Archive for November, 2010

“Vantage point is the most important thing when starting along an innovation process,” announced leading innovator and government advisor, Charles Leadbeater, told delegates at Beyond2010 in Birmingham this week.
In a session discussing radical thinking and the stimulation of innovation within public services, Leadbeater said, “Many of the challenges we face are things we need to create solutions to, rather than deliver services to solve. A service can only solve a little bit of most of the problems we face. You cannot solve complex problems like a family in crisis or an old person with a chronic condition and is socially isolated by delivering a pizza-like service that goes in an out. You need a service that can work with that complexity.”

He pointed out while fewer financial resources in the public sector was well known, “it doesn’t mean fewer resources in society.” Fewer financial resources formed one of four points raised by Leadbeater, alongside rising expectations, intractable ingrained problems, and emerging challenges, who went on to describe the different types of innovation (sustained and disruptive) and the two settings where innovation happens (inside and outside institutions), and added, “Many of the ingredients [to innovation and problem solving] are already there but are very poorly combined”.

“Most of the innovation in the UK public sector is a combination of sustained innovation within inside institution, offering ‘better versions of what we’ve got’,” he argues. “It’s vital, but not enough.”

According to Leadbeater, the next step for organisations looking to embrace innovation is to have disruptive innovation within institutional frameworks, for instance prisons and schools that “aren’t as different as they look”. He warned of one danger this type of innovation sometimes fosters: “Professionals by and large love it because they have new buildings and kit to play with, but it doesn’t change the culture outside of those institutions”.

The game-changing innovation, so-called ‘Transformational Innovation’, said Leadbeater, comes about via outside institutions and disruptive thinking. For the government advisor, public sector organisations need a mix of innovations to work together: “There is a complete imbalance in our capacity to innovate.”

Public sector preservation
As his first major outspoken argument, Leadbeater bluntly said the public sector “likes to preserve the problem to which they see themselves as the solution,” and stated, “the health service is by and large run for doctors, by doctors”.

Throughout the rest of his talk, in which he identified high engagement and low volume communication like social media (such as the cited Mumsnet) and described it as “the new space that’s difficult to into,” Leadbeater was further outspoken on the innovation that makes a big or small impact from big or small investments. “Most social innovations are not about changing life that much,” he argued, before explicitly identifying government ICT programmes – most notably the National Programme for IT (and former director general for the NPfIT, Richard Granger) as “high investment and small impact”.

Leadbeater continued in that vein, calling to question previous conference speaker, and COO of the Efficiency and Reform Group Ian Watmore: “I can’t understand where Ian Watmore has been when he thinks most of the problems in the private sector’s relationship with the public sector come from small companies cocking things up,” Leadbeater said to a smattering of applause. “In my experience it’s the big companies ocking things up, and bein rewarded for it.”

He also took a pot-shot at the top 19 suppliers to government and their signing of Memorandums of Understanding in recent weeks. While all signatories agree to cut some of the costs to the public sector, Leadbeater said the move almost made the group a “cartel-like club”.

Following such remarks, Leadbeater took a more calmed approach in a concise summary at the end of the thought provoking speech, and advised delegates they should, “look for high engagement, low volume innovations”, and to seek big impacts from small investments. Finally, as an ideal, he said, organisations should be looking for a “mixture of the very old and new”.

A short extract from the Long Debate with Gordon Mcconnell in action

Kevin Myers – Moderator of the Long Debate

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John Collins

Register now (already 180 guests signed up)!! – click here

John Kennedy
Silicon Republic’s John Kennedy has been writing about IT since the mid-Nineties. He began his career with Computer Publications Group before spending four years at Business & Finance where he was Technology Editor. Kennedy joined Silicon Republic in 2002 to become the fulcrum of the company’s news service and is Editor of the weekly E-Thursday section in the Irish Independent as well as the Digital Ireland technology supplement in the Irish Independent. He was recipient of the Irish Internet Association’s NetVisionary Technology Journalist Award 2005 and Siliconrepublic.com has been awarded ‘Best Technology Site’ at the Irish Web Awards for the last three years in a row.

Lorna Maxwell
Lorna Maxwell is the Senior Executive Officer of the Economic Development Unit in Dublin City Council. In 2009 she led the preparation of the Economic Development Action Plan for the Dublin City Region, and now co-ordinates its delivery. The Action Plan was developed in response to the economic crisis and is a regional approach to developing Dublin’s competitiveness and international positioning, by working across its three core elements of developing Strong City Leadership, in a Smart City with Innovative and Entrepreneurial People. Lorna is Secretary to the Creative Dublin Alliance and she works with the member organisations on the delivery of its work programme. She manages the annual Innovation Dublin festival.
Lorna holds a Masters in Public Management from the Institute of Public Administration and a Degree in Economics and English from NUI Maynooth. She previously worked for South Dublin County Council in various capacities for 12 years before moving to Dublin City Council in January 2008.  Prior to working in local government Lorna worked in the NGO sector.

Daniel Crowley
Daniel Crowley leads commercial operations at NDRC, helping to drive product innovation and new venture development. Prior to NDRC Dan was Managing Partner at Valentia/KDM Equity, an investment firm, and was formerly a principal at number of technology start-ups, one of which he helped lead to IPO. Dan is an alumnus of Trinity College (Computer Science), and did his graduate studies in business administration at Oxford University, LBS, and Cornell University.

Register now (already 180 guests signed up)!! – click here

A unique format and networking opportunity

As part of the Inventorium project, The Long Debate will take place on the 11 Nov during the festival, at NDRC. An evening of lively discussion and networking, Inventorium have devised a special debate format, 18 of Ireland’s key contributors and commentators have been invited to give their views and opinions. Each speaker will present his or her viewpoint for five minutes, the emerging conversations will be documented and presented on the Inventorium website.

Make The Long Debate your key event in Dublin Innovation Festival

When?

The Long Debate, Inventorium,

part of Dublin Innovation Festival

11 Nov

Doors open 18.00

Debate: 19.00-22.00

NDRC, Crane St, Digital Hub, Dublin 8

Registration for this event is essential

In the last week we gave a short introduction to our interesting scholars & speakers who will share their experience, knowledge and expertise about innovation in Ireland at The Long Debate.Speakers from academia, business, politic and media will give their input at this very special Innovation Dublin Festival event. We have 18 speakers and a top moderator in Kevin Myers. Understandably, such profound contributors with this kind of experience are hard to summarize into a short profile so we encourage you to come out and see & meet them for yourself! Register here!

• Keith Finglas
  Managing Director at Innovation Delivery Limited

• Dr. Mike Wilson
  Mick Wilson is a research leader, educator, artist and writer, and currently the Dean of the Graduate School of Creative Arts & Media, Dublin, Ireland

• Jean Byrne
  Entrepreneur and member of the taskforce

• Dan Crowley
  Head of Commercial Operations at NDRC (National Digital Research
  Centre)

• Frederic Herrera
  Enterprise Development Executive & Enterprise Platform Programme Manager at Dun Laoghaire Institute of Arts, Design, and Technology

• Lorna Maxwell
  Senior Executive Officer of the Economic Development Unit in Dublin City Council

• Andrew Mclaughlin
  Programme director for the TCD/IMI Masters in Organizational Behavior

• Theo Lynn
  Director, Industry Engagement at DCU Business School

• Deirdre DeBurca
  Former Green Party Senator, Media professional

• Marie Walsh
  intellectual property rights lawyer

• John Handelaar
  Founder Kildarestreet.com and Broadcast Media Professional

• Brian Caulfield
  entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He is a Partner at DFJ Esprit, the leading European venture capital firm.

• John Collins
  assistant business editor with The Irish Times

• Alan Costello
  Managing Director of Ruby Consulting

• Steve Gotz
  is currently serving as Commercial Development Manager at the SFI-funded Centre

• Rom Immink
  is a serial entrepreneur and author of a number of best selling business books

• Kevin Thompstone
  is an experienced economic development practitioner and consultant

• Karlin Lillington
  is journalist and columnist with the Irish Times focusing on technology, with a special interest in the political, social, business and cultural aspects of information and communication technologies.

• Gordon McConnell
  CEO and Director of Business Development for the DCU Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship.

• Cairin O’Connor
  is the Development Director of the Bolton Trust & Docklands Innovation Park.

• John Kennedy
  Editor for Sillicon Republic (www.siliconrepublic.com)

• Ben Hurley CEO of NDRC (National Digital Research Centre)

Register Here >>

Cairin O’Connor will be one of the speaker at the Long Debate. We invite you to this very special discussion The Long Debate which will take place as part of the Inventorium project, during Dublin Innovation Festival. Register, here!

Cairin O’Connor is the Development Director of the Bolton Trust & Docklands Innovation Park. She is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and an entrepreneur who advises start-ups on the areas of attracting investment & sources of finance. Cairin is a founding board member of Eurocloud Ireland and a consultant with the European Bank for Recovery & Development.

Make The Long Debate your key event in Dublin Innovation Festival

When?

The Long Debate, Inventorium,

part of Dublin Innovation Festival

11 Nov

Doors open 18.00

Debate: 19.00-22.00

NDRC, Crane St, Digital Hub, Dublin 8

Registration for this event is essential, click here!

John Kennedy will be one of the speaker at the Long Debate. We invite you to this very special discussion The Long Debate which will take place as part of the Inventorium project, during Dublin Innovation Festival. Register, here!

We invite you to this very special discussion The Long Debate which will take place as part of the Inventorium project, during Dublin Innovation Festival. Register, here!

Jean Byrne

An entrepreneur with an Economics Degree from Trinity College, Dublin,Jean ran her own fashion business for ten years designing, manufacturing and exporting clothing all over the world. After the sale of the business she became involved in the strategic planning and development of An Cosan (formerly the Shanty Educational Project) whose mission statement was and is ‘use education to eradicate poverty’. An Cosan is now regarded as one of the best models of Community Education in Ireland. During this period Jean mentored on the MSc in Marketing Practice in The Michael Smurfit School of Business and Enterprise Ireland. Jean also served on the Government Small Business Task Force Forum and was also appointed by the Government to the Board of The Crafts Council of Ireland where she is currently a non-executive director.

The combination of her entrepreneurial and her involvement with these models of learning radically changed Jean’s view of education and how people learn to learn. Her passion is to facilitate the delivery of a new model of learning for entrepreneurs – ‘Learning to Learn’. This model would provide the tools required to learn Design, Thinking, communication skills, team work and conflict resolution. Jean believes all these skills can be learnt through project based learning using the needs of the city of Dublin to provide the learning laboratory.

In 2008 Jean established Design Twentyfirst Century with Jim Dunne – a fellow Craft Council Director.

Kevin Thompstone

Kevin Thompstone is an experienced economic development practitioner and consultant (www.thompstonegroup.com) and has successfully conducted assignments in countries such as Armenia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Jordan, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Uganda and the UAE. He served as CEO of Shannon Development, the regional economic development company for Ireland’s Shannon Region, from 2000 to 2008, where he worked for 23 years and served in key senior management roles.

He has been responsible for developing and realising strategies that have delivered a regional network of technology parks, business incubators, economic zones and broadband infrastructure. He has also led initiatives designed to promote economic activity in less developed areas – e.g. live-work solutions for rural towns/villages, tourism initiatives built on local comparative advantage, supports for SME’s.

His experience in corporate leadership, planning and delivery of a complex range of projects and investment transactions provides a unique mix of policy and practice in the economic development field.

He has recently been advising government, investment agency and commercial clients on business park, technocity and special economic zone projects in Armenia, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates.

Cairín O’Connor

Cairin O’Connor is the Development Director of the Bolton Trust & Docklands Innovation Park. She is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and an entrepreneur who advises start-ups on the areas of attracting investment & sources of finance. Cairin is a founding board member of Eurocloud Ireland and a consultant with the European Bank for Recovery & Development.

A unique format and networking opportunity

As part of the Inventorium project, The Long Debate will take place on the 11 Nov during the festival, at NDRC. An evening of lively discussion and networking, Inventorium have devised a special debate format, 18 of Ireland’s key contributors and commentators have been invited to give their views and opinions. Each speaker will present his or her viewpoint for five minutes, the emerging conversations will be documented and presented on the Inventorium website.

Make The Long Debate your key event in Dublin Innovation Festival

When?

The Long Debate, Inventorium,

part of Dublin Innovation Festival

11 Nov

Doors open 18.00

Debate: 19.00-22.00

NDRC, Crane St, Digital Hub, Dublin 8

Registration for this event is essential, click here!

Ron Immink

Ron is a serial entrepreneur and author of a number of best selling business books. He has started several, grown a few and sold one company. Ron has worked in entrepreneurship, training, consultancy, publishing, education, innovation and tech transfer.

In 2007, following his passion for books, new learning and entrepreneurship he started Bookbuzz™, a company that has developed an innovative, proven and highly effective learning and consultancy methodology that harnesses the collective wisdom of the organisation, using inspiring business books to stimulate ideas, design innovative strategies, improve decision making and boost fresh thinking. Clients of Bookbuzz include some leading multinationals in Europe and the USA.

At the same time he co-founded www.smallbusinesscan.com in partnership with Ulster Bank. A free and open platform where owner managers can create and share the business knowledge, the insights, the experience and the contact networks needed to generate new growth for their own business and create a new beginning for the economy. Smallbusinesscan is now the fastes growing business support website in the UK and Ireland.

His expertise is around entrepreneurship, story telling, narrative, dialogue learning, social learning, social media and collective wisdom.

He is a business development expert for the EBRD, is board advisor to a number of exciting start-ups, is a fellow of the Institute of Commercial Management and on the panel of experts in entrepreneurship for the OECD.

John Collins

John Collins is assistant business editor with The Irish Times. A journalist for 16 years he specialises in technology, business and internet issues. He has been contributing to the paper’s popular technology pages since 2005 and has been on staff since early 2007.
He was the Irish Internet Association’s Net Visionary Technology Journalist of the Year in 2006. Prior to joining The Irish Times he was a freelance journalist contributing to publications including The Sunday Business Post, Computerscope, Business Plus, Ireland.com and Smart Company.

John was editor of PC Live! Ireland’s best selling computer and Internet magazine for five years. He has been online since 1995, and has written for a range of Irish and international publications including The Irish Independent, Silicon Republic, Business & Finance, TVB Europe, The Web Magazine, i-D, Hot Press and Apple Report.
John has commented on technology and business issues for a range of radio and TV programmes for both RTÉ and independent stations, as well as co-presenting the RTÉ2 series, TechTV.

Theo Lynn

Theo Lynn is a lecturer in Management in the Dublin City University Business School where he teaches at postgraduate level on Strategic Management. Theo holds a Ph.D. in Law from University College Dublin and the title of his thesis was “The Irish Corporate Governance System and the Role of Irish Occupational Pension Funds as Institutional Monitors”. He is the Programme Chairperson for the MSc in Business Management, is Deputy Director (Technology) of the Learning, Innovation and Knowledge Research Centre (www.link.dcu.ie) and is Principal Investigator on the Global Grid for Learning project (www.globalgridforlearning.org).

We invite you to this very special discussion The Long Debate which will take place as part of the Inventorium project, during Dublin Innovation Festival.

When?

The Long Debate, Inventorium,

part of Dublin Innovation Festival

11 Nov

Doors open 18.00

Debate: 19.00-22.00

NDRC, Crane St, Digital Hub, Dublin 8

Registration for this event is essential