Innovation CHEF

If you take a look at the link bar you will see a new item Innovation Videos

This video gallery will host some of my favourite videos on Innovation. I’ll rotate the content but expect to see Innovation in Ireland, funny inventions, creativity & design videos. I’d like to spotlight innovation in Ireland and designers so feel free to suggest content.

Welcome Back. Don't forget to leave a comment. Thanks.

I will be putting together a list of of the top innovation related events happening in Ireland in the month of October.

If you are doing training, having an open day, holding a conference or have something on that you would like to have listed please drop me a line.

Either reply here on the blog or catch me on Twitter.

Hear  from you soon

Good sounding course from Carlow IT. Anyone interested in sustainability and design soon check it out soon as it is meant to start in September. Looks like you get credit towards a Masters too.

Programme Content:

• Introduction to Sustainable Design (SD), case studies, approaches & philosophies
• Practical sustainable design strategies for designers
• Social and environmental legislative concerns for designers
• LCA (Product Life Cycle Analysis), LCA tools, IT(Information Technology) packages, simplified applied LCA
• Social and Corporate Responsibility
• Packaging and waste considerations for designers
• Marketing sustainable design
• Communication and presentation of sustainable design and business
• Development of the SD Brief and SD Strategy
• SD Facilitation and Multidisciplinary collaboration
• Procurement and specification of materials and processes
• Sustainable Product Service Systems (SPSS)

Earlier this year Micheal Connolly went on RTE’s Dragons Den with his Innovation. A Self employed animator he came up with the idea of a children’s amination kit three years ago. Now after investment from Gavin Duffy the Animatazz is set to be a contender for the Christmas number one slot.

When we reviewed the show we said:

This product promised to bring the magic of animation home. Essentially it is a box of pipecleaners and other odds and ends to make characters that are then animated by following the instructions on the book and DVD. In a smart move, you provide your own camera/phone and use the moviemaking software that comes already with your computer, thus avoiding those difficult software warranty issues. Is this business viable? Yes. Is investable? Yes again. With the right marketing and product placement strategy this is a brand that could grow and grow and make an investor a handsome return. It is the growth potential that makes Animatazz investable.

Great to see another success story.

Hope to see more when #ddire returns

Perhaps a bit late but mark your calendars with some interesting looking Innovation events in Ireland for the rest of the month of September

19th September 2009
Bizcamp Ireland
Guinness Storehouse, Dublin
Great free day of learning and networking for Entreprenueurs, start-ups and business people.

23rd September 2009
Sligo Information evening
The Glasshouse Hotel, Sligo
Thinking of starting a Technology business in the West? Head along to the free information evening

24th September 2009
Fingal Day of Enterprise
Europa Academy, Swords
A one stop shop for business supports and advice.

I’ll Get October out soon

If I missed an event let me know or if you want to promote something or let others know about something cool drop me a line

Thanks

I am enjoying the debates over at the TASC blog and the irisheconomy blog. Good to get perspectives on NAMA and other economics issues. There is a real emphasis on NAMA though probably because it captures the headlines so effectively. There has been some debate on Ireland Smart Economy & Innovation proposals here & here but not on the scale of NAMA.

The innovation debate centres a little around two items; firstly, investment in third level education and secondly, what is innovation anyway?

I tried to help answer the second question a little.

Wonder what you think of the answer?

On the definition of innovation. I see that innovation can be a result, that result being something both new & valuable. Innovation can also be a process, a way of achieving that result.

The one off miracle teeth whitener or whizzy dizzy food slicer can surely be seen as innovations. Probably not wise to trust your economy to chance or trial & error though.

Innovation processes are properly about being able to make the innovative product or service less a result of blind luck or “blue skys” thinking but more of following paths and processess to guide and focus the imagination.
Sli Eile mentions Korea as an example of government investment in R&D. Korean industries ,such as Samsung & LG, have invested in learning processes such as TRIZ to improve their innovation processes.

As to whether Innovation and R&D are the same. The answer is yes and no. The Kirton Adaptor-Innovator (KAI) scale is a useful model to consider. At one end is your Academic/R&D pure research type folks, at the other end the adaptors, the transformers. We all fall somewhere on the scale but both ends create new value & innovation, you just can’t use the same metrics. Einstein ,at the innovator end, never sought or was granted a patent. Edsion at the other end, with 1093 patents, always worked on things there was existing models for.

There is a need for a more sophisticated understanding of the processes and metrics required for innovation in Ireland. Experts on customer experience, product design, creative problem solving & innovation are out there in the Irish economy I don’t believe we have to look very far to find the raw potential for ideas either.

You are right to identify the ambiguity of the language in the report. I join you in hoping for more clarity in the future.

The management of the innovation process is not that weird, esoteric or magical in nature that we should ignore the knowledge out there in favour of spending cash to just to meet an OECD or EU average in the hope it that will bring a knowledge economy to Ireland.