Dear all,
My own research was about digital sustainability in museums, which may not sound like innovation but has a lot in common with it. Firstly, whilst some people would say that innovation throws up issues with sustainability (which of course it does) I'd point out that it is also a key part of sustainability: we have to change to stay the same. That's to say, for a product or activity to stay true to its purpose it has to respond to changes in its environment and corresponding shifts in resources or the sources of/mechanisms for creating value (and these shifts are generally pretty frequent and rapid in our area of work). This requires innovation. Europeana goes as far as to place this at the very heart of its sustainability strategy: "business model innovation" seems to be part of every key conversation there. It may sound like innovation in products and innovation in business models are far apart but they really aren't. A business model is a way of ensuring that something can be support itself by making sure that what it outputs - its value (whether that's money or "public good") - is aligned with the interests of the parties that will provide the resources it needs to persist. See also, of course, Simon Tanner's fabulous "Balanced Value" work on impact [1].
My focus was actually on the decision-making that is at the heart of the transactions of value and resource that determine whether or not something will be able to generate what it needs to survive. Decisions around how the various parties perceive value and cost, how they equate the two, how they think about alternatives etc. As this discussion has already suggested, this is somewhat different where the drivers are not purely financial. Just as importantly, the resources are not purely financial or fungible, and in many cases they are unique. I found that a volume edited by Weisbrod was very stimulating in this regard [2], likewise Jim Collins' work [3]. And, though perhaps this is getting further away from the topic of innovation directly, I also found Herbert Simon's work [4](and that of Chester Barnard [5] who inspired him) very useful for thinking about how individuals make decisions in the context of an organisation and how the needs of both sides can complement or conflict - obviously things work better when they are aligned. I think this still has relevance to innovation because it's part of how you think about (a) motivating people (b) ensuring that the things they work on serve the organisation's needs and are therefore sustainable (or have some chance of being), and (c) how you explain to the people holding the purse strings that innovation in a particular area is valuable.
Cheers, Jeremy
Jeremy Ottevanger
Technical Web Manager
Imperial War Museum
Lambeth Road
London SE1 6HZ
[1] Tanner, S. (2012). Measuring the impact of digital resources: the Balanced Value Model. London, UK: King's College London.
[2] Weisbrod, B. (Ed.), To profit or not to profit: the commercial transformation of the non-profit sector (pp. 47-64). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
[3] Collins, J. (2005). Why business thinking is not the answer: Good to great for the social sectors. Boulder, CO, USA: Jim Collins.
[4] e.g. Simon, H. A. (1978b, December 8). Rational decision-making in business organizations
[5] Barnard, C.I. (1968/1938). The functions of the executive. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
-----Original Message-----
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dave Gerrard
Sent: 11 April 2014 06:08
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MCG] Innovation
Hi Haitham,
Sounds really interesting, and reminds me of some of the work some of my fellow PhDs are doing in the International Development domain (it was the phrase "social enterprise" that triggered that thought off).
I realise I may have inadvertently glossed over the achievement of the DMA Friends project by possibly suggesting that adapting a concept / paradigm from business (e.g. CRM) and using it in a museum context may have been a straightforward thing to do... I didn't for a minute mean to suggest that - I'm certain it must have been damned hard and they've done it really successfully. As you say, a museum is a world away from a commercial business. And of course museums have been working with their visitors for years, too, but it's great to see them start to use the available tech to help with the job.
The work DMA are commencing to standardise their system and roll it out to other museums really excites me, too. It's a potential first step to producing genuinely meaningful "cultural metrics" at a national level.
Great meeting you both. Keep in touch,
Dave
________________________________________
From: Museums Computer Group [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Haitham Eid [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 10 April 2014 21:49
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Innovation
Thanks, Dave and Gemma for your thoughtful comments!
Like Gemma mentioned there are many innovation theories and models in the business studies discipline. But the problem with these theories is that they are very commercial oriented where marketplace, competition, financial profit, etc. are major components. On the other hand museums are non-profit organizations with social mission and subsequently these theories offer a little help to museums and similar organizations. My PhD research is examining concepts such as social enterprise and social innovation (which is already used by Tony Butler, The Happy Museum Project) among other ideas to perhaps offer a possible innovation model for museums and cultural organizations. Although the research is focusing on digital innovation, the model has the potential to function in different settings within the museum context.
Best,
Haitham
Haitham Eid
PhD Candidate Elite Without Being Elitist
Web page: https://swww2.le.ac.uk/departments/museumstudies/research/phd-student-research/Haitham_Eid
University of Leicester| School of Museum Studies
19 University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, United Kingdom
[log in to unmask]
@HaithamEid
----------------------------------------------The University of Leicester's Department of Museum Studies has the highest proportion of world-leading research in any subject in any UK university (RAE 2008)
Times Higher Awards Winner 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
On Thursday, April 10, 2014 7:36 AM, Gemma Sturtridge <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Hi Dave
Thanks for your reply. Your research sounds like a very interesting angle to examine, although I am looking at how museums manage their innovation processes. I'll definitely take a look at the literature you recommend. You are right that my last comment was meant to provoke discussion, good to see that it is working!
To summarise my project - in lectures and the academic literature innovation management is examined in a manufacturing context ie how to make your product better and more attractive to customers. Seemingly these models can be applied to the commercial service sector but what I'm trying to do is take them a stage further into the not-for-profit world of museums.
Best wishes
Gemma
-----Original Message-----
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dave Gerrard
Sent: 10 April 2014 09:13
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MCG] Innovation
Hi Haitham and Gemma,
My research is about inspiration in museums, so not an exact mapping onto innovation, but there's some overlap.
It's not entirely clear from this exchange thus far if you're looking specifically at how museums innovate themselves (which is what the video Haitham shared was about), or at how museums encourage their visitors to innovate? Proving the latter is a bit of a holy grail for museums as far as I can gather - it helps you fight your corner if you can prove that the key idea behind "world-beating innovative product x" actually came from your museum.
So if you're interested in the second one, then this paper springs to mind:
Museums and culture-driven innovation in public-private consortia
Morten K. Søndergaard & Niels E. Veirum
Museum Management and Curatorship
Volume 27, Issue 4, 2012
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09647775.2012.720184#.U0ZPYvldV8E
(Plus "Where Good Ideas Come From" by Stephen Johnson is a good read, too - I suspect you're both all over that, mind you - thought here's his obligatory TED talk just in case: http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_johnson_where_good_ideas_come_from).
While my research is trying to find evidence of inspiration in Social Media, and I am in essence a computer programmer, I take issue with the notion that "innovation is a synonym for digital"! I suspect Gemma might have been being deliberately provocative with that one? :) There's enough derivative and dull digital stuff around (most of it not linked to museums, fortunately) to blow that theory straight out of the water, IMHO. Just look at 99% of all Hollywood movie / video game tie-ins, for example. Of course it works the other way, too - there were some great "non-digital" ideas in the YouTube video Haitham pointed us at.
Would be interested to hear more about both of your projects.
All the best,
Dave
David Gerrard
[log in to unmask]
PhD Research Student
Centre for Information Management
School of Business and Economics
Loughborough University
[log in to unmask]
07789 308 163
-----Original Message-----
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Haitham Eid
Sent: 10 April 2014 01:33
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Innovation
Hi Gemma,
I am, too, very interested in hearing from some folks here reflecting on innovation. My PhD research investigates how museums can cultivate innovation and enterprising values and the questions you have raised are very relevant to my research. Would anyone be interested in watching the following short video and perhaps share their thoughts? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyC-lxpN2zA
Gemma, do you think you can share your report with me after you finish it?
All the best,
Haitham
Haitham Eid
PhD Candidate Elite Without Being Elitist Web page: https://swww2.le.ac.uk/departments/museumstudies/research/phd-student-research/Haitham_Eid
University of Leicester| School of Museum Studies
19 University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, United Kingdom
[log in to unmask]
@HaithamEid
----------------------------------------------The University of Leicester's Department of Museum Studies has the highest proportion of world-leading research in any subject in any UK university (RAE 2008) Times Higher Awards Winner 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
On Wednesday, April 9, 2014 6:56 AM, Gemma Sturtridge <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Dear MCGers
I'm putting together a short report on managing innovation in museums for my MBA course. One thing which has struck me is the definition of innovation. Although this is well documented in the business literature, what are your views?
What is your definition of innovation?
What does innovation look like in the Museum sector?
Is innovation a synonym for 'digital'?
I look forward to reading your thoughts!
Gemma
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