Once in Twenty Years…
In the article, ‘Five Changes Impacting Western Australia’ we are left with the action to re-think what a 21st Century environment for innovation might be. Current times offer the chance to do this when we are at a rare point to consider how to take the State beyond the changes now affecting us. What is next?
Too often programs that seek to promote innovation focus on the outcomes or the innovators themselves rather than building a capacity to innovate. If we look around there are talented thinkers and innovators in the State, there are also many programs seeking to inject innovation into everything from government to kindergartens. What is missing is a holistic approach to linking all of this activity together into a resilient system to continuously innovate for ourselves and ultimately for others in the Next economy.
The following table describes these dimensions in their current form and in terms of the changes that need to occur. These elements can be brought together into a Statewide capability to continuously innovate and to bring together our true innovation potential in a way that will be critical in the next decade.
|
|
Now |
Next |
| Place |
Sprawl, suburbs, monoculture, disjointed |
Density, diversity, soul, whole, connected |
| Decision |
Tame, linear, no risk, indecision |
Speed, complexity, coordinated, boundary-less, risk savvy |
| Talent |
Careers, company, slow change |
New skills, expert network, knowledge focus, mobility |
| Learning |
In case, factories, slow change, place-based, traditional |
New foundations, experiential, conceptual, personal, timely, anywhere |
| Research |
Incremental, linear, closed, procedural, hidden, misunderstood |
Accessible, linked, networked, non-disciplinary, broadly understood and applied |
| Creativity |
Arts, marginal, tolerated, risky |
New perspectives, universal, design-minded, collaborative |
These six dimensions work with the facilitators of productivity and innovation, underpinned by resilience, combined with the integrating effect of networks and technology to support a new open innovation system.
Many programs and activities exist under these labels already but they need to be re-thought in the context of the Next economy. In each case this re-thinking should also bring the elements together to form a resilient innovation system that provides a foundation for our participation in the Next economy, at the same time improving our capacity in this one and our capacity to adapt to change. The evolution of a ‘platform’ for innovation, productivity and resilience will also take advantage of new knowledge technologies to ensure all elements work together.
The move to an innovation society in Western Australia does not mean starting from scratch. Many initiatives and people with ideas already exist. A first stage would be to connect these activities and people within a resilience framework using technology to eliminate the impact of distance and time and facilitation to ensure a broader understanding of the bigger picture from targeted experts who can contribute to our understanding of the potential.
This will require a more subtle approach than is usually the case. It will be about mapping and analysis, about facilitation and empathy and about growing capability not just funding programs directly. Networks, partnerships and collaboration will be far more critical than bureaucracy and rigid thinking.
KT Studio has been working towards this goal for the last 8 years and has a great deal of experience and knowledge from many projects that address each of these elements and about how this new opportunity can be brought about. The Studio is also a member of the Resilient Futures Network, a network of professionals working in various fields with a common aim of using resilience thinking to deal with complex issues. These networks of external experts and thinkers from around the world can be brought to bear on the evolution of our innovation system.
Beyond Spin
The possibility of Western Australia as a global centre for innovation and the quinary sector cannot be achieved through brochures claiming the ground. It is a fundamental knitting of capability that already exists in some form and taking that to a new level. It will be about pulling the threads of activity together in a way that focuses not on the innovators but on establishing the catalysts for innovation. These work together to establish a Statewide capacity for innovation that can be used for our own economic benefit and to establish the State as a focus for innovation globally.
Innovating for Western Australia. Innovating for the world.
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