Managing innovation in the humanitarian aid sector

We often talk about innovation being a survival issue - but in the context of humanitarian aid it takes on a very literal meaning.  Crises, whether natural or man-made, require rapid problem solving if agencies and aid workers are to avoid the huge negative impacts of such disasters.   For a long time humanitarian innovation (HI) took place in a responsive mode, often on an ad-hoc basis; the focus was on the innovations themselves rather than looking for an underlying process which could be mobilised to generate a steady stream of solutions and enable learning between projects.  But these days there’s widespread recognition of the importance of learning to manage innovation as a repeatable process, one which builds an important capablility which (sadly) we’re likely to need in the future. In this interview Abi Taylor shares some of her experiences working as Innovation Manager with ELRHA’s Humanitarian Innovation Fund. (You can find a video version of this interview here)If you'd like to explore more innovation stories, or access a wide range of resources to help work with innovation, then please visit my website here.You can find a rich variety of cases, tools, videos, activities and other resources - as well as my innovation blog.Or subscribe to my YouTube channel here

Om Podcasten

Innovation doesn't just happen. It's not like the cartoons - a lightbulb flashes on above someone's head and that's it. No - it's a journey and we need to understand how best to prepare for that journey, whatever kind of value we are trying to create. This podcast is about some useful lessons we might take on board to help develop our capabilities.For more, see my website:https://johnbessant.org