Innovation is about a lot more than new technology

by Simon Tucker

The government rarely misses an opportunity to show off its enthusiasm for innovation. During Tony Blair's recent trip to California, Downing Street emphasised the similarities between the British and Californian economies "both [are] acting like new economies... going into high knowledge-based industries [and] developing innovation."

This emphasis on innovation is very welcome, and plays to one of Britain's traditional strengths. But too often our understanding of the term "innovation" is based on thinking rooted in the industrial age, according to which innovation merely means new technologies - like the internet or mobile phones.

Modern Britain is characterised more by knowledge-based industries than manufacturing. Around 70 per cent of our economy is based on services, and the future success of Britain may depend on how well we improve our performance in service areas like health and education.

In healthcare, pharmaceutical breakthroughs attract the headlines, and new drugs may continue to deliver transformational improvements. But the big advances from medical technology have probably already been banked; more likely the important changes will come from new ways of delivering services and organising institutions.

Consider the benefits of innovations like the hospice movement, Guide Dogs for the Blind or self-help groups. Or the biggest of them all - the NHS. These are "social innovations" activities, services or products that address social needs but that don't generate commercially valuable intellectual property rights. Examples from our own time include NHS Direct, Sure Start or congestion charging. Or, on a larger scale, microfinance, fair trade and restorative justice.

If this all sounds a bit fluffy, think about the Open University. The OU, established in 1969, did involve new technology - a second television channel only on air for a limited number of hours a day - but more fundamentally it was a new conception of learning at a distance. It allowed millions of people - now across 22 countries - to access higher education from their own home.

We cannot rely on new products to solve the problems of the future. Our ageing population requires new forms of care and housing, not just new drugs to fight conditions such as dementia. The rise in chronic disease - illnesses that linger or recur throughout a lifetime, such as arthritis and diabetes - will ultimately require social support solutions as much as advances in medical science. The increasing diversity of our cities demands new ideas in schooling and housing. The side-effects of our affluent and sedentary society, like obesity and inactivity, cannot be fought with technology alone.

It is surprising, then, that the government invests next to nothing in social innovation while pouring billions into technology. State funding, via the research councils, is plentiful for scientific and technological research in universities. But it is practically non-existent for organisations focusing on social rather than product innovation.

Social innovation can change the way we live. But all innovations need to be tested, crafted into effective solutions and even allowed to fail. A new scientific product would not enter the marketplace without a history of testing, improving and scaling up. If we are not prepared to invest in the same process for social innovation, we cannot be disappointed if our politicians rely on half-baked populist ideas.

A century ago, scientific innovation was left to the ingenuity - or eccentricity - of a few well-off individuals who beavered away in their attics and sheds until hitting on something of value to society - like Alexander Bell. Likewise, contemporary social innovation is dependent on the enthusiasm of a handful of entrepreneurs and activists operating with little state funding. Once we recognised the importance of science, we took innovation out of the shed and into the laboratory. It is time to do the same with social innovation.

First printed in The Quarter, Autumn 2006