Innovation in a time of crisis is all about speed…but also requires direction
An important and thoughtful piece this week by Roan Conway from the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) reminding us that speed is just one of the levers for innovation. https://medium.com/iipp-blog/purpose-driven-innovation-in-a-time-of-covid-19-296e9d05cb He points out that a lot of the rhetoric from the UK government is quite rightly about the urgent need for […]
Post-COVID: re-organising Localism around 3 digital principles
On Tuesday, I keynoted a senior leadership session for Birmingham City Council. The session was for leaders, councillors, and senior executives – about 35 in total – to discuss post-COVID re-organisation and management. We discussed a range of pressing issues confronting the Council. These included: data trusts, data security, supply chain resilience, efficiencies, and cross-silo […]
The Invincible Company
Just released in the last few days is the latest book by Alex Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur entitled “The Invincible Company: How to constantly reinvent your organization with inspiration from the worlds best business models”. https://www.strategyzer.com/books/the-invincible-company In line with their previous books, this builds on their success with the business model canvas to explore its […]
Community and Public Service Post-COVID
On 17th April I participated in a TechUK panel of people considering the impact COVID-19 is having on local public services, together with the themes that will be very important in shaping our Place-based post-COVID future. I was joined by Paul Brewer, Director for Digital & Resources, Adur & Worthing Councils, Helen Gerling, Managing Director, […]
Living through a digital revolution – what’s next for large established organisations?
Just published at Digital Leaders, Professor Alan Brown has been considering the implications of the current crisis on digital transformation at Large Established Organizations (LEOs). For LEOs the impact of moving to digital ways of working is a complex journey. With all such change, major barriers must be addressed, especially for LEOs. Overcoming inertia, dealing […]
From Big Tech Platforms to Digital Utilities
Now published on the Digital Leaders platform, Professor Alan Brown has been considering the implications of the current crisis on digital technology platforms, and some of the lessons that can be drawn from this. Digital Leaders is a shared professional online space and face-to-face programme promoting digital transformation best practices that has a subscriber list […]
Public Sector Innovation Conference: Chair’s Blog
By Mark Thompson (pictured) Like ‘digital transformation’, innovation is an over-used and under-examined term. This applies within business generally, but more especially within the public sector, where there are limits to the amount of disruption and risk that it is considered acceptable to carry within the public domain. Further, a range of questions arises when government […]
Big Data Analytics change modern organisations from within
Organisations implementing big data analytics want to reap many benefits these solutions promise. But what are the hidden costs? Organisations push to implement big data analytics to improve access to information, know their customers and employees more, make better decisions and gain competitive advantage. Vast streams of data and sophisticated analytics are often perceived as […]
Turbocharging localism
Post-election, the government now has headspace to consider some more ambitious policies for the coming few years. How will it wield its power? By devolving it, perhaps? Localism is gaining traction – but critically, we need to understand the concept differently. It needs redefining for the age of readily-consumable digital services. At the moment, it’s being used […]
How to survive an industrial revolution
It is sometimes difficult to number revolutions. But some economists would say we’re experiencing the fifth industrial revolution: the Information and Communications version. They call earlier revolutions as: 1. Industrial 2. Railways and steam 3. Steel electricity and heavy engineering 4. Oil, cars and mass production Each one significantly changed how society was organised: where […]