## ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

**Nesta**

The *Innovation Population* was commissioned and managed by **Stian Westlake**, **Louise Marston** and **Jen Rae** at Nesta. This report was edited for Nesta by **Jen Rae**, with thanks due to **Olly Arber** and the Nesta digital team for the development of our accompanying web app 'Which Innovator are you?' [www.nesta.org.uk/quiz/which-innovator-are-you](https://www.nesta.org.uk/quiz/which-innovator-are-you)

**ComRes**

This report was written for Nesta by **Andy White**, Senior Analyst at ComRes. The research was conducted by **Andy White**, who led the project at ComRes, and his team: **Rachel Phillips** (Research Manager – Quantitative), **Rachel Britton** (Research Manager – Qualitative), **Holly Wicks** (Research Analyst).

ComRes is a leading market and opinion research consultancy providing data-driven insight into corporate reputation, public policy and communications. ComRes is a founding member of the British Polling Council, and published pollster for the BBC, ITV News, CNN and *The Independent*. Its coverage includes public and elite audiences across all sectors in all global markets.

For further information, please contact Katharine Peacock at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

## Nesta...

Nesta is the UK's innovation foundation.

An independent charity, we help people and organisations bring great ideas to life. We do this by providing investments and grants and mobilising research, networks and skills.

Nesta is a registered charity in England and Wales with company number 7706036 and charity number 1144091. Registered as a charity in Scotland number SCO42833. Registered office: 1 Plough Place, London, EC4A 1DE.

[www.nesta.org.uk](https://www.nesta.org.uk)

©Nesta 2014

[TOC]

## FOREWORD - ATTITUDES TO INNOVATION {: #foreword-attitudes-to-innovation }

Who cares about innovation? The answer, it turns out, depends on two other questions: what sort of innovation you're talking about, and to what end?

To our knowledge, there has been little research on public opinions about either innovation or government policy on innovation, either in the UK or elsewhere.

We know that in other fields - such as science - regular surveys help inform public debate and policymaking. So Nesta worked with ComRes to carry out a large-scale quantitative and qualitative survey of the attitudes of people around Britain to innovation and innovation policy.

The results are striking. They show that there is indeed a group of people in the UK who are enthusiastic about innovation and new technologies and relaxed about how they will shape the future. However, this group is relatively small one in five people - and disproportionately affluent and male.

However, this is not to say that the bulk of population are technophobes or luddites. Two-thirds of the population clustered into three segments who were enthusiastic about technology, as long as its benefits, especially in social terms, could be clearly articulated. The research also showed these groups had clear questions about the downsides of innovation, such as the impact of the internet on social life, or the environmental impact of our superabundance of gadgets.

The research also identified around one in six people who were much more concerned than enthusiastic about innovation. They were disproportionately female and less affluent, and feared for the impact of technology on their wellbeing and on society.

We believe this research is important for two reasons:

Firstly, it can help inform the debate about the impacts of innovation, and who benefits, by providing some quantitative information about people's attitudes and preferences.

Secondly, it carries a message for policymakers that generally goes unheard. For decades, innovation policy has been the domain of technocrats and of party-political consensus.

This has delivered some important benefits, such as the maintenance of a relatively good spending settlement for scientific research over two governments and the establishment of bodies like the Technology Strategy Board.

But the flipside of technocratic consensus is that innovation has never been high on the party political agenda. To the extent that British politicians talk about innovation, they almost always talk to that small group who hold innovation to be self-evidently worthwhile. It is not part of any national narrative in the way that education, healthcare or even transport have been. In a democracy, this carries the risk that while innovation funding will be safe from partisan point-scoring, it will never be in line for the significant funding that more popular policy areas receive.

An implication for this research for those who believe that the government should fund more innovation is that politicians need to start talking about innovation to bigger audiences, not just the one in five who are innovation enthusiasts. And that to do so, they need to talk not just about innovation for its own sake, but about the benefits that it brings for consumer, for society and even the world.

This publication includes the results of the analysis of innovation attitudes and the segmentation of the UK population. In June we will be supplementing this with a more detailed look at voters' beliefs about the role of government in relation to innovation.

As usual, we welcome your feedback.

**Stian Westlake**
Executive Director, Policy & Research

## INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL FINDINGS {: #introduction-and-general-findings }

Innovation Population represents the culmination of three months of public opinion research into British attitudes to innovation. It pulls together online surveys of over 6,000 UK adults and face-to-face focus groups with over a hundred people in six locations across the country. While there is a large existing body of research into attitudes to science and technology, the guiding principle behind this project was that ‘innovation' is a broader concept encompassing an enormous range of products, services, systems, structures, activities and agents - from multibillion dollar international research projects, like the Large Hadron Collider, to the everyday innovations that individuals make in their own lives, like modifying an item of clothing or inventing a new recipe.

We know intuitively that attitudes towards innovation are as diverse as the population itself - that some people are more inclined towards risk, creativity, long-term planning, or originality, for example. Innovation Population statistically segments the British public along these lines, into five attitudinal groups or personas - **INNOVATION FUTURISTS, INNOVATION ROMANTICS, INNOVATION CREATIVES, INNOVATION REALISTS,** and **INNOVATION SCEPTICS.** Segmentation is an interpretive tool driven by research objectives and educated judgments. The segmentation we have put forward is designed to help people understand and address the communications challenges around innovation policy. It is not a one-size-fits-all solution to all opinion research problems in this area, but, alongside the general findings and those for standard demographics (gender, age, social class), we hope it will be a useful framework for those whose are interested in how the public views innovation.

This report, which launches Nesta's Innovation Personas, represents the first phase of work on public opinions on innovation. The second phase will focus on the implications of these findings for effective ways of communicating about innovation to the general public.

### GENERAL FINDINGS

The first phase survey tested participants' broad attitudes to innovation, technology and progress, focusing on openness to change and perception of risk, long-term planning and ethics, as well as the value of specific innovations. We found that attitudes towards innovation are broadly favourable, with nearly three-quarters of the British population (71 per cent) believing that current spending levels by UK businesses and government are about right or too low. Most people are interested in hearing about new ideas and innovation, particularly in specific areas like healthcare and technology. There are, however, significant attitudinal and behavioural differences across key demographics.

Men and women differ on the intrinsic value of innovation, with women tending to focus on the more practical benefits of innovation, while men are more likely to be excited by new ideas regardless of concrete outcomes. There are also striking differences between the views of more and less affluent people. A detailed analysis of these findings starts on page 46.

The research also looked at opinions on the role of Government in encouraging innovation, as well as areas of public concern such ethics and rights protection, dealing with risks, and an increasing culture of disposability. Our Innovation Personas provide a way of illustrating how these complex questions can often provoke a varied response from the general public.

Every stage of the research showed that people most valued innovation in areas that had a demonstrable impact on health, wellbeing and quality of life.

## INNOVATION PERSONAS OVERVIEW {: #innovation-personas-overview }

Although it is helpful to have an assessment of people's views at a general level, we wanted to explore the complexity of views about innovation beyond an analysis of differences in age, gender, social class or location. We tested a range of attitudinal dimensions at a personal and sociopolitical level to build segmentation profiles of the British population. The segmentation process is explained in detail on page 12. Our analysis identified five archetypal views, which we have characterised as Innovation Personas:

**INNOVATION FUTURISTS** (19 per cent of the UK population) are engaged in many aspects of the innovation debate and can see the benefits of change in all areas of life. They understand the different facets of innovation well, are generally comfortable with the pace of change in society and take a long-term view on their own lives and the wider world. They are not concerned about innovation over-reach and tend to view controversial innovations such as nuclear or GM foods more favourably than other segments. They are also more likely to say they have been innovative themselves.

**INNOVATION ROMANTICS** (12 per cent of the UK population) find consumer innovation exciting and interesting, but tend not to engage with innovation with long-term objectives. They tend to think of innovation as consumer goods - 'gadgets' and 'new technology' that they encounter in their personal lives. They attach high intrinsic value to innovation and tend to approve of most innovation they come into contact with or hear about. They are more likely than other segments to agree that "new ideas and products are what make a country great – even if they don't have much economic benefit". Innovation Romantics are not long-term planners and tend not to be concerned about the future, and they are the least likely to have participated in innovative activities.

**INNOVATION CREATIVES** (19 per cent of the UK population) are typically younger than average, confident and on-trend, display high levels of personal creativity and a social perspective on life. They are curious and interested in new ideas, especially those that demonstrate creativity and solve practical problems. They are also the least cautious of the innovation groups, and the most likely to agree that they are "creative and often come up with new ways of doing things”. They are often early adopters of new technology and ideas, recommending new products to peers. They struggle to bring innovation together as a single concept, and therefore tend to see innovation as a series of different processes. They tend to think about innovation in the context of their own hobbies and interests.

**INNOVATION REALISTS** (34 per cent of the UK population) appreciate innovation but are not excited by it per se, believing that ethics and rights are more important than innovation and progress. They acknowledge that it is necessary to keep pace with change and they balance the drawbacks of innovation with the benefits. They are the segment most interested in current affairs, particularly valuing social innovations in areas like health, transport and education. Their most pressing concerns are focused on the impact of innovation on society, such as privacy, desocialisation and the perception that lifestyles are becoming increasingly disposable as products become obsolete.

**INNOVATION SCEPTICS** (16 per cent of the UK population) are particularly concerned about the pace of change in society. They are cautious and practical, placing relatively low value on innovations until they are confident that they have real-world benefits. They see new ideas as less important than solving problems by using existing ideas and technologies better. They tend to be more focused on the impact of innovation on their lives and are more likely to be late adopters of new products and technologies. They often feel a sense of powerlessness and a feeling of being left behind, concerned about the impact of new ways of doing things on job security, and they worry about how society adapts to change overall. They find value in innovation in health, education and social care when they see how it can actually make an impact on their lives or those close to them.

## COMPARING THE INNOVATION PERSONAS {: #comparing-the-innovation-personas }

The following two plots give an indication of how each persona differs on key attitudinal measures. (% shows percentage of total population represented by each segment)

<div class="chart-description" markdown="1">
**Chart showing relative positions of innovation personas based on 'Government Spending' and 'Pace of Change':**

*   **FUTURISTS** (19%) are in the 'Too low' government spending and 'Low concern' pace of change quadrant.
*   **ROMANTICS** (12%) are in the 'Too low' government spending and 'Low concern' pace of change quadrant.
*   **CREATIVES** (19%) are in the 'Too low' government spending and 'Low concern' pace of change quadrant.
*   **REALISTS** (34%) are in the 'Too low' government spending and 'High concern' pace of change quadrant.
*   **SCEPTICS** (16%) are in the 'Too high' government spending and 'High concern' pace of change quadrant.

**Chart showing relative positions of innovation personas based on 'Intrinsic Value of Innovation' and 'Ethics and Rights':**

*   **FUTURISTS** (19%) are in the 'High intrinsic value' and 'Low importance' ethics and rights quadrant.
*   **ROMANTICS** (12%) are in the 'High intrinsic value' and 'Low importance' ethics and rights quadrant.
*   **CREATIVES** (19%) are in the 'High intrinsic value' and 'Low importance' ethics and rights quadrant.
*   **REALISTS** (34%) are in the 'High intrinsic value' and 'High importance' ethics and rights quadrant.
*   **SCEPTICS** (16%) are in the 'Low intrinsic value' and 'High importance' ethics and rights quadrant.
</div>

## RESEARCH OBJECTIVES {: #research-objectives }

Nesta wished to conduct a detailed programme of research to understand the UK public's attitudes to innovation and technology, as well as government activity in this area. The objectives of this research programme were to:

1.  Understand public attitudes towards innovation and technology in the UK, and whether they think government should do more to promote them in the future.
2.  Profile attitudes towards innovation and technology among different demographic groups in the UK.
3.  Identify which segments of the UK population are most open to innovation and technology and which segments require convincing of their benefits.
4.  Identify which messages would be most effective at convincing the UK population that government should focus on promoting innovation and technology in the UK above other concerns.

## METHODOLOGY {: #methodology }

### Phase 1 (Online Survey and Segmentation)

ComRes conducted an online survey among a nationally representative sample of 4,121 UK adults between 25 September and 10 October 2013. Data were weighted by age, gender, region, social grade to be representative of all UK adults.

The aim of this survey was to understand very broad attitudes towards innovation among the British public and to develop a statistical segmentation of the population according to personal attitudes relating to innovation.

Segmentation refers to a range of techniques and approaches that seek to categorise a population by their attributes, attitudes, behaviours, and/or needs. The Innovation Population segmentation allows attitudes and behaviours relating to innovation to be understood beyond the level of differences in age, gender, social class, and location. Indeed, the segmentation profiles over the next five sections show that while there are clear tendencies within different demographic groups, people from many different backgrounds share similar perspectives on innovation.

In this case, segmentation has been used in order to enhance the output from the qualitative phase of this research programme, by ensuring that each focus group brings together people with similar patterns of opinion on innovation.

## PHASE 2 (FOCUS GROUPS) {: #phase-2-focus-groups }

ComRes conducted 12 focus groups in six locations across the UK:

<div class="table-container" markdown="1">

| Group | Location    | Date        | Segment(s)                                 | Gender            |
| :---- | :---------- | :---------- | :----------------------------------------- | :---------------- |
| 1     | Manchester  | 12 Nov 2013 | INNOVATION SCEPTICS                        | Female            |
| 2     | Manchester  | 12 Nov 2013 | INNOVATION FUTURISTS                       | Male              |
| 3     | Birmingham  | 12 Nov 2013 | INNOVATION ROMANTICS                       | Female            |
| 4     | Birmingham  | 12 Nov 2013 | INNOVATION SCEPTICS                        | Male              |
| 5     | Glasgow     | 13 Nov 2013 | INNOVATION CREATIVES                       | Female            |
| 6     | Glasgow     | 13 Nov 2013 | INNOVATION REALISTS                        | Male              |
| 7     | London      | 13 Nov 2013 | INNOVATION REALISTS vs. INNOVATION ROMANTICS | Mixed Male/Female |
| 8     | London      | 13 Nov 2013 | INNOVATION FUTURISTS vs. INNOVATION SCEPTICS | Mixed Male/Female |
| 9     | Leeds       | 14 Nov 2013 | INNOVATION FUTURISTS                       | Female            |
| 10    | Leeds       | 14 Nov 2013 | INNOVATION ROMANTICS                       | Male              |
| 11    | Bristol     | 14 Nov 2013 | INNOVATION REALISTS                        | Female            |
| 12    | Bristol     | 14 Nov 2013 | INNOVATION CREATIVES                       | Male              |

</div>

### Recruitment

Recruitment specifications were designed to focus on archetypal participants from each segment - those scoring most strongly on the key identifiers of each segment. This approach allows us to understand the distinct characteristics of different attitudinal segments in as much depth as possible. A broad range of social grades and ages were chosen in each group, reflecting the social grade and age breakdowns of the respective segments.

### Rationale

Segmenting public attitudes - and limiting groups to one segment or two opposing segments - was intended to allow distinct thought patterns and lines of argument to be explored in much greater depth than would be possible with attitudinally broader group specifications. Innovation is a very broad and vague subject, and the segmentation generated discussions that were specific to different groups.

## PERSONA PROFILES {: #persona-profiles }

### SEGMENTATION PROCESS

Segmentation refers to a range of techniques and approaches that seek to categorise a population by their attributes, attitudes, behaviours, and/or needs. The Innovation Population segmentation allows attitudes and behaviours relating to innovation to be understood beyond the level of differences in age, gender, social class, and location. Indeed, the segmentation profiles over the next five sections show that while there are clear tendencies within different demographic groups, people from many different backgrounds share similar perspectives on innovation.

In this case, segmentation has been used in order to enhance the output from the qualitative phase of this research programme, by ensuring that each focus group brings together people with similar patterns of opinion on innovation.

### Methodology

ComRes conducted a factor analysis on respondents' agreement or disagreement with statements relating to innovation issues. This grouped together related statements (e.g. "I always make an effort to buy ethical products and services” and “I don't worry too much about the ethics of products and services") into single factors, to ensure only orthogonal variables were included in the cluster analysis.

The factor analysis identified seven factors (ranked in order of variance across the dataset):

<div class="table-container" markdown="1">

| Factor                                  | Question/Statement                                                                                 | Pole A    | Pole B    |
| :-------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :-------- | :-------- |
| Pace of change and innovation overreach | Governments and corporations take too many risks and this is usually damaging to ordinary people.  | Agree     | Disagree  |
|                                         | I often feel the world is changing too quickly.                                                    | Agree     | Disagree  |
|                                         | In your opinion, is (R&D spending) too much, too little, or about the right amount?                | Too much  | Too little |
|                                         | Big technological innovations are usually a waste of time, solving problems that didn't exist in the first place. | Agree     | Disagree  |
|                                         | Innovation should be driven by businesses and consumers. Government doesn't need to be involved.   | Agree     | Disagree  |
| Personal creativity and risk taking     | You need to take risks to get ahead in life, even if you can't always be sure what will happen.    | Agree     | Disagree  |
|                                         | I am creative and often come up with new ways of doing or thinking about things.                   | Agree     | Disagree  |
| Importance of new ideas and risks in society | New ideas and products are what make a country great - even if they don't have much economic benefit. | Agree     | Disagree  |
|                                         | It is more important to think about future generations than our own generation.                    | Agree     | Disagree  |

</div>

<div class="table-container" markdown="1">

| Factor             | Question/Statement                                                                                 | Pole A    | Pole B    |
| :----------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :-------- | :-------- |
| Future planning    | I tend to plan for the future in life, even if that means making sacrifices in the short term.     | Agree     | Disagree  |
|                    | I prefer to live for today, without thinking too much about what the future holds.                 | Disagree  | Agree     |
|                    | I am generally a cautious person.                                                                  | Agree     | Disagree  |
|                    | I prefer to have a fixed routine every day.                                                        | Agree     | Disagree  |
| Excitement about innovation | I often find new innovations pointless and wonder why people get so excited about them.     | Disagree  | Agree     |
|                    | I get excited about new innovations even if they don't serve an obvious purpose.                   | Agree     | Disagree  |
| Ethical/rights focus | I don't worry too much about the ethics of products and services.                                | Disagree  | Agree     |
|                    | Innovation and progress are more important than ethics and human rights.                           | Disagree  | Agree     |
|                    | Ethics and human rights should be central to research and innovation policy - even if that slows down progress. | Agree     | Disagree  |
| State and social focus | I always make an effort to buy ethical products and services.                                  | Agree     | Disagree  |
|                    | The immediate problems the world faces are too serious for us to worry about what might happen in 50 years' time. | Disagree  | Agree     |
|                    | Governments should be the main driving force behind innovation - by funding initiatives and regulating it carefully. | Agree     | Disagree  |
|                    | Change in culture and society is usually a good thing.                                             | Agree     | Disagree  |
|                    | I spend most of my spare time socialising or communicating with my friends and family.             | Agree     | Disagree  |

</div>

A cluster analysis was then performed on these factors, using the K-means technique - this uses measures of Euclidean Distance to cluster respondents iteratively into groups sharing similar response patterns, and is well suited to opinion research data.

Segment solutions were assessed for their statistical integrity, and for the extent to which they enabled us to understand public attitudes in greater depth.

## INNOVATION FUTURISTS {: #innovation-futurists }

<div class="table-container" markdown="1">

| Factor                                  |                       |
| :-------------------------------------- | :-------------------- |
| Pace of change and innovation overreach | Unconcerned           |
| Personal creativity and risk taking     | Average               |
| Importance of new ideas and risks in society | Average               |
| Future planning                         | Tend to be future planners |
| Excitement about innovation             | Tend not to get excited |
| Ethical/rights focus                    | Low ethical/rights focus |
| State and social focus                  | Average               |

</div>

<div class="table-container" markdown="1">

| Characteristics     |                                       |
| :------------------ | :------------------------------------ |
| Gender              | Typically Male (63%)                  |
| Age                 | In line with general population       |
| Social grade        | Typically ABC1 (more affluent)        |
| Current affairs interests | Broad, low interest in environment |
| Innovation interests | Science, technology, vehicles, engineering |
| Activities          | More active in all areas than other segments |

</div>

<div class="table-container" markdown="1">

| Innovations |                                    |
| :---------- | :--------------------------------- |
| Favourable  | Typically all, including controversial innovations |
| Unfavourable | -                                  |

</div>

### Overview

**INNOVATION FUTURISTS** (19 per cent of the UK population) are the natural audience for innovation policy communications. They tend to be unconcerned about the pace of change in society, and take a long-term view on their own lives and the wider world. They are more active in most areas of innovation and are more favourable towards controversial innovations, tending to balance risk with reward in their analysis. Their increased engagement with innovation means that they most readily understand the relationship between disparate types of innovation.

### Who are they?

While our attitudinal segments include people from a disparate range of backgrounds and demographic profiles, the archetypal **INNOVATION FUTURIST** is an affluent (ABC1) male:

<div class="chart-description" markdown="1">
**Bar chart showing percentage of 'Innovation Futurists' and 'General Population' by social grade and gender:**

**Social Grade:**
*   **AB:** Innovation Futurists 35%, General Population 27%
*   **C1:** Innovation Futurists 32%, General Population 28%
*   **C2:** Innovation Futurists 18%, General Population 22%
*   **DE:** Innovation Futurists 15%, General Population 24%

**Gender:**
*   **Male:** Innovation Futurists 63%, General Population 49%
*   **Female:** Innovation Futurists 37%, General Population 51%
</div>

## 1. DEFINING INNOVATION {: #section-1-defining-innovation }

**INNOVATION FUTURISTS** understand the different facets of innovation well, comfortably pulling together different strands of innovation policy. When asked to share "new ideas or new things that have caught (their) attention”, they demonstrate a greater range and depth of interest than other segments.

<blockquote markdown="1">Okay, well I'm a financial advisor and one of the things I look at is stocks and shares and there was a company I was looking at that's invented a way to extract heavy oil from the North Sea, so it's effectively increasing reserves of oil.
(Male, Manchester)</blockquote>

<blockquote markdown="1">The other one which I'm fascinated, it keeps cropping up, but where you can print actually - well you can print a gun, you can print any... —A 3D printer. —Yes, 3D, I think that's absolutely amazing that you'll be able to print anything.
(Female, Leeds)</blockquote>

<blockquote markdown="1">The other thing that I've done just recently is wrote to James Dyson, emailed him. I don't know if you remember, but he came out with a fan, quiet, a quiet fan. That turns me on, and I've said if you can do that on a big scale. Small scale it down and make a quiet hairdryer.
(Male, Manchester)</blockquote>

2. PACE OF CHANGE AND LONG-TERM VIEW

It's a Fitbit One, it's called, and it's just about a tracking thing that tracks your calories. It actually tracks your sleeping patterns as well and things like that and I just quite like the idea of it. (Female, London)

Well, I saw something the other day about voice recognition for security, and banks are wanting to develop this so that when you phone up you only have to talk to them without having to go through your name, address, post code, inside leg measurement and all the rest of it. It's supposed to be 97 per cent foolproof, so it's a very good fraud prevention measure. (Male, Manchester)

When asked to categorise a range of current and historic innovations, they tend to see patterns quickly and place innovations together in coherent groups. They can then see the overarching connections between all innovations, using words like 'improvement', 'advancement', and – without being prompted – 'innovation'.

Personally, 'improvement', because most new technologies or new ideas are an improvement on something that exists already. (Male, Manchester)

Advancement. (Male, Manchester)

Advancement. (Female, Leeds)

Innovation. (Male, Manchester)

Innovation. (Female, Leeds)

INNOVATION FUTURISTS are generally comfortable with the pace of change in society and are not concerned about innovation overreach. They tend to see the progress of time as an inevitability that should be anticipated and harnessed, rather than obstructed.

It's all about competition, isn't it, so everyone is trying to win a race to get to the next phase to push things on for themselves? (Male, Manchester)

It's moving forward all the time isn't it? (Female, Leeds)

Well, the railway was seen as potentially a risky invention, humans couldn't possibly travel faster than they could walk, so I think you've got to take calculated risks otherwise you'll stand still and you'll never achieve anything. Just to go all out and be blasé with potential risk is obviously dangerous. (Male, Manchester)

3. ROLE OF GOVERNMENT

Yes, I think in the future it's going to be even more important, the internet, than now. It's going to be everywhere for everything. I once saw in the media that they talked about the future and they said how now when we go into a room we look where the light switch is. They talked how in the future we will see where the internet portal is because everything will be connected to the internet. (Male, London)

They are not entirely optimistic about the future, though, with concerns about the environment and diminishing energy resources commonplace.

I think the more eco-friendly or environment-based technologies are important. I wouldn't say that a watch that you could read your email on is necessarily important in 50 years, but certainly the environmentally based ... I would like to think that's extremely important. (Male, Manchester)

But they need a solution sort of now, because otherwise by 2020 we're not going to have enough fossil fuels, and renewables aren't enough on their own, they just aren't. (Female, Leeds)

INNOVATION FUTURISTS plan for the future in their own lives, and expect governments to do the same. As well as the theme of parenthood, common to all segments, this segment tend to express sophisticated policy concerns about changing demographics.

Yes. I mean, what's going to be passed on to the kids, basically, and the grandkids, and great-grandkids. I mean, the Government's supposed to actually protect that. (Female, Leeds)

I heard something on the radio last week; there are, I don't know, 13,000 centurions or something in the country. They reckon by 2030 or something there will be over 100,000 people living to over 100, living to beyond 100 years. So that tells you that we are going to have to adapt what we do. It's a sizeable number when you think about the people underneath that. People who reach 100 are a certain proportion but there'll be more people who reach 80 and more people that reach 90. Actually that's going to require us to take another look or look differently at a number of things. (Male, London)

There is also a perception that party politics can obstruct long-term planning, with electoral cycles meaning that policymaking lacks consistency and foresight.

So you almost need a combined view that over 20 years, whoever is in power, needs to go ahead with this. You can't just be chopping and changing or whatever. (Male, Manchester)

I think they should focus on the long-term problems, really, rather than short term. Yes, and non-political. I mean, it's the political factors which seem to drive, and whatever one party says, the other one will criticise, and it's not always for the benefit of the country, it's a vote-catcher, really. (Female, Leeds)

However, they generally believe that the market and consumers should be the engine of innovation, with government there to steer it and correct imbalances. Where social and commercial objectives do not align, they perceive a role for the state.

4. BEHAVIOURS

There is the common good of society [which] ain't always protected by the people who innovate and come out with stuff, and I think when it's of national importance, you know something that's going to affect every one of us, if there is something along that line I think it needs to be shared by government and the innovators, but most of the time, just let the innovators get on with it. (Male, Manchester)

The group identifies strongly with individual innovators. They believe they should be allowed the space, funding and freedom to think about new ideas and concepts which will have a long-term implication rather than a short-term fix for a problem.

A lot of these ideas have come from bright people thinking 'Oh, that's interesting', and then just come up with the idea, and the application is found later, so I think you also need to, (the government) need to be putting money into universities for research, just for blue-sky thinking. (Female, Leeds)

I think, especially new companies as well, you'll develop a product, you'll set up as a small company, people do need that assistance. (Male, Segment 1, Manchester)

Many INNOVATION FUTURISTS have job roles and personal interests that require them to be innovative in a broad sense. This does not necessarily mean that they work in 'innovative' industries, but rather that they tend to take a clear interest in new ideas and new ways of doing things.

I'm in IT so everything I think about is really technology based, but there's a company that is trying to promote, it's just got beyond like a concept stage, they've got like a working model whereby it's going to replace Wi-Fi with light. (Male, Manchester)

I'm a manager of an estate agents. We've got a few branches and we're working on like a big company app, I guess that best describes it, for agents to use when we're out because we're constantly out of the office all day long, so when we go into properties or meeting new customers, we're basically be able to use that app to get the information back onto the system so that it's speeding up our day, because so much of our time is spent typing up notes basically so to speed up the system basically. (Male, Manchester)

One of the things that I found, I work in engineering, and we went for a conference on Monday about new tools and things, pretty boring, but they've actually invented like a surgical saw that if it comes in contact with flesh, and it tested it on a sausage, it knows it's flesh and it immediately cuts out. That is absolutely fantastic for us. (Female, Leeds)

As consumers, they tend to take an informed perspective on the utility of different innovations in their everyday lives. Over a quarter (28 per cent) of INNOVATION FUTURISTS have programmed computer software, compared with 18 per cent of the general population, while over a third (37 per cent) have taken apart and reassembled a mechanical or electronic device, compared with 28 per cent of the general population.

5. CONTROVERSIAL INNOVATIONS

INNOVATION FUTURISTS tend to view controversial areas of innovation policy like nuclear energy and GM foods more favourably than other segments. They find it interesting when the government funds innovation, works with others to push boundaries, takes risks and exploits new technologies if there is a societal need.

I think recession combined with population growth means that people's views have changed on, for example, genetic engineering of foods because there is just not enough food to go round unless you make these developments in farming and genetics, so exploit what we've already got and make it better through technology. (Male, Manchester)

There's a lot of carrots being dangled for, you know, companies like ourselves to go into nuclear, and to fund nuclear, and to get your finger in as many pies as you can do that tick the boxes for the government funding. So it's interesting how they're playing it, really. Like you say, they are investing in alternatives to it, but they do seem to pushing (nuclear). (Female, Leeds)

6. BENEFITS OF INNOVATION

Without romanticising innovation, this group see the benefits of change in all areas of life, from the global down to the personal, often demonstrating a clear perspective of the progress of time. This makes them more open to the concept of radical innovation as well as incremental innovation.

My brother lives in Brazil about 1,500 miles away from Rio. I am in daily contact with him in a way that I was not when he was here. I can speak to him on WhatsApp, I can Skype him, I can Twitter, I'm on Facebook. These are all things that allow me to communicate with my brother in a way that 20, 30 years ago I would not have been able to do. (Male, London)

They also tend to immediately grasp the potential of major medical innovations.

I've actually got something about that as well, because they're now using it in medicine. They've 3D-printed a tube when a baby's windpipe collapsed, and replaced it with the one that they 3D-printed. Another one was somebody's crushed their eye socket in an accident, and they rebuilt it using a 3D printer. It's just amazing. (Female, Leeds)

Where other segments often see communications technology as desocialising, INNOVATION FUTURISTS counter with the benefits of global reach and immediacy.

I don't really get the point that with technology and looking on the phone, you lose all the communication with others. Totally the opposite; it's total communication. For example my class at school when I went there, I would've lost contact if it wasn't for Facebook, for WhatsApp, for all these things that still make us be able to communicate with each other really easily. So that way we don't lose the friendship. (Male, London)

7. CONCERNS

My mother has recently discovered Skype system. Her sister emigrated to Portugal and she's got her first tablet as well, which she's massively excited about, and everything I go round I can't see her face because the tablet, she looks at it here, 'Hello, how are you?' She loves the fact that she can see her sister, who lives in Portugal, and when they come over it's as if they've only just spoken, they've only just seen each other the week before, so that's a great positive that you can keep in contact with loved ones and friends. (Male, Manchester)

Everything instant, I can give you an example. We had a parcel delivered. We were waiting for this parcel delivered to the company. We needed it quickly, so someone phoned up and said, 'When it's going to be delivered?' They said between 1:22 and I think it was 1:37, the tracker is indicating it will be there in the next five minutes or whatever and it was. Now, to me, after it had been delivered I said, ‘Find out who that delivery person set up was, we'll use them', so I love that everything instant thing, it's great. (Male, Manchester)

Overall, they believe that innovation benefits the economy by creating jobs. Well, it's important for the economy because it creates jobs. (Male, Manchester)

This segment are largely relaxed about innovation, but may occasionally talk about progress being undermined by market inefficiencies, bad decision making, and withholding access to innovations.

Car manufacturers have been accused of holding back technology, which could be saving everyone money because in the long run it's not making the petroleum companies as much money as it could do if it was easier for everyone to switch to electric cars, or dual fuel cars, all this kind of thing. (Male, Manchester)

There is the whole rumour that the cure for cancer has been found by pharmaceuticals, but the cancer drugs cost so much to produce and are so expensive that it will put the organisation out of business if they release it. (Male, Manchester)

INNOVATION ROMANTICS

INNOVATION ROMANTICS

12 PER CENT OF THE UK POPULATION

Overview

INNOVATION ROMANTICS (12 per cent of the UK population) find consumer innovation exciting and interesting, but tend not to engage with innovation as a policy or with long-term innovation objectives. They are more likely than other segments to agree that “new ideas and products are what make a country great – even if they don't have much economic benefit”. The high intrinsic value they attach to innovation means that they tend to approve of most innovations they have come into contact with or heard about in the media. They are, however, the least likely to have participated in any of the innovative activities tested in the survey. Despite two-thirds (68 per cent) saying they would be interested in hearing about new scientific and technological innovations, only 9 per cent have conducted a scientific research experiment, compared with 13 per cent of the general population.

Who are they?

While our attitudinal segments include people from a disparate range of backgrounds and demographic profiles, the archetypal INNOVATION ROMANTIC is a C2DE male:

1. DEFINING INNOVATION

INNOVATION ROMANTICS tend to think of innovation as consumer goods - 'gadgets' and 'new technology' that they encounter in their personal lives.

I'm quite into gadgets as well; the new androids and stuff that are out where you can flip the thing on the television. (Female, Birmingham)

I'd say technology. (Male, Leeds)

I've just bought my son a laptop and it's got touch screen on and everything and I'm really into that kind of gadget. (Female, Birmingham)

Innovation is generally seen to be exciting - almost a form of entertainment for this segment.

Futuristic. (Male, Leeds)

I think a lot of it catches your eye because you're just, wow, I can't believe someone's thought about that. (Female, Birmingham)

The causes of innovation are believed to be a mixture of the creative ingenuity of 'madcap' inventors and commercial investment, with the two seen as separate stages in the process.

Yes, I was going to say, you know, some geniuses just need an outlet to getting their ideas out, (agreement) like the dude who made the Wind Up Radio; he didn't want no money for that, he made a Wind up Radio. (Agreement). (Male, Leeds)

The guy who invented the first time recorded sound, he recorded 'Mary had a little lamb', how on earth could he possibly see whether there was any profit in that? He did that as an exercise of, ‘Look at what I can do. Look at what I've done'. (Agreement). (Male, Leeds)

You only ever heard of all these innovations because a company's got behind them and bank rolled them after they've – you know. I think a lot of creative people just like the challenge, but then the people who put the money in, and set the factories up to mass produce, and stuff, they see the commercial potential. (Male, Leeds)

2. PACE OF CHANGE AND LONG-TERM VIEW

INNOVATION ROMANTICS are not long-term planners, and tend not to be especially concerned about the future. This influences their political views, which tend to be small state and focused on immediate outcomes.

Maybe I'm selfish but I don't care what's going to happen in 50, or 60, 70 years' time. I suppose I'm very much, if it doesn't affect me then never mind. (Laughter) If it's going to make my life easier tomorrow, the next year, whenever, then happy days. (Male, Leeds)

But I just think every generation looks after itself so years ago they weren't thinking, do you know what John, we need to do something for when young ones grow up, they were just doing what they wanted to do to make their life easier: inventing phones, making cars, whatever. They weren't thinking that they'll have super cars and hybrid cars. (Male, Leeds)

Energy is the one area where long-term concerns may be expressed, typically in terms of depleted resources and the need to discover new energy sources.

The fact that we're running out of electricity and energy. What is it fracking? (Female, Birmingham)

I think a lot of planning is done for the future, not for now. I mean, at one time, them solar panels, they weren't free. So they've brought them in at a time when all the powers of electric - and it's all getting expensive, you know. So it's a pretty good model actually. It's the in thing, isn't it, for the future, do you know what I mean? (Male, Leeds)

3. ROLE OF GOVERNMENT

They generally see the world of innovation as a world driven by consumer demand.

A lot of innovation is driven by commercial interest and then so having that consumer market is something that does bring on technology, and that's why we've got, you know, iPhones that you can sell and no cure for cancer, because there's a lot of work put into things that have got a market value. (Male, Leeds)

But they're only doing what the consumers want as well. If people didn't want all the crap that we buy they wouldn't bother making it all. (Laughter) (Male, Leeds)

This tends to translate into pro-market views, believing, for instance, that tax breaks are one way of driving innovation in the UK.

I think the government have got to make the country that they govern attractive financially for businesses to plant their feet there. If the taxation's too high there, they're going to go to a country where the taxation is lower, and that country's going to be part of that innovative rise. So I think the governments got a duty to try and make their country be as attractive as possible to invite businesses to do their stuff in that country. (Male, Leeds)

I think you need regulation, but the trouble then is the free market economy only grows if it's a free market economy. If it's a regulated economy then it doesn't grow as well, you run the risk of then creating another bubble which will burst. (Male, Leeds)

A national perspective on innovation is common, contrasting Britain with countries like the United States.

Well, they just seem to be... I don't know what it is about Britain, we just have this thing. It's like we're five, ten years behind America. We're always waiting to catch up to everyone else for some reason. I don't know if it's a British thing, it's just things I've noticed. We don't have that drive. (Male, Leeds)

Allusions to Dragons' Den are particularly popular among INNOVATION ROMANTICS, as this ties in completely with their understanding of the way innovation works.

It's a bit like Dragons' Den to me, but where the funding comes from would be the question. If it was just a general thing that came in the paper maybe oh yes you're funding entrepreneurs, you'd be thinking, hang on who is paying for this? With things like Dragon's Den it's really great isn't it when somebody goes in with a good idea and they go well right well we'll offer you this and there's a bit of a deal that goes on. I think everybody would like that. (Female, Birmingham)

Solutions to the challenges of progress are rarely debated in depth, but are generally accepted positively and unanimously.

Getting kids to make computer games instead of just playing them. (Agreement) (Male, Leeds)

Yes and more widely like with the solar panels and things like that, so you're actually looking after the environment as well, because I think that's massive now the whole environment thing and cutting down on energy waste and pollution and all that sort of stuff. So it's really important. (Female, Birmingham)

4. BEHAVIOURS

They are not innovators themselves, regarding themselves as lacking in creativity and drive. Their view of the typical innovator is someone with a different personality and skillset.

You imagine a lot of the people that are behind this technology are probably autistic and stuff, do you know what I mean, like all these computer people who are probably not the kind of people that are good communicators and stuff, so that's why they get involved in all this stuff. You see programmes on all the people that were around Microsoft and stuff in the 70s, they just seem like your total geeks, don't they? You know, just lock themselves in the bedroom and doing this stuff all the time, and that was their outlet. (Male, Leeds)

5. CONTROVERSIAL INNOVATIONS

INNOVATION ROMANTICS are usually relaxed about controversial innovations which other segments may perceive to raise difficult ethical implications, such as human stem cell research.

Well, one of the – stem cell research is a bit of a touchy subject, but at the end of the day if it kills peoples' cancer I think it's good. I think it's a good thing. (Male, Leeds)

They are also positive towards communications innovations that other segments perceive to be damaging to communities and social fabric.

I just think it's amazing, not, like, for a long time, you read about new technology and it's things in science, or it's things in the industry, but now the cutting edge is what you can own yourself, like the iPhone and the iPod, and I just think it's amazing. (Male, Leeds)

6. BENEFITS OF INNOVATION

Innovations not only serve practical purposes, but also make life more interesting and entertaining for INNOVATION ROMANTICS.

Well, I've got a tablet now, and it took me a while to get used to it, but it's lovely, because anything comes up on the television that I don't know about, or a piece of music that I haven't heard before, and a composer I don't know, I tap away, and lo and behold, the answer comes. So it's just fantastic for me. I love it. It's just marvellous. (Female, London)

I've got the iPhone 4 and somebody showed me one with the fingerprints and I really want to go and get one of them now just because of that. I'm sold on things like that. (Female, Birmingham)

7. CONCERNS

First and foremost mobile phones and tablets (agreement) have probably influenced and affected everybody's life. Me personally, professionally, it makes my life a hell of a lot easier that if I'm going out to see a client I don't have to go with a briefcase with all sorts of guff in it. I can go with a tablet and bump, bump, bump, there you go, this is what we can do, and you can go as far as putting applications through there, and then telling them that this is what you've got and emailing it without having to go see them; rather than go back to your office, print something off, make an appointment to go back to see them again, get them to sign it, and then have to post it off. It just makes everything so much easier that you can do everything in one go. (Male, Leeds)

This segment are generally unconcerned about the consequences of innovation, but they do see problems with the education system failing young people who are interested in science and technology.

They've made it too hard for the average person to go to university. (Male, Leeds)

Yes, we were lucky to get an hour of either IT or Technology. (Male, Leeds)

INNOVATION CREATIVES

INNOVATION CREATIVES

19 PER CENT OF THE UK POPULATION

Overview

INNOVATION CREATIVES (19 per cent of the UK population) are typically younger than average, confident and on-trend, displaying high levels of personal creativity and a social perspective on life. They are the least cautious segment, and the most likely to agree that they are “creative and often come up with new ways of doing or thinking about things”. They struggle the most bringing innovation together as a single concept, and therefore tend to see innovation as a series of different processes with different features. They relate best to innovation when it is described in terms of everyday practical solutions and modes of communication – including arts and entertainment media, where they are more interested in hearing about new innovations than other segments.

1. DEFINING INNOVATION

INNOVATION CREATIVES are often early adopters, and tend to recommend new products and ideas to their peers. They tend to think about innovation in the context of their own hobbies and interests.

Okay, I had a couple of things. The first one was I am a big tea drinker, but I hate the way there's nothing snazzy or good for tea drinkers, it's just a kettle, a bog standard kettle. So, I did a bit of research, because if you're a coffee drinker you've got all sorts of gadgets and gizmos and lovely things that go hiss and whiz and make lots of noise and I don't like coffee. So, I did a bit of research and I actually purchased this after the research, it's a Breville One Cup and it still just makes one cup of tea, but I absolutely love it because it's like your dispenser that you get at a machine, you put your cup in, you get it straightaway and then hit the button and you can put, you know, have your herbal teabags and whatnot. (Female, Glasgow)

Well, I've got a hobby; I don't know whether this fills the criteria that you're after but I've got a hobby and it's restoring old cars. I've just recently been following up some information I've picked up – you lads will probably know more about it than I do at the moment – and it's 3D scanning. Anybody heard about that? (Male, Bristol)

I make soap for a living and bath bombs and lip balms and everything, so I'm always sharing my ideas with my friends. (Female, Glasgow)

Tying together innovation as a single concept or policy objective is less straightforward, as they are focused much more on the features, pros and cons of individual innovations.

(Moderator: What, if anything, do these have in common?) They're all written in black pen. They're all important, yes. (Male, Bristol)

Inventions or something. (Female, Glasgow)

You read things all the time that you think, ‘That might be quite quirky, it might be quite good', but at the end of the day it might just be a bit rubbish. If you actually come across something that really works well and you go, 'Nifty idea.' (Female, Glasgow)

INNOVATION CREATIVES are curious and interested in new ideas, especially ideas that demonstrate creativity and solve practical problems.

There's got to be a benefit, whether it's a financial benefit, a time-saving benefit to attract me. (Female, Glasgow)

I found this thing which is called the Skycouch, so basically if you imagine that you're on a plane, there's a row of three, there is a footrest that comes from under here and it basically becomes like a flat bed in economy, but it's only run by Air New Zealand at the minute. So, basically you pay, like if there's a couple travelling, you pay half price for the third seat and that's then the whole row becomes yours, or if it's a family of three and they've paid for three seats in that row, then they get the Skycouch, so basically, like you can lie flat in economy. (Female, Glasgow)

I found like a 3-D pen, not a 3-D pen, a Wi-Fi pen and everything you wrote was then automatically typed up into words and I thought that would be really useful for work and things. (Female, Glasgow)

I emailed it though, but it's like a new thing this last couple of weeks, an inflatable bike helmet, so it looks like a scarf when you're cycling and then, at impact, it goes really strange, it goes all over your head, including the front, it inflates like an airbag. It was invented in Sweden, but a lot of people have taken it on because it just looks like you're wearing a big neckerchief, but if you start falling it can sense the movement and the fall. If you fall off the bike and someone hits you, it goes up all over your head like that, like a big airbag. (Female, Glasgow)

2. PACE OF CHANGE AND LONG-TERM VIEW

The pace of change in society is not a defining issue for the INNOVATION CREATIVES segment, with most neither embracing nor fearing the passage of time, often focusing on the effects of technological change on end users rather than on society as a whole.

(Moderator: How many of you are scared by change in society?) I'm not scared of it, but I have got one of the first iPod, I do like gadgets and I've got one of the first iPod Minis. I've got the first iPad and I've got one of the first Kindles and within six months it was out of date and I'm not going to spend another £500 getting the next one. (Female, Glasgow)

3. ROLE OF GOVERNMENT

INNOVATION CREATIVES tend not to think about innovation as an issue involving government. The impact of rules and regulations on their own jobs is sometimes highlighted as a barrier to innovative work.

Because (of health and safety regulations) you've got to get a scaffold because you can't stand on your steps because they don't allow you to use steps and you think, but if I was at home I could change my light bulb; I can stand on a chair and do it. (Male, Bristol)

4. BEHAVIOURS

Although they see themselves as creative, they do not necessarily see that that makes them innovators.

In my everyday life, I'd maybe say creative because I create an end product, whereas soap, is it useful? It's a kind of thing you need to have really or people wouldn't talk to you. I wouldn't say it was – I don't know. (Female, Glasgow)

Everybody comes up with ideas, everybody... (Male, Bristol)

I think it's to do with what I trained in and just naturally like I'm cast maker, a mould maker, so that's constantly thinking about how you're going to get things to work properly. (Female, Glasgow)

Well I mean I class myself as a creative person. I'm a photographer and I class myself, my job, as pretty creative, but generally like in my own house, I love making things and just making – I love doing something, upcycling certain things. (Female, Glasgow)

5. CONTROVERSIAL INNOVATIONS

INNOVATION CREATIVES are not seriously worried about the effects of innovations on their lives, but tend to believe that technologies can both help and hinder – perhaps by adding to the stress of modern life.

...because you just use your phone now. So, maybe, I don't know, I'm just wondering if I'm starting to maybe think I don't want to be constantly charging something in my house. Almost every socket in my house is charging something up and I'm just starting to wonder if something would be innovative enough to stop me having all these different things. I don't know whether I'm just getting a little bit sick of yet another product that I'm plugging in... (Female, Glasgow)

Occasionally they are able to draw the link between interesting, creative inventions and the genuine potential for innovation to tackle important challenges.

(3D printing is) creating organs and that's creating things; that's an innovation which is ultimately going to change people's lives. (Male, Bristol)

6. BENEFITS OF INNOVATION

They tend not to adopt a historical perspective on the benefits and drawbacks of innovation in society, seeing change as inevitable and something to which they have generally adapted well.

I think to me, kind of change, having to change, is almost innovative, that's what innovation is, do you know what I mean? That's how you move on, that's how you adapt, that's how you progress. (Female, Glasgow)

Mobile phones - it's everything in your pocket, isn't it? You've got your camera, your sat nav. (Male, Bristol)

Every new idea creates another idea for somebody else to go and invent something better and different to that so everybody... (Male, Bristol)

7. CONCERNS

While they are generally unconcerned about the impact of change and innovation on society, they do talk about social effects – like disposability and desocialisation.

With your telly, for example if your telly broke 20 years ago, you could go down your local hardware shop and buy a spare bit to fit it. Now if your telly breaks, you've got to go to the manufacturers, because only they know how to do it. (Male, Bristol)

There are also some privacy concerns in relation to communications technology, although not expressed as often or as consistently as other segments.

Who decides where we draw the line between privacy and public life? So, of course, I don't think there's anyone who would think that paedophilia isn't wrong, but actually, do I want the government looking through my my emails because someone out there might be a paedophile? Probably not. (Female, Glasgow)

INNOVATION REALISTS

34 PER CENT OF THE UK POPULATION

Overview

INNOVATION REALISTS (34 per cent of the UK population) are the largest segment in the Innovation Population, and likely to be particularly important to those trying to communicate the benefits of innovation. This is because they tend to appreciate the broad innovation policy environment, but are not excited by innovation per se, believing that ethics and rights should be central to innovation policy and delivery. They are the segment most interested in current affairs, particularly valuing social innovations in areas like health, education, and transport.

Who are they?

While our attitudinal segments include people from a disparate range of backgrounds and demographic profiles, the archetypal INNOVATION REALIST is somewhat older (average age 50, compared with 43 for INNOVATION CREATIVES) and more interested in current affairs than other segments.

1. DEFINING INNOVATION

INNOVATION REALISTS tend to think of social innovations when asked to describe new ideas. This often means ways of improving the systems and institutions which influence our quality of life, but also extends to practical, everyday innovations.

Then you're making use of the space, so I thought that looked quite – particularly good. There's a new innovation from the government at the moment, about new mothers being offered £200 in shopping vouchers to breastfeed. I thought that was quite a good way, targeting deprived areas and it's trying to – they've done it before with smoking and losing weight and things. But I thought that was quite a good idea. (Female, Bristol)

Six weeks ago in the newspapers, there was a company, or a university company in Glasgow, who invented a label that you stick on open food and it measures whether it's actually still fresh or whether it's still... It's not like the traditional, you just stick a label on it saying frozen, eight months, it measures whether or not it's still fresh and good to eat. It's away down south to be with a venture capitalist to market it and try and get... So that was really interesting. (Male, Glasgow)

You take the NHS and there, I think innovation is important. Cancer Research and all the research, that's kind of innovation. Someone somewhere is sitting and being innovative about ways to test for things, do things. So, there's an element of you have to be innovative in that way to improve health and other things. For some things it's important and for other things it doesn't matter does it? (Female, Bristol)

Incremental innovations make more sense to INNOVATION REALISTS and are more likely to be conversation topics than the radical innovations which interest other segments.

I think unless it's like a totally new invention, I think innovation is about constantly making things better, as these guys have said, and changing. I think there are some things that come on that are not innovation, are totally new. The mobile phone, I suppose you could say it's innovation on a telephone, but the whole principle behind it, it was a whole new concept. (Male, Glasgow)

2. PACE OF CHANGE AND LONG-TERM VIEW

INNOVATION REALISTS are neither especially relaxed nor unusually concerned about the pace of change in society. They tend to describe it terms of different generations in their own family.

When I get a lot older, and I have grandchildren, my understanding of technology is probably going to be a lot better than it is than my grandparents. So I can't imagine life without it now, because I've always had it. So I'm wondering, if I'm going to be like my grandchildren and go, 'Oh no, don't you know this?' (Female, Bristol)

The first computers in the 70s, the little ZX Spectrum or the little table tennis, a little daft game and you look at it now, you can now get internet ready televisions, they're talking about holographic televisions. I mean that's only been in 30 years. So I don't know where my daughter or grandkids, if it keeps going at this rate of change and this rate of progression, I have no idea where it will. (Male, Glasgow)

And it's, yes, and yes, the environment isn't sort of static, it's constantly changing and so everything needs to change. (Female, Bristol)

Some are more concerned about the pace of change, perceiving its impact on product durability, national identity and workplace demands.

It is quite scary yes, because the change is so fast. Companies are there to make money, they all invest money and make profit out of it, so you can see where they're coming from if they make that software obsolete, then you have to buy the new box or the new software. So you're constantly buying in to it aren't you? Sometimes you stand back from buying something new because it could be obsolete so fast. (Male, Glasgow)

I also think that some countries feel that they're pressurised to bring out these new products. Because it's expected of them. Like Japan for example, they're known for bringing out all these new ideas and they have to keep up with it, because other countries are expecting that from them. So we feel like, oh we have to think of new ideas otherwise you know, we have to keep up with our reputation. (Female, Bristol)

I think as well especially in Britain and in Europe there's a constant push to – like society's getting busier and busier. More things are expected from you...to do things cheaper and faster, and you know, innovation helps with that. Like for example if you get a faster computer it means that you can work faster. It helps productivity. (Female, Bristol)

3. ROLE OF GOVERNMENT

INNOVATION REALISTS see government as important as a lawmaker and regulator, rather than as a source of untethered funding for new initiatives.

And also, it must be deemed as quite important, because Vince Cable is the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills, so they obviously think it's important to have it on the agenda. It exists within the government to be there, to drive that forward, doesn't it? So it's deemed as important for our society. (Female, Bristol)

For me, the amount of money that gets talked about, I cannot get my head round it. It used to be millions, now it's billions. I just cannot physically get my head around the amounts of money that we waste in this country. It's just baffling to me, that we're in the state we're in. (Male, Glasgow)

Where government can play a role in delivery of major public projects – in healthcare, education and transport – there is more acceptance of high government spending.

The government has a role to play in innovation, for example, the high-speed rail link London to Manchester that will cut journey times by two-thirds. It suddenly means that you could commute from that area in to London. So you are less stretched on housing, you've less profitable areas and the country almost joins together. That's great that they invest in that innovation. (Male, Glasgow)

4. BEHAVIOURS

Everyday activities are seen to be innovative, and there is a tendency to play down the importance of hi-tech gadgets and inventions.

Surely everybody does it. Surely when you sit in a pub and I tell somebody that I can fit an exhaust to a car, I watched it on YouTube, is that not being innovative? It might sound really, well I don't know if that would bore you to tears, if I told you the details it probably would, but when you're talking about what somebody has done, DIY in the house or an app for a phone or maybe somebody has got solar panels or somebody else has invested in it. That's interesting, and you ask questions about it, to a point, then you can break off. But I think we all talk about it. (Male, Glasgow)

5. CONTROVERSIAL INNOVATIONS

Ethics and human rights are seen as more important than innovation and progress by this segment. This does not mean that they are mutually exclusive goals, with innovations in sustainability often attracting attention – tying in with broader concerns about a culture of disposability.

I found an environmentally friendly watering can. I do a lot of gardening, so reducing carbon footprint and I've started changing my attitude recently, so that caught my eye. (Male, Glasgow)

There's a bit to do about the recycling, I don't think we're very good. I was in Holland 20 years ago, my brother-in-law's Dutch, they've got recycling down to a fine art. Whether it was tins of paint, plastic and bottles, plastic bottles, they recycle Coca-Cola bottles or beer bottles. They just buy a crate and they take the crate back and they might get £5 back for a crate of beer bottles. That's cost saving. Or wine bottles, even plastic bottles, you get money back on them. We just throw them away because there's no incentive to take a ginger bottle back to the shop. (Male, Glasgow)

There is also an acceptance among many INNOVATION REALISTS that the drawbacks of innovations need to be weighed against the benefits. Although data privacy does concern this segment deeply, they are able to weigh this against the benefits.

Let's say, for example, the Oyster card. If you think about it, it's a tracking device. Would you like the idea of someone saying to you, 'I'm going to follow you everywhere you go and I'm going to record every single move you do'? If they put it to you that way you would say, 'No, I'm happy with the paper travelcard.' But when they put it to you this way: 'It's going to save time, you're going to save money on your fares,' et cetera, I'm sure you were all for it. (Female, London)

When asked to imagine the motives of innovators, there is a perception that innovators in fields like healthcare are more likely to be motivated by good intentions than those working on consumer goods and services.

I think you still get these people, look at research and development in kind of a disease, people who work in labs, these kind of people are still really kind of in to finding out solutions for things. (Male, Glasgow)

6. BENEFITS OF INNOVATION

While this segment tend to balance the benefits of innovation with the drawbacks they can identify, they do acknowledge that it is necessary to keep pace with change.

We need more ideas because of the way we're all going. We need to keep up with the pace of things. (Female, Bristol)

There is a general view that most innovations bring both benefits and drawbacks, and that this is the conclusion to be drawn from any sensible analysis.

There's a positive and a negative with all things isn't there? Online banking and you've got people who – obviously with the phishing emails and things like that. (Female, Bristol)

7. CONCERNS

The pressing concerns for INNOVATION REALISTS are desocialisation and disposability. They are concerned that modern technologies too often replace social interactions with virtual communications.

People don't have conversations anymore. People go out and you can see couples at a table having a meal and they're not talking because they're texting on their phones. I think they're all well and good mobile phones, but I think it's having a negative effect on society in some ways, and family life. I think there's a lot of good technology, but I also think there's a lot of technology that's an absolute waste of time and money, and energy. Sometimes it's just technology for the sake of it. (Female, Bristol)

I did say that the internet is fantastic, but it actually does scare me. I'm personally not on Facebook, and I just chose not to be. There's enough other mediums I'm using at the moment, but I do – I'm scared when I watch the news and you talk about grooming and other stuff that goes on. How technologies using the security behind it. That worries me for when my children get a little bit older and they want to start using these things. (Female, Bristol)

People are shopping differently, they're shopping on the internet, they're shopping totally... The way people now buy things is changing and shops are shutting, people are losing their jobs. Whole communities are getting harmed. As much as technology is a wonderful thing, and I would always say it is, but there is a flip side to that. (Male, Glasgow)

As with other segments, some concern is expressed that the march of progress has made it impractical to repair modern consumer goods.

I'm horrified at how much we throw away. The television we've got, we went to buy a television but only after our one broke, because I refused to buy a flat screen until the massive great beast of a thing broke down, after seven years, after the warranty was run out and the support was gone for it. But the telly that my mum and dad had lasted 15-20 years. They all talk about washing machines and fridge-freezers and everything, whereas now if something breaks you don't phone anybody out you just shut the door, put it out the back and throw it away and go and buy a new one. (Male, Glasgow)

In some cases, they express serious concerns about the unintended consequences of innovations in areas like healthcare:

There was also something, going back to – wasn't there talk about the Beckhams going for another child because they could guarantee that they were having a girl or something? That sort of thing. There's one thing coming up with something to, you know, get rid of diseases and stuff like that, to help improve people's lives, but to actually pick your family, blonde hair, blue eyes. I want a girl, not a boy. (Female, Bristol)

INNOVATION SCEPTICS

16 PER CENT OF UK THE POPULATION

Overview

INNOVATION SCEPTICS (16 per cent of the UK population) are people who are particularly concerned about the pace of change in society. They are cautious and practical, seeing new ideas as less important than solving problems by using existing ideas and technologies better. Like INNOVATION REALISTS, they are interested in social innovations, but tend to be more focused on the impact of policy on their lives, rather than ethical concerns. They also express much more concern about the recession and the availability of good jobs. They are very uncomfortable with radical innovation, preferring to talk about all innovation as incremental innovation.

Who are they?

While our attitudinal segments include people from a disparate range of backgrounds and demographic profiles, the archetypal INNOVATION SCEPTICS is a C2DE woman:

INNOVATION SCEPTICS are the segment most detached from the political mainstream, often feeling a sense of powerlessness, which is reflected in their often pessimistic viewpoints.

We can't change things anyway, so even if they come up with something we didn't agree with or we didn't want, then we couldn't change it. You see, I've never voted in my life ever, well that's because I don't really want to get involved with the bits and pieces because I've got no interest in it because I can't change it on my own anyway, I just go with the flow. (Female, Manchester)

1. DEFINING INNOVATION

New ideas are seen through the prism of everyday life – including the economic struggles that people face.

The one that caught my attention was when I was looking through Facebook, the hairdressers that I go to was doing a swag night. So basically you go and put a donation in a bucket and it's for a charity. Take five pieces of unwanted clothing or bags or shoes, hang them on a rail, your rail and then you look at other people's and basically swap them. (Female, Manchester)

This is the climate struggling with food, petrol, energy costs; there was an advert on television last week, Johnny Ball, and he was putting forward this affordable warmth scheme. I think it's like a government grant backed scheme. You need to meet certain criteria to qualify but you could get an A-rated boiler. That's something that's caught my eye. (Male, Birmingham)

When asked to define innovations collectively, they tend to focus on innovations as practical solutions that improve people's quality of life.

They're something that makes your life a bit easier. (Female, Manchester)