector managers reported that innovative thinking is stifled compared to 20 per cent in the private sector and only 13 per cent of public sector employees considered innovation as a key performance goal compared with 28 per cent in the private sector.
Similarly, whilst the employee characteristics and behaviours that enhance innovative working (such as motivation for change, openness to ideas and problem solving) can be clearly identified and measured, there is limited evidence that organisations from across the sectors are actively integrating the research evidence into corporate HR policy and practice.
For further information please contact Jan Singleton on 020 7438 2606 or Jan.Singleton@nesta.org.uk.
About NESTA
NESTA is the largest independent endowment in the UK. Its mission is to support innovation to drive economic recovery and solve some of the UK's major social challenges.
NESTA is a world leader in its field and is in a unique position to support and promote innovation through a blend of practical programmes, policy and research and investment in early-stage companies.
About the Chartered Management Institute
The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) is the only chartered professional body in the UK dedicated to promoting the highest standards of management and leadership excellence. CMI is the guardian of the National Occupational Standards for Management and Leadership and sets the standards that others follow. As a membership organisation, CMI has been providing forward-thinking advice and support to individuals and businesses, for more than 50 years, and continues to give managers and leaders, and the organisations they work in, the tools they need to improve their performance and make an impact. As the only organisation to offer qualifications from Level 2 (GCSE) to Level 8 (PhD), CMI is committed to equipping individuals with the skills and knowledge to be exceptional managers and leaders. Qualifications and accreditations such as Chartered Manager, combined with products such as CMI's Continuous Professional Development scheme and the online support resource, ManagementDirect, support the development of management and leadership excellence across the UK. Through in-depth research and policy surveys of its 81,000 individual and 450 corporate members, CMI maintains its position as the premier authority on key management and leadership issues
www.managers.org.uk
Everyday Innovation - Summary of Findings
'Everyday Innovation' identifies the employee characteristics and behaviours that contribute to innovative working and assesses the effect of the organisational context and culture in enabling or inhibiting innovative capability. It finds that:
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