Innovation in third sector public service delivery
Mark NapierThe Centre for Public Innovation
Learning goals
1. Understand what “innovation” means.2. Understand why the public sector needs
innovation.3. Understand the role of the third sector in
innovation.
What is innovation?
Activity 1
1. What products do you think of when you think of the word innovation?
Defining Innovation
“An innovation is the implementation of a new or significantly improved product (good or service), or process, a new marketing method, or a new organisational method in business practices, workplace organisation or external relations.”
Oslo Manual, 3rd edition, OECD, 2005
Some useable definitions
Change that creates a new dimension of performance.
Or
Change that outperforms previous practice.
What does this mean?
Innovation is...
A new idea…
That comes from a new way of thinking or seeing a problem…
That is put into practice as a new way of doing something…
That leads to an improvement over previous practice.
What innovation is notInnovation is not:
Change for change’s sake, novelty or invention.
1. Effectiveness outcomes2. Efficiency cost3. Safety reduction in
errors4. Timeliness waiting times5. Equity greater access6. Co-ordination shared assessment7. People-centredness ease of useNHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement
7 dimensions of performance
Activity 2
Thinking about your examples of innovation.
1. Are they innovations?
2. If they are, why? If they are not, why not?
An actual example...
Mental health crisis:• Some people who have received an episode of in-patient treatment for mental ill-health will have further “crisis” episodes whilst back in the community• When experiencing/about to experience a crisis, they are most likely to come into contact with a non-mental health professional – police, ambulance, fire and rescue• Engagement with non-mental health services can exacerbate the crisis• First response organisations are poorly equipped to deal with a person suffering a mental health crisis
The problem
On behalf of a group of Clinical Commissioning Groups in London, CPI explored the feasibility of setting up an online digital platform for mental health service users – a mini “crisis care plan”:• patient uploaded information onto a digital platform (using principle of Patient Knows Best):
• how do I like to be referred to• next of kin – and how to contact them• my address• what signs I might be exhibiting in a crisis• what works to help me manage when I am having a crisis
• patient information (not clinical) accessible to third party organisations – with patient consent• gives first line response organisations information to better support people in crisis
What we did
The outcomes:• people undergoing crisis better managed – improves patient outcomes• fewer crisis episodes escalate and require in-patient admission• more people undergoing crisis managed in the community• fewer people require formal admission to a place of safety (Section 136)
The impact
It started with a stupid question:• “Why can’t mental health patients share their data?”
That led to a shift in mindset:•from assuming mental health crisis has to be lead by mental
health services•in-patient stays can be avoided by better engagement in the
community• patients can hold and share their own data• that everyone has a role to play in managing mental health
crisis
What was the innovation?
Was this an innovation?
Innovation is...
A new idea…
A new way of thinking or seeing a problem…
That is put into practice…
That leads to an improvement over previous practice...?
Why innovate?
The key drivers1. Intractable problems2. Emerging problems3. Client expectations4. The new financial environment5. The new delivery landscape
“The defining social challenges of the 21st century … will not be solved by ‘off the shelf’ answers.” Innovation Nation
What does this look like?Intractable problems
ASBSubstance misuseLong-term unemployment
Emerging problems
Ageing populationClimate changeChronic health
ExpectationsConvenienceQualityAccessibility Internet native
Delivery landscape
Funding cutsRe-structuring public sector“More with less”
Innovation and the 3rd sector
3rd Sector Organisatio
n
1. What public
sector often does
2. Service users
3. Volunteers/staff
4. Collaboration and partnerships
5. New ideas, concepts, studies
3rd sector points of innovation
Organisation can be
innovation eco-system
• Third sector has un-paralleled links with clients, communities, service users, patients, public, volunteers...
• Third sector understand why people do and do not use services
• Third sector has a greater appetite for collaboration and new ways of working
• Third sector can bring an outsider’s perspective and challenge received ideas
• Third sector can promote/lobby new ways of working or can demonstrate new ways of working in practice – be the change they want to seek
Innovation and the 3rd sector
020 7922 7820www.publicinnovation.org.uk Follow us on Twitter: @cpiorg
The Centre for Public Innovation32-36 Loman Street
London SE1 0EH