Creative Councils - How to Innovate in Local Government

A charity with a mission to help people and organisations bring great ideas to life. We do this by providing investments and grants and mobilising research,

networks and skills, funded by a £320m endowment

The Innovation Lab

• Runs practical programmes across a number of areas including health, ageing, digital education, giving and local government

• Awards grants and commission non-financial support

• Produces research reports and publications to stimulate and inform debate

• Supports the development of innovation skills

How do you “do” innovation?

TRIZ

Brainstorms

Aim to generate LOTS of ideas

“The way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas, and throw the bad ones away.”

Dr Linus Pauling, American chemist and

bio-chemist

Implementation involves...

• Building operational systems and processes to

deliver for customers

• Evaluation• Quality assurance • Building brand profile• Marketing

• Organisational structure• Governance structure

• Legal forms• Recruitment

• Skill development

• Loans• Equity• Quasi-equity• Crowd-funding

Business models and

finance

People and governance

Intellectual capital

Reputations and

effectiveness

Systemic change

To get from here... ...to here...

...many things need to change in tandem

Creative CouncilsThe programme and what we’re learning

Melani Oliver

Today’s presentation

• Creative Councils – what is it and what are we trying to achieve?

• The process

• The five councils’ ideas

• What we’re learning

Core mission and purpose

• Raise the profile of innovation in local government.

• Support the development, implementation and spread of transformational ideas to meet the biggest challenges facing public services – and demonstrate impact.

• Support the development of innovation skills across local government.

Why the Shift?

• Austerity

• Demographics

• Self-determinism

• Broader definition of value

The process

Assumptions: • Incremental change is not enough• Local government can lead the

development of solutions• Solutions must be replicable to

have impact• It is possible to codify innovation

methods

Call for ideas137 responses

6 months practical and financial support to develop and test ideas

Five most promising get support for further year, including £150k grants, coaching, and expert advice on communications, business modelling, ethnography and prototyping

17 shortlisted2 day camp

Selection process for final stage of the

programme

The five councils’ ideas

Derbyshire

Monmouthshire

Rotherham

Wigan

Stoke

Planning

Heating homes

Running the grid

Insulation

Generating electricity

Profit making

Innovating

Billing people

Subsidizing

Supplying gas

Keeping the lights on

Addressing fuel poverty

Promoting market share

Reducing carbon

Creating new supply

Fuelling industry

Promoting efficiency

Supplying businesses

What are we learning?

Barriers

• Capacity – finding time away from the day job

• Remaining faithful to user insight

• Strategy vs culture

• The ‘innovation paradox’ – the more it’s needed, the less likely it is to happen

Enablers

• Strong political and managerial leadership

• New skills – sometimes unexpected ones

• Building coalitions and movements around the work

• Non-financial support

For more information please contact:

Katy Rutherfordkaty.rutherford@nesta.org.uk

Melani Oliver Melani.oliver@nesta.org.ukFor more information on the Stoke-on-Trent experience please email energysecurity@stoke.gov.uk or hywel.w.lloyd@btinternet.com Or visit:www.nesta.org.uk/creativecouncils