Innovate Local West Yorkshire

“Innovation” has become a bit of a buzzword in business circles, but what does it actually mean, why is it important, and how do we create it?

This year’s Innovate Local West Yorkshire event answered these questions through discussions of many real-world interpretations, applications, and implications of innovation. Attended by various public and private sector organisations, funding institutions, and local politicians, the event was designed to offer support to and establish connections across the region.

 

What is innovation?  

Let’s start with what it’s not: it doesn’t have to be reinventing the wheel with an entirely new solution. An early panel at the event used the example of an aerospace company to outline how lots of tiny changes can create huge advances (improving a system by 1% every day would make it over 37 times better over the course of a year!).  

But, big or small, there’s more to innovation than making isolated changes. One of the more fundamental themes that resonated with me across several discussions was that innovation is about building the right connections with the right people. Lots of the technologies and solutions to current problems are already out there; we just need someone to connect the dots in a certain way. This is a key part of the circular economy. In many cases, the solution to one company’s waste problem is also the solution to another company’s supply problem – the innovation is seeing that potential and making the connection. 

Why is it important? 

If directed at the right problems, innovation can create huge social and environmental benefits as well as financial returns. It was great to hear this sentiment from one panellist who mentioned creating value across the triple bottom line – people, planet, and profit – as a defining feature of true modern innovation. Inclusive innovation, which is designed to support groups excluded from the mainstream, was one example of this as it helps to create social mobility.  

In fact, today’s social and environmental issues may present the ideal conditions for this kind of positive change to happen. The pressure from the cost-of-living crisis may encourage innovation into energy efficiency and conservation that would have huge social and environmental benefits in both the short and long terms.  

How do we create it? 

During his opening address, the CEO of Innovate UK – the UK’s innovation agency – outlined the organisation’s plans and goals to do exactly this through funding and advice initiatives. Innovate UK Edge is a great place to get more information on schemes like KTP and Rebiz (both of which we’ve engaged with in recent years) that are available to organisations across the region.

Beyond that, events like this are a great way to create connections and inspire ideas that could lead to the next wave of innovation.  

Innovation is a central element of the circular economy, so it’s something we’ve talked about a lot in the past. In fact, our Sustainability and Research Director, Rich Kenny, was recently interviewed about it: listen to the conversation here.