Innovation

Rising to the challenge: Where can ideas come from?

Embracing change

At Iriss, we believe that ideas are an integral part of everyday life, and that you can generate them by bringing different people together, and helping them to consider issues from a new angle, to look at them in a different way.

Developing a framework for innovation

Embracing change

Being innovative is not a detached activity to be undertaken once and never to be repeated again

Innovation is not only for small organisations that can react quickly, or large organisations that invest vast quantities of money in developing ideas. An innovative organisation is a place where new ideas are embraced and praised, where old ideas and traditional approaches are freely challenged and adapted, and where failure is tolerated and learnt from. Sounds simple.

How do you create the right conditions for innovation?

Embracing change

There are a number of conditions that can be created by managers and leaders that can create a favourable climate for innovation to flourish. However, innovative organisations can, and do, look very different. For example:

The Linux movement has been described as a 'revolution' sweeping the software world. It describes a group of dedicated software hackers who, in their spare time, created an open operating system.

Balancing innovation and risk in social services

Embracing change

Despite a strong history of innovation and improvement in Scotland, some organisations have many structural and cultural features that impede its development by limiting risk taking and imposing tried and tested standardised solutions.

I introduced the topic of risk and innovation with a colleague the other day who managed to summarise some of the main challenges in a quick anecdote:

Embracing change

Five guides on the topic of innovation in social services in Scotland

These guides aim to explore how you can approach innovation in your social services organisation, embracing the change that presents, and managing the risks that ensue.

Why innovate? Why now?

Embracing change

Scottish social services organisations face major challenges over the next 10 years

In 2007, the social care costs resulting from alcohol misuse were estimated to be between £114.2 million and £346.8 million (mid-point £230.5 million), with almost all of these costs relating to children and families (Scottish Government, 2009).

Iriss Forum 2010: Workshops

Iriss Forum 2010

Iriss Forum 2010 - Challenging times, creative solutions was the first Iriss Forum. Those who attended had the opportunity to hear from a number of speakers and found out how Iriss can support the social services workforce to 'do things differently' Was focused on how solutions can be found by working in partnership to deliver successful outcomes for the people that access Scotland's social services.

Compilation from the four conference workshop sessions:

Locality link officers

Scotland is facing an ageing population demographic and the implications have been widely discussed: the size of the available workforce; pressure on pensions; and how health and social care will support more individuals with emerging long term conditions. These implications coupled with a desire for public services to be more flexible and personalised to individuals, has led some local authorities to fundamentally redesign their approach to service delivery.

Attitudes and approaches to evidence, innovation and improvement in social services in Scotland

The Iriss has three programmes through which it delivers its work: evidence-informed practice, innovation and improvement, and knowledge media. Iriss wished to conduct research to examine attitudes, approaches, use and barriers to innovation and improvement and evidence-informed practice in the sector which could be used as a baseline for future research to track and monitor attitudinal change. The objectives of the research were to: