Innovation: A roadmap for homeless agencies

Foreword – Shaks Ghosh In the six years that I have been at Crisis, the pace of change within homelessness has been unrelenting. As a sector we have we not only had to respond to changes in policy, legality and funding but we have also had to contend with a fundamental shift in the way that homeless people’s needs are perceived. This is a hugely exciting time for homeless agencies. Having dealt with the soup and blankets era, we now have the opportunity to divert resources into rebuilding lives, but the reality is that we are very much in the fledgling stages of understanding how to do this. And that’s where innovation and risk-taking comes into it. Never has there been a more important time for innovation and if we want to make homeless people’s lives better in 2004, the Innovation Roadmap should be on every CEO’s reading list for 2003.

Acknowledgements Thanks very much to interviewees, Shaks Ghosh, Adam Sampson, Crispin Truman, Victor Adebowale, John Crawford, Stephen Dawson, David Gold, Jeremy Swain, Julia Unwin, and James Dyson, whose candid comments and wealth of experience make ‘The Innovation Roadmap’ such stimulating reading. (Please see Appendix One for interviewee biographies.) Thanks also to Sister Ellen Flynn, Kath Dane, David Chater and Sarah Roberts for sharing invaluable experiences and case studies. Thanks also to Alexandra Denye, and Joe Saxton for their tireless support and to the staff at the Future Foundation for submitting themselves to repeated creative thinking experiments.

About the interviews It was important to us that this handbook provided situations and perspectives that homeless and other voluntary sector agencies could relate to. In order to achieve this, we have interviewed a number of notable innovators within and outside the voluntary sector to investigate the following: • What innovation means to them • Why it is important to their organisation • How they facilitate innovation within their organisation • What barriers they have come across; and how these barriers can be overcome In the interest of preserving our interviewees confidence, we reveal only the interviewee’s sector (homeless, other voluntary or corporate) in the more sensitive sections of the report.  nfpSynergy

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Foreword – Shaks Ghosh.............................................................................................2 Acknowledgements .....................................................................................................2 Introduction..................................................................................................................4 Section 1: What is innovation?....................................................................................4 Box 1: Five minutes with James Dyson, entrepreneur and innovator.........................6 Section 2: The innovation edge - why homeless agencies need to innovate ..............7 Adapting to a rapidly changing environment................................................................................ 7 Improving service delivery ........................................................................................................... 7 Becoming thought leaders and driving policy .............................................................................. 8 Empowering homeless people ...................................................................................................... 8 Increasing employee satisfaction and retention ............................................................................ 8 Increasing organisational profile................................................................................................... 9 Better representing homeless people............................................................................................. 9 Giving donors ‘added value’......................................................................................................... 9 Recognising that homelessness is still a problem ......................................................................... 9

Box 2: The homeless sector: How does it rate? ....................................................... 10 Section 3. The process: A systematic approach ....................................................... 11 Investigation................................................................................................................................ 11 Box 3: Activity – ‘Organisational refresh’: ................................................................................ 12 Preparation .................................................................................................................................. 12 Incubation and Illumination ........................................................................................................ 13 Verification (and evaluation) ...................................................................................................... 13 Application.................................................................................................................................. 13

Section 4. Cultivating an ideas culture ..................................................................... 14 Box 4: Ideas formation – The benefit of diversity ...................................................................... 14 Innovation friendly structures and planning ............................................................................... 14 Encouraging new ideas ............................................................................................................... 15 Reviewing Ideas.......................................................................................................................... 15 Actioning ideas ........................................................................................................................... 15 Managing Ideas ........................................................................................................................... 17 Ideas Management Case Study: Too many good ideas? The Skyzone Ideas Day...................... 17

Section 5. ‘Know thy enemy’ – common barriers to innovation ............................. 19 Barrier One: Rigid beliefs and value systems regarding what the user ‘needs’ ......................... 19 Barrier Two: Being discouraged by funding regimes ................................................................. 20 Barrier Three: Competitiveness (too much or not enough?)....................................................... 21 Barrier Four: Too much introspection ........................................................................................ 21 Barrier Five: Wanting to avoid risk ............................................................................................ 22 Barrier Six: Accepting rigid or outdated structures .................................................................... 22

Section 6. Innovation in action: Case studies from the voluntary sector ................. 24 Case Study One: Revolving Doors Link worker Scheme........................................................... 24 Case Study Two: Thames Reach Bondway’s ‘Safe as houses’ peer education programme ...... 25 Case Study Three: Crisis Skylight .............................................................................................. 26 Case Study Four: Turning Point’s ACAPS Brixton Youth Services .......................................... 27 Case Study Five: The Camden Society’s ‘Platform 1’ ............................................................... 28

Summary of Key Points............................................................................................ 30 Recommended Resources......................................................................................... 32 Appendix One: Interviewee credentials ................................................................... 33 Appendix Two: Innovation Workshop..................................................................... 35 Appendix Three: The Contents of the Innovation Toolkit....................................... 36  nfpSynergy

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Introduction Given the unrelenting pace of change in today’s working environment, the ability to constantly question and refresh what you do – innovate - is an integral part of long-term survival. If business and not-for-profit enterprises want to remain relevant to their client/supporter base, they need to regularly update their products and services to keep in line with the influx of new ideas and information that is characteristic of the 21st century. Although there has been a flood of material relating to creativity and innovation over the past two decades, very little of it has focussed on the unique needs and experiences of the voluntary sector – as a result, the sector is often left feeling that innovation may not be for them. In order to address this misconception, Crisis has supported the writing of this handbook, which aims to examine innovation through a ‘voluntary sector lens’ and provide homeless agencies with a practical and relevant guide to making their organisations more dynamic and responsive. The Innovation Roadmap is designed to guide homelessness and other voluntary organisations towards a culture of more systematic innovation. It provides a sector specific analysis of the innovation process, explaining why it is important, how it can be incorporated into an organisation’s culture, and what the barriers are likely to be. It also provides insights about just how innovative the homeless sector is seen to be and highlights a number of inspirational projects which have, in one way or another, challenged the status quo.

Section 1: What is innovation? “Just as energy is the basis of life itself, and ideas the source of innovation, so is innovation the vital spark of all human change, improvement and progress.” Theodore Levitt At its core, innovation in the workplace is about examining the way things are currently done with a view to finding new and better ways of doing them. It can be applied to any element of the business, from the nature of the services offered to clients to the systems used for filing or payroll. It does not have to be completely original (this would be ‘creation’), nor do its effects have to be earth shattering – it can simply be the extension, modification, or combination of already existing ideas in a way that improves existing functions. The word ‘innovation’ has been bandied about so much in the context of the corporate sector and in terms of exciting new products that it is tempting to view it as some American buzzword with narrow and intangible connotations (see ‘common myths’). However, on speaking to chief executives from successful charities and grant-making organisations, it becomes apparent that innovation has a far more ingrained and complex role in the workings of an effective voluntary sector organisation than many of us would initially imagine. It is not just about coming up with ideas for exciting new services. It is also about: Responding adaptively to a rapidly changing environment Realising that current solutions may not be working Considering the needs of key stakeholders Testing and evaluating new solutions (to new or old problems) Keeping an ear to the ground for the latest research and information Seeing through and overcoming challenges Linking things up in ways that are not immediately obvious Remembering that new systems can be as revolutionary as new services  nfpSynergy

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Learning from mistakes Sharpening your competitive edge Put in these terms, it is difficult to imagine how any voluntary organisation could imagine that innovation is not a priority. Here’s what our interviewees had to say about innovation: “Innovation means devising and testing new solutions to new or old problems. Practice is constantly changing, the nature of the problem is constantly changing and due to technology etc. the possible solutions are always changing. Innovation is about matching these new changes/solutions to new or old problems.” (Adam Sampson, Shelter) “It is not just continual improvement, it has to be something radically different. It should be linked to research and evaluation. It will mean that risks have to be taken, and that’s okay. It’s about finding solutions in response to changing situations.” (Shaks Ghosh, Crisis) “Innovation is the ability to see through problems and come out the other side with exactly (or close to) what you wanted.” (John Crawford, Camden Society) “It can be making use of or exploiting situations as much as anything – the people who innovate are the ones who see things from a different angle, so it could be that they use existing services or products but do them differently.” (Jeremy Swain, Thames Reach Bondway) “Any organisation would see innovation as important as it allows you to do things differently to accommodate service users. A lot of the bedrock of innovation needs to come through from the needs of the users.” (Jeremy Swain, Thames Reach Bondway) “Innovation means never having to say you’re sorry as long as the learning is greater than any of the mistakes you have made.” (Victor Adebowale, Turning Point) “Challenging pre-conceived ideas is frequently a part of innovation – particularly in terms of looking internally at the organisation and asking, “we’ve always done it this way – why? Is it really valid? Is it the best way of doing it?” (Stephen Dawson, Impetus Trust) “Innovation is not just about coming up with the idea, it’s also about testing whether it could really work, checking whether it’s been tried elsewhere and whether the data supports it etc. There is definitely a testing and evaluation phase of innovation.” (Stephen Dawson, Impetus Trust) “It’s all about trying new things and constantly reinventing the organisation – that creates a lot of excitement and in a lot of cases, that’s what creates lasting success. (David Gold Prospectus)

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Box 1: Five minutes with James Dyson, entrepreneur and innovator So that readers might glean some inspiration from the experiences of a renowned innovator, we posed some questions to, James Dyson, inventor of a multitude of successful household appliances including the Dyson vacuum cleaner, the Dyson Contrarotator™ (washing machine) and the ‘Ballbarrow’ (a wheelbarrow that utilises a large ball instead of a wheel and is therefore less prone to sink into soft or damp ground). For More information see ‘About Dyson’ at http://www.dyson.co.uk. What does the word innovation mean to you? Solving problems, creating new technology and new solutions - doing things differently and better. How important is innovation to what you do you? It is vital. Dyson design engineers are constantly looking at the things around us that we use everyday in the home and asking whether they really do provide the best solutions. We have a team of 350 scientists, designers and engineers all engaged in the core activity of developing new technologies and creating new products. For us, design is not about styling, but about how a product works, performs and what it is like to use. Innovation is at the heart of everything that we do - we wouldn't bring a product out unless it’s new technology or a design solution meant that it worked better. Do you have any interesting mechanisms for managing the flow of ideas? It's not so much about managing the flow of ideas as making sure everyone involved in designing and engineering new products works together to improve on existing solutions and create new and better ones. We have scientists, engineers and designers working together across all the teams. The environment within the Research and Development centre is open plan to encourage sharing of ideas and we encourage discussion and debate wherever possible. Innovation is often seen as the realm of the private sector. Do voluntary organisations need to take innovation seriously? Why? Thinking creatively and developing innovative solutions is something that everyone in all walks of life could and should be encouraged to do. That's why I am so keen on the Design and Technology course in schools. It teaches young people to solve problems; it encourages them to harness new technologies and engenders an innovative spirit in the next generation. In your mind, what are the barriers to innovation and do you have any advice about how these could be overcome? Often the biggest barrier is other people's doubt and cynicism. People told me I would never be able to make a vacuum cleaner without a bag and that it would never sell. You need to have a lot of hope, the ability to take calculated risks and above all a capacity for endurance - it was 15 years after I had the idea for the Dyson Dual Cyclone vacuum cleaner that I finally produced and sold them in the UK. Two years later, it was a best seller!

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Section 2: The innovation edge - why homeless agencies need to innovate Systematic innovation allows organisations to stay on top of their game by forcing them to constantly explore the ways in which the world is changing and the ways in which they could change with it. Below are a number of ways in which innovation can help homeless agencies to be as effective as possible. Adapting to a rapidly changing environment “I don’t think you can stay still. There are always changes in the environment meaning that there will be new problems and beneficiaries will have new needs. Organisations that don’t innovate get stale.” (Stephen Dawson, Impetus Trust) “Practice is constantly changing, the nature of the problems is constantly changing, technology etc. is changing, and all of this provides both new ideas and solutions. Innovation is about keeping your eye on the ball and matching these new solutions to the new or old problems.” (Adam Sampson, Shelter) If any sector has the impetus for innovation, it must surely be the homeless sector. Due to a sympathetic government and the sector’s own tireless campaigning, the homelessness arena has been witness to some dramatic changes in policy and funding. Consider that since 1999, the sector has seen: The RSU come in, shake things up, meet it’s targets for rough sleeping (“by hook or by crook” as one local authority commented) and then disband The establishment of the B&B Unit (and corresponding targets) The Establishment of a Homelessness Directorate The creation of the Supporting People scheme A fundamental shift in the way funding is provided (from central to local government) Local authorities taking responsibility for local homelessness strategies Changes to the Priority Need criteria Other various changes brought in by the homelessness Act 2002 When we consider that homelessness is also closely linked to a profusion of social, economic and cultural factors (e.g. housing, unemployment, family networks, etc.), it becomes obvious that homeless agencies are operating in an environment that is incredibly volatile and dynamic. Given this backdrop, it is clear that those agencies that are committed to systematic innovation (i.e. constantly challenging and refreshing what they do) will be far better equipped to respond to any external changes that could potentially affect their clients. It goes without saying then, that they will also be in a better position to meet user need. Improving service delivery “Innovation breaks down institutional and professional boundaries and provides more seamless services.” (Crispin Truman, Revolving Doors) The obvious advantage of systematic innovation is that it challenges us to examine whether the available services provide the best possible outcomes for users. Even in well-established and highly effective services, it is difficult to imagine that there is nothing that could be changed in order to deliver better results. If there is no such thing as a ‘perfect’ human, then it is unlikely that there could be such thing as a ‘perfect’ service – ideally, both should undergo a continual process of growth and reform.

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Becoming thought leaders and driving policy “Finding new solutions is a positive way of being challenging. You can criticise and criticise what’s going on but it won’t do much good unless you provide an alternative.” (Shaks Ghosh, Crisis) When asked why innovation was important to their organisation, a number of CEO’s commented that it enabled them to pilot new solutions and steer future thinking and policy. Adam Sampson, CEO of Shelter summed this sentiment up nicely. “Innovation is important to us because we have taken a position as a leader in the field. This means using our expertise, our influence and our muscle to stay ahead of the game. We have no aspirations to be mere providers of state-funded services. Our hope is to identify new solutions to problems, to test them, to use our brand and ability to gain publicity and command attention for these new innovative solutions and then to hand them over to other agencies and the state to deliver.” Empowering homeless people “I’m a big believer in giving people the tools to help themselves. I’m more into acting as a facilitator/catalyst then a hand-holder. I’m into empowering people and letting them find their own way.” (David Gold, A Glimmer of Hope Foundation) Go to any event where senior homeless staff are gathered and you will hear them discussing ‘user empowerment’, that is, giving users a sense of self-efficacy and control. How best to do this has clearly become an important issue for homeless agencies, and although much progress has been made, there is still much exploration to be done. It is therefore an area that is ripe for innovation! Ideas that have already proved to be successful include: Creating an online network for homeless people to stay in touch with the friends they meet on the streets (Groundswell’s Streetfriends.org) Providing homeless people with the opportunity to develop skills and confidence e.g. Crisis Skylight, Crisis Christmas Tree Project, Connection at St Martin’s VIP club Providing a forum where homeless people’s ideas are not only taken seriously but brought to life e.g. Thames Reach Bondway’s ‘Big Ideas Group’ Giving homeless people increased access to information, e.g. Groundswell’s Mobile Internet Café and Thames Reach Bondway’s ‘Hudson Buzzroom’ Demanding greater responsibility from homeless people in return for services, e.g. Connection at St Martins VIP Club Increasing employee satisfaction and retention “There is something exciting about working in an innovative organisation which transfers to staff and supporters- and not just those directly involved in innovating – the buzz transfers through the whole organisation. Even admin get the feeling that they are working in an exciting and dynamic environment and this results in them feeling more satisfied in their workplace.” (Shaks Ghosh, Crisis) The beauty about working within a charitable organisation that is systematically innovative is that you can feed both your altruistic and egotistical self. Not only do you get a strong sense of ‘making a difference’ (through belonging to an organisation which is providing effective services which are always open to review), but you also get to build a greater sense of self-efficacy and importance through contributing and growing your own ideas. Such an organisation empowers employees to do the best job they can with the greatest level of satisfaction.

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Increasing organisational profile “People come to us because they see us as innovative. One of the key aspects of our business plan is that we are different to other providers.” (John Crawford, Camden Society) In London alone there are 80 day centres and 130 homeless agencies (Homeless Link Report). This suffusion of services makes it increasingly difficult for donors, media representatives, potential staff and potential clients to work out which services are worthy of their attention. One way to stand out from the crowd is to build a reputation for innovation. It is human nature to notice divergence and to be drawn to dynamic environments. Better representing homeless people “Homeless agencies need to promote a different image of homeless people. Rather than focusing on destitution and helplessness, organisations should promote homeless people as valuable citizens with a unique contribution to make to society!” (John Crawford, Camden Society) It has often been suggested that homeless agencies need to be more innovative in helping the media, the public and homeless people themselves to see homelessness in a more constructive light. As Toby Blume from Groundswell lamented, “Homeless agencies have a tendency to play on negative stereotypes of homeless people… if there were more positive images displayed there wouldn’t be such a stigma attached.” It’s a fact that perception creates reality. Consider, for example, experiments conducted by psychologists who were interested in the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’. They went into schools and arranged for teachers to repeatedly deride some of their high achieving students for poor work. With time, these previously bright students became despondent and their marks dropped dramatically. If a person is constantly presented with a particular image of himself or herself, they will eventually adopt it. It therefore follows that if there were more positive images of homeless people available, communities would be more accepting and supportive, and homeless people would be less likely to box themselves into the negative stereotypes. This issue is starting to be tackled by agencies such as Crisis, who are encouraging greater interaction between staff, members of the community and homelessness through Skylight and the Urban Village Project and Thames Reach Bondway, who are investigating a scheme where homeless people are given responsibility for tidying neighbourhoods but could certainly do with further innovation. Giving donors ‘added value’ “Being a donor can be a fairly unsatisfactory process. It’s often fairly random for them, so I wondered, ‘Is there a better way?” (Stephen Dawson, Impetus Trust) We have already looked at how innovation could help improve services, increase organisational profile and create a more positive image around users, all of which will help supporters feel they are signing up to something worthwhile but Stephen Dawson from the Impetus Trust wanted to take this a step further. He set up the Impetus Trust as a mechanism through which donors could know that their money was going to projects that had been screened for innovation and Impact. Can you think how else could you give your donors added value? Recognising that homelessness is still a problem “Innovation is very important at the moment because there are a lot of things that aren’t working. There are a huge group of people out there who are very vulnerable and whose needs are not being met. They need services that are effective and replicable.” (Crispin Truman, Revolving Doors Agency)  nfpSynergy

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Until we are living in a society of Utopian proportions, the homeless sector will need to continue being creative and resourceful in order to meet the ever-evolving needs of its clients. Given that we have not yet worked out the best tactic for conquering homelessness – Provide more houses? Adjust economic policy? Improve the education system? Fund parent support programmes? Change expectations? Create more jobs? – There is still plenty of scope for innovation.

Box 2: The homeless sector: How does it rate? So how does the homeless sector rate when it comes to innovation? Here’s what our commentators had to say. “It (the homeless sector) is having to learn to be good at innovating (which is a bit of an oxymoron). The nature of homelessness is changing rapidly. For example, the scaling down of rough sleeping has left a lot of organisations having to scale down and search for new missions etc. so they’re having to learn to innovate.” (Homeless Sector) “We have a foot in a lot of different sectors, and I think that the homeless sector is probably the most innovative but does tend to be a bit isolationist.” (Voluntary Sector) “As a sector, we are a bit stuck - but we have a tradition of good innovation. It is there, it just needs to emerge.” (Homeless Sector) “The sector has come up with some very interesting ideas. Coming in from the cold was full of interesting ideas – meaningful occupation came from the frontline and was taken into the heart of policy – this didn’t come from government, it came from the homeless sector.” (Voluntary Sector) “It is unreasonable to expect organizations that are only project funded to innovate – it’s amazing that in some cases, they still do.” (Voluntary Sector) “It is better than it was but it is still stuck in a moral morass about what the relationship should be between the homeless and society as whole. There are innovative services that could be developed to attract the public into developing the skills and understanding necessary to work with people who live on the street.” (Voluntary Sector) “I think they’re one of the best. When we went to do this pilot with Homeless Link, the Chief executives we got around the table were all very open and willing to share information and that’s a key thing, information sharing. I doubt I could do the job of the John Downies, Jeremy Swains, Anthony Lawtons of this world as well as they do.” (Corporate Sector)

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Section 3. The process: A systematic approach If you know how to harness it, you can make innovation a systematic part of the work done by your entire organisation, thus ensuring that your organisation is well positioned to reap the benefits outlined earlier. Systematic innovation: “the purposeful and organised search for changes, and the systematic analysis of the opportunities such changes might offer for economic or social innovation” (Peter Drucker, 1994) Innovation is about much more than coming up with good ideas. It is a complex (but manageable) process with 6 key phases – investigation, preparation, incubation, illumination, verification and application. This is not always a step-by-step process – sometimes you will be struck by a great idea without having done a great deal of investigation or preparation – in which case you’ll need to go back to these steps in order to ensure that the time is right for your idea. You may also find at the verification phase that the idea is not viable, in which case you will need to adapt the idea or start the process over. Below are some tips to help you get started along the innovation process.

Innovation – A systematic approach If you find areas that could be improved, do some research, generate ideas Sometimes you will need to sit on the problem a while….. And other times solutions will leap out right from the start

Get in the habit of

Investigation continually asking Preparation

questions about the effectiveness of your services/products/systems

Incubation

Once you have an idea or solution, you need Illumination to consider whether it is practicable

Verification Application

Now that you have found a viable innovation, it’s time to roll it out

Investigation “Employees need stimulus and challenges. They need to be provoked to think about ways to do things better. Always there are ways to do things better and new ideas to explore.” (Stephen Dawson, Impetus trust) Investigation is the starting block for systematic innovation. It is the point at which you explore how the different elements of your work could be done differently. This could be done by considering specific problems, for example, “there’s a whole group of rough sleepers that we’re just not reaching – how can we adapt our services to appeal to them?” or in the manner of general housekeeping - “We’ve always done it this way – but is it really the most efficient and effective?” If you have completed the Identikit exercises on the CD, you have already started this process of investigation.  nfpSynergy

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To reap the greatest benefits, the entire organisation should be involved in the investigation part of the innovation process. Regardless of whether someone works in service delivery or admin there’s a good chance that if encouraged, they could come up with at least one way to improve their own efficiency or effectiveness. There’s also a good chance that they’ll have a fresh perspective on how other issues within the organisation could be addressed. By creating a culture where everyone within the organisation is encouraged to ask, “what’s not working as well as it could?” and ‘is there something I could do to improve my performance?” you also give staff a stronger sense of satisfaction and ownership. Box 3: Activity – ‘Organisational refresh’: This activity is most likely to be successful with the backing of a CEO or Senior Manager – so the first step is to get a senior figure on board (If that’s you – great!). Explain what you would like to do, how much time you would expect it to take, and the advantages you expect it to reap. You may even want to suggest that they evaluate the ideas with you. Once you have the blessing of someone in sufficient authority, distribute the Identikit or personal development questions from the Innovation Toolkit (see CD) to all staff and encourage them to spend at least 20-30 minutes drafting some answers. Once you have gathered the responses find one or two colleagues to help you with the following: 1) Prioritise the issues raised. For example, priority level 1 may be those issues that are in urgent need of attention; level 2 may be those that are not so urgent, but easily fixed; level 3 may be those that could wait until a later date. 2) Highlight any viable ideas for addressing these issues. 3) Draft a simple strategy of attack. Include recommendations about which issues should be prioritised, how they should be addressed, and who should be responsible for addressing them. Try to include the member of staff who raised the issue/idea wherever possible. 4) Take this strategy to your CEO and get agreement about which elements should be taken to the next level. Now you have some areas in need of innovation and some ideas to pursue, it’s time to move onto the next stage – preparation. Preparation Some of the issues raised during investigation may be quite straightforward. For example, it may be that admin find the current filing system time-consuming and cumbersome and already have ideas about how the system could be improved. In this case, you could skip to the verification stage and then hand responsibility for ‘application’ back to the admin staff. However, when the solution is not so clear, you will need to get creative. Below are 5 tips for effective preparation: 1) Get yourself/your team in a creative frame of mind Do something energetic Change your routine behaviours (see ‘Box 5: Extending your idea zone) Use some creative thinking techniques (see Innovation Toolkit CD) 2) Ask friends and colleagues for their ideas and advice regarding an issue (ensuring that the parameters are clear) Start a dinner party conversation Send a group e-mail Organise a brainstorming session (see CD for Brainstorming Guidelines)

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3) Do some research looking at what is going on within… The homelessness sector The wider social welfare and voluntary sector The private sector Academia (e.g. psychology, sociology, housing, etc.) 4) Find a preparation technique that works for you 5) Allow time for contemplation & relaxation Incubation and Illumination During incubation, you stew on the ideas and information you have gathered until a viable solution pops into your head (illumination). The reality, of course, is that neither of these stages is clear-cut. Incubation really starts from the moment you become conscious that there is a problem or inadequacy - You are just more likely to get productive incubation once you’ve done some preparation. Illumination, too, could happen at any time. In rare cases, it may be that you didn’t even realize there was a problem until the solution presented itself! Verification (and evaluation) Now you have a possible solution, you need to consider how likely it is to be effective and whether it is right for your organization at this point in time. Try asking yourself the following questions: Do we have a clear idea about how this innovation will work? Has it been done before? (And if so, what do the results tell us about how it would work for us?) Are we confident that it will make a difference for our clients? What are the obstacles? Could they be overcome? How can we evaluate this change in practice? Is the time right for this innovation? Do we have the skills and resources to implement it effectively? Is it cost-effective? Does it feel right? If at this point you realise that your current solution is not going to work, it may be worth considering whether you could tweak it so that it is more viable. What do you like about the idea? Would there be another way of achieving these same benefits? Application Once you’ve found a viable solution, it’s time to bring in the idea practitioners and make that idea work. Where possible, always try to involve those people who helped you out along the innovation process, particularly in situations where you have run with someone’s idea. By giving everyone a sense of ownership you’ll ensure that the application process meets with minimal resistance. And remember… Systematic innovation should not be confused with the frenzied search for the ‘next big thing’. Innovation is actually quite a rigorous process involving a good deal of investigation, contemplation and verification. The changes it brings may be earth shattering or may be subtle, but they will tend to be lasting and effective.

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Section 4. Cultivating an ideas culture If ideas are the seeds of innovation, then the ways in which you cultivate them will very much influence what sort of garden you end up with. If you sow your garden with the seeds from just a few plants, you will get very little gene diversification and according to natural selection, your crop will fare poorly. In the same way, if you crush the seeds as you drop them into their pots, or plant them in barren soil, your endeavours will be largely fruitless. Through this analogy, we can see that if we want our organisation to be a truly remarkable garden bed of innovation… 1. It will need to be seeded with ideas from many different sources (people) 2. The individual ideas will need to be grown under the right conditions (working environment/processes) In the following section we look at how organisation’s can better cultivate and manage ideas. Box 4: Ideas formation – The benefit of diversity Where do ideas come from? An idea is formed when a person’s mind makes a connection between two or more concepts in order to form a new concept. The greater the number of concepts an individual is exposed to, the greater the number of possible connections they could make. If that individual is then exposed to the experiences, information and ideas of a range of other people, the pool of concepts available to them is widened again and the chance increases that a truly useful connection will be made. This is why it is so beneficial to pool knowledge and ideas from both within and outside the organisation. Cultivating ideas Method One: Increase the number of idea contributors through attitudes and processes The first and foremost way to increase the diversity of ideas feeding into an organisation is to ensure that everyone within the organisation is encouraged to put forward their ideas without fear of censure. As we have already seen, this is largely the role of the CEO and other senior managers, who need to show staff that they are open to ideas. This can be done informally: “The word innovation is bandied around the organisation a lot!” (Shaks Ghosh, Crisis) “I get out of my office and talk to people” (Victor Adebowale, Turning Point) But is also useful to create processes and structures that encourage staff to question the way things are done and submit any ideas for improvement. Below are some of the mechanisms our innovative CEO’s use to encourage and manage the flow of ideas. Innovation friendly structures and planning A strong emphasis on innovation in the strategic plan Strategic planning which is done by the whole organisation: Project working using different teams from different departments Monthly manager ‘focus days’ where 1) innovation is highlighted and 2) different project managers get together and work on each others projects Quarterly away days for staff to review how projects are going, how they could be improved, etc. Constant horizontal meetings across the organisation Small project teams so that the individuals have greater autonomy

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Encouraging new ideas Regular brainstorming sessions involving people throughout the whole organisation An intranet section devoted to new ideas Weekly service bulletins where client facing staff can raise issues An ‘innovation target’ of two new projects a year Reviewing Ideas A ‘new solutions group’ which gets together regularly to review ideas An innovations panel: The panel filter the ideas that come in from staff and work out how the feasible ones could be implemented Actioning ideas Staff assigned to ‘nurse/mid-wife’ new ideas – “they do the legwork, negotiation etc. to get the project off the ground” A group consisting of ‘lateral thinkers’ from the voluntary sector as well as from the corporate sector. Their remit is to take the ideas that come from service users or frontline workers and see where they can take them Funds earmarked for innovation An innovations store where excess ideas are held until their time is right Cultivating ideas Method Two: Increase the individual’s access to information, experience and ideas There are essentially two ways of increasing the chance of an innovative connection being made. We have looked at the first, which is to increase the number of people contributing ideas, information and experience, but we can also grow our pool of ideas by increasing the individual’s access to information, experience and ideas. There are many ways in which this could be done: • Increase the level of internal and external knowledge sharing e.g. have monthly meetings where staff talk about what they are doing, what they need help on etc. • Allocate time for research and environmental scanning • Invite ‘outsiders’ to help you tackle your problems e.g. from other agencies, corporations or academia) • Create a library of non-homelessness specific literature (e.g. social science journals, mental health reports) in a space regularly utilised by staff • Organise ‘work exchanges’ e.g. where staff members from different agencies swap organisations for a week in order to experience different ways of doing things • Send staff to ‘creativity’ workshops where they can learn different approaches to problem solving etc. • Create a more stimulating physical environment (see Workshops, Appendix Three for more information)

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Box 5: Extending your idea zone We tend to develop a repertoire of habits and behaviours that we become very attached to. Most of us will take the same route to work everyday, watch specific TV programmes of an evening and read books that fit a specific genre. We do this because it is efficient and safe. We find a formula that works and we stick to it. The problem with this is that our ideas are likely to become formulaic too. (Ever noticed that once you’ve had a good idea, your future ideas tend to be anchored around the same area?) If you want to think outside of the box, you need to live outside of the box. You can start by occasionally challenging some of your ‘safe’ behaviours. Challenge your own status quo: Move outside your comfort zone when it comes to books and TV. If you only ever read nonfiction, try science fiction. If you only ever watch comedy shows, try the discovery channel. Go out on a limb when next at a restaurant. Try ordering one of those meals that you know could go either way (delicious or disastrous). Talk to people outside your normal social sphere. You never know, your local butcher may have some fantastic ideas about homelessness. Talk to children – they won’t try to complicate things unnecessarily. Feed your travel bug. There is a whole world of rich ideas just waiting to be transferred to homelessness. Subscribe to a trade magazine from a different sector. As you are going about your new experiences, think about whether any of the new ideas or information that you have been exposed to could be transferred to your work. Cultivating ideas Method Three: Train staff in creative thinking techniques When looking for ideas or solutions, we tend to stick to well worn thought processes and reach for ready-made associations. Creative thinking techniques help us to break away from our standard thought processes and guide us to us to hidden treasure (unique ideas) within our minds. These techniques can range from the very logical, left-brained approaches - “divide your service into its individual elements and then consider how each element could be improved” - to the more right-brained, ‘artistic’ approaches - “Become the issue. How do you feel? How do you look? How do you want to be handled? What are you trying to hide?” When trying new techniques, it is useful to consider that if a technique feels awkward at first, this is because you are training your brain to think along new lines. As with the first awkward steps of a young child, the more you practise and become familiar with the process the more successful you will become. Having said that, different people will find that they have their greatest success with different techniques. See the Innovation Toolkit CD for the Brainstorming Guidelines and an exercise in creative thinking. For training and experience in various creative thinking techniques see Appendix Two: Innovation Workshop. For a comprehensive directory of techniques, go to http://members.ozemail.com.au/~caveman/Creative/Techniques/.

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Managing Ideas If we were to break ‘idea encouragement and diversification’ into four levels of advancement, it would probably look something like this: 1. The CEO (or other key authority figure) is excited by ideas and invites all staff to contribute. 2. Staff have ready access to information from within and without the organisation, e.g. good knowledge sharing, research capabilities and networking. 3. Staff are actively engaged in strategic planning and solution finding, e.g. brainstorms etc. 4. The organisation holds formal events to encourage the exchange and flow of ideas and information. For example, ideas days, blue sky days*, knowledge sharing events. As an organisation moves along this continuum of facilitating new ideas, ideas management will become more and more of an issue. Events such as ‘ideas days’ and ‘Blue Sky Days’, for example, can generate a great deal of excitement and energy amongst staff. In order to ensure that the ideas are not lost and staff enthusiasm does not fizzle out, organisation’s will need to a) provide staff with an ongoing ‘ideas receptacle’ so that they can submit any ideas that happen after the event. Ideas receptacles could include: a section of the intranet; an ideas box; an ‘ideas manager’ who people can e-mail/have lunch with; a whiteboard in the staff room where project staff can invite suggestions for specific problems and b) ensure that staff can see that ideas are actually being implemented. Ideas Management Case Study: Too many good ideas? The Skyzone# Ideas Day The problem with hitting level four on the ideas encouragement scale is that an organisation can easily become overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of ideas produced. If the organisation is not prepared to manage this weight of potential innovation, many of the ideas go to waste. This is exactly what happened when one British company, Skyzone decided to hold their first ideas day. Skyzone is well regarded for the ‘thought leadership’ it provides around consumer needs. In order to broaden the range of ideas feeding into Skyzone’s corporate strategy, the Directors invited each staff-member to put together a five-minute presentation highlighting an unexplored consumer trend. The day proved to be an exciting event, with staff producing a plethora of fascinating new ideas. The problem was that the ideas ranged so widely in matter and parameter that no one was quite sure how to start incorporating them into the companies work. As a result, the ideas were utilised in a fairly haphazard fashion and many good ideas fell by the wayside. The next year, the company learnt from its mistakes and set much clearer parameters for the ideas day presentations. Staff were asked to critically examine a number of consumer trends, addressing the following issues: 1. Is the trend still relevant? Why/why not? 2. What are the ways in which this trend could affect our corporate clients? Break your responses down by client sector. Before presenting their findings at the ideas day, staff were asked to summarise their responses on a standardised form. In this way, responses could be collected and turned into a manageable database, which project staff could then start actioning.

*

Staff/volunteers/students/associates are invited to develop a strategic plan for an innovative project and put it on display during the ‘Blue Sky Day’. All attendees are invited to comment. # Name changed to protect the company’s identity.  nfpSynergy

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From the Skyzone experience, we can disseminate some basic rules for ensuring that events that generate large quantities of ideas are able to use these ideas effectively. 1. Be clear about the day’s objectives and specify idea parameters. The ideas will seem a lot more manageable if they are structured according to a particular agenda. 2. Ensure that all ideas are recorded. It is best if this can be done in a standard format, as this will make the collection of ideas feel less wieldy. 3. Nominate a team of idea evaluators to give the ideas a priority rating (Priority 1 ideas should be carried out as soon as practically possible while those allocated a lower priority can be kept in an ‘ideas store’.) 4. Nominate a team of practitioners to implement the ideas as they become a priority. Try to ensure that they involve the ‘idea generator’ where possible. 5. Ensure that there is a system of early evaluation in place so that any ‘lessons’ (good or bad) emerge while there is still time to take them into account.

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Section 5. ‘Know thy enemy’ – common barriers to innovation “There are no problems – only opportunities to be creative.” (Dorye Roettger) There are many barriers that act to dampen the enthusiasm of would-be innovators. In true Cub Scout fashion, one of the first steps to breaking them down is to ‘be prepared’. In the following section, our innovative commentators discuss some common innovation traps. Barrier One: Rigid beliefs and value systems regarding what the user ‘needs’ Jeremy Swain (CEO, Thames Reach Bondway) suggests that user needs must act as the bedrock for innovation. This would seem logical – to ensure that the service is evolving around the needs of its users – but is not as straightforward as it first sounds. The following quotes conveys the reality that when listening to users and trying to take their needs on board, it is not always easy for us to distinguish between our own values, the users values, what the user needs and what the user wants. “Society in general makes decisions about what people need based on their own values.” (Corporate Sector) “The homeless sector is not as good at listening to users as other sectors, e.g. disability. There are justified reasons for this, e.g. the argument that homelessness is not an identity, it is a phase.” (Voluntary Sector) “It is often difficult for us to see things from a different angle. It is extremely difficult for staff to listen to what users want – they tend to put their own lens on it.” (Homeless Sector) “Is assisting a homeless person into a home really what they need? I remember a wonderful story once about 2 different homeless people. One refused to go into accommodation, but after some time, admitted that what he would really love would be to reunite with his sister. This was organised, and he died homeless but happy. The other was put into a lovely flat in Covent Garden and promptly ditched it in order to reconnect with his support network on the streets.” (Corporate Sector) “You can’t always distinguish between what the user needs and what they want – that’s what homeless professionals get paid for, to make these hard distinctions. For example, saying that clients use money for drugs is true, though it may be uncomfortable and unsettling and the clients don’t like it. The thing is, we know it’s not good for them to take drugs even though they may want to.” (Voluntary Sector) Streetshine, an enterprise currently being developed by Thames Reach Bondway, is an excellent example of how rigid thinking and value systems could potentially sabotage a project that is both appealing and beneficial to users. The idea behind Streetshine is that, through contracts with companies such as KPMG, ex-homeless people will be employed to polish shoes. Despite huge interest from most clients (who could only see the benefits of secure employment), the project met with resistance from staff members – they considered it demeaning for homeless people to be involved in such an exercise. In some circumstances, this would have spelt the end of the project. Fortunately, in this case the idea was being championed by the organisation’s Chief Executive, which meant that the staff were encouraged (with gentle authority) to give the idea a chance. They were invited to attend a presentation by the Streetshine founder (Nick Grant) and encouraged to ask their clients for their perspective. As a result, many of them came on board and the project will be up and running in early 2004.  nfpSynergy

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There will always be contention and uncertainty around what is truly best for the user, not least because we are dealing with individuals with different needs. What the Streetshine story can teach us though is to be more open-minded when considering new ideas, and to be aware that our first response may not always be the right one. Barrier Two: Being discouraged by funding regimes When we asked our innovative commentators what they felt were the barriers to innovation within the voluntary sector, funding regimes came up time and time again. “The vagaries of funding and increased dependence on government generated contracts ties us into a government perspective of what we should be doing. Many agencies can only do the work the government is prepared to fund.” (Homeless Sector) “As managers, we spend a great deal of time focusing on health and safety, output reports, targets etc. I probably spend 80% of my time on these things.” (Voluntary Sector) “A lack of equity finance. It is unreasonable to expect organizations that are only project funded to innovate – it’s amazing that in some cases they still do.” (Voluntary Sector) “Voluntary organisations are so busy running around, trying to keep the show on the road, they don’t have time to develop ideas.” (Voluntary Sector) There can be little doubt that many of the funding streams currently utilized by homeless agencies are restrictive and inflexible. Funders are becoming more and more prescriptive, requiring agencies to meet specific criteria and targets in return for support. This trend towards more regulated funding regimes can very easily become an excuse for not innovating, but before throwing the towel in, charities should consider two things. 1. There is a place for restrictive funding: although innovation should be a fundamental part of what charities do, ‘steady state’ services will usually make up the bulk of their work. (Once an innovation has proved to be successful, it basically moves under the banner of ‘steady state’ services and should therefore be subject to the levels of target setting and accountability that current funding schemes often require.) 2. There are funding streams available that are geared towards innovation, such as the Glimmer of Hope Foundation – and according to our innovative commentators, these types of funding sources are becoming more readily available. “There’s a freeing up at the moment of some of the restraints (e.g. on funding) which is very exciting. The environment is beginning to get more entrepreneurial.” (Homeless Sector) The final point to remember is that when it comes to funding and innovation, less is sometimes more. Often charities will have a clear idea about where they want to be, but do not have the resources to get there along the more obvious paths. As a result they have to explore less obvious paths and practise an inventiveness that is generally unseen in more affluent organisations. “Voluntary organisations have to be far more innovative and creative as they have less funding. They have to be creative in order to make things go a lot further. The real innovation belongs to the voluntary sector. I feel very strongly about that.” (Corporate Sector)

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Barrier Three: Competitiveness (too much or not enough?) “The homeless sector is a very crowded sector and a lot of attention is given to battling for elbow room – if less time was spent battling for our own right to exist, we might have more time to make our clients lives better through innovation.” (Homeless Sector) Given that there are 130 homeless agencies in London alone, there can be little doubt that agencies will have to cross swords from time to time in the effort to secure precious funding. This competitiveness can stunt the sectors potential for innovation, as it can lead to a lack of information sharing and an overemphasis on keeping services ‘shiny and new’. The flipside of this is that a healthy amount of competition prevents organisations from becoming complacent. It is interesting to note that while homeless agencies despair of the degree to which they have to compete, a commentator from the private sector suggested that they are not feeling the heat nearly enough. “One area where the commercial world has a much more natural stimulus for innovation is competition. The competition within the charity world is not as direct – charities are not thinking ‘if we falter, they will flatten us’. This lack of competition can lead to complacency and introversion.” (Corporate Sector) Barrier Four: Too much introspection “The homeless sector tends to be somewhat inward looking. We need to talk more to other people who deal with the many other facets of the humans we are dealing with e.g. crime, drugs, alcohol etc.” (Homeless Sector) “The homeless sector is a bit like an exclusive club really. It needs to think less of itself as a homeless sector and more about joining up with related sectors.” (Voluntary Sector) If there is one criticism of the homeless sector that arises time and time again it is that it is too inward looking. This is a clear barrier to effective innovation - if the sector is struggling to look beyond its own fence, they are obviously not going to see the full range of possible new solutions for their clients. However, looking from without the sector, one gets the impression that there is a slow awakening in this respect. Agencies are starting to realise that they can treat a person’s ‘homelessness’ far more effectively if they can deal concurrently with the other related problems that person faces and are thus paying more attention to other areas of social care. A wonderful example of how becoming more ‘outward looking’ can increase effectiveness is provided by the groundbreaking report ‘Dreams deferred’, which draws on knowledge and ideas from a wide range of sources including: the frontline workers of three homeless agencies; homeless people themselves; social researchers; and a psychologist. Through utilizing such a range of knowledge, the writers were able to produce a report that applied some of the more academic principles of psychology to the problems vocalized by homeless people, creating a unique approach to dealing with homelessness. The resulting report, produced by Thames Reach Bondway, St Basil’s, Alone in London and social researchers Lemos and Crane spells out what in retrospect seems obvious – that mending a homeless person’s social networks can be more important than providing them with a roof. It also provides a toolkit for mapping and developing social networks that is to be rolled out across the homeless sector in 2004.

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Barrier Five: Wanting to avoid risk “Without the external pressures that are characteristic of the commercial sector (e.g. competition and defined ownership), a risk aversive and conservative culture can develop.” (Corporate Sector) “We often regard ourselves as open-minded and left-wing, but we can be as conservative as any sector.” (Homeless Sector) “More and more in British society, we are becoming obsessed with risk assessment and management and are not allowed to fail. You need to be allowed to fail if you are going to innovate…” (Voluntary Sector) As a society we have become increasingly adept at managing the risk involved in day-to-day life through tools such as safety equipment, insurance policies and performance reviews. It is therefore understandable that the very concept of risk has become rather unpalatable. Why risk the dangers of uncharted territory when we can loiter on safe, well-trodden ground? No matter how much we try to ‘risk-proof’ what we do, there is always the danger that new solutions will ‘fail’ or come under ridicule. This is the gamble we take when we try to change the world (no doubt the Wright brothers felt a little nervous as they embarked on their first flight) and in many cases, the greater the gamble, the greater the possible dividends. There are two important things to remember when braving new ways forward. Firstly, ‘risk’ does not equal ‘recklessness’; there is nothing wrong with first testing the water (one would imagine that the Wright brothers had done their homework.) Secondly, the lessons that can be extracted from a failed endeavour are often as valuable as the lessons borne out of success – Just ask our innovators: “Innovation may not get the solution right. With innovation, you have to be prepared to fail. The learning you get from failure is as important as the learning you get from successes.” (Homeless Sector) “I make it clear that if we run with an idea and it fails, I and the company own that decision. I always point out that it’s not a failure – if it doesn’t work out, then we learn from it.” (Corporate Sector) Barrier Six: Accepting rigid or outdated structures The benefit system may not quite date back to the stone ages, but it certainly wouldn’t be called ‘progressive’. Sister Ellen Flynn of the Passage Day Centre flagged the benefits system up for its uncanny ability to block innovations designed at getting homeless people into work. She sites one example where in an attempt to provide a client, Richard* with a leg up into employment, they organized, through Business Action on Homelessness, for him to do 2 weeks work experience. He performed so well that the employer offered him an extension. And thence came the difficulty. Although the extra work experience could provide Richard with the experience he would need to get a secure job, it would also mean losing his job seekers allowance, making it impossible for him to sustain himself. (After more than 2 weeks of work experience, you are no longer entitled to the job seekers allowance.) Fortunately for Richard, his work experience employer, and the people at the Passage and Business Action on Homelessness were not willing to accept this barrier and fought tooth and nail to help Richard to continue his work experience without losing his benefits.

*

Name changed to protect identity.

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After meeting the wrath of Sister Ellen and co. and being threatened with press coverage, the benefits agency agreed to bend the rules, just for Richard. In order to try to decrease the degree to which the system blocks potential areas of client progress, the Passage have joined together with a number of other agencies, including Business action on Homelessness, to work towards a less cumbersome benefits system. The take away message here is that though some barriers appear carved in stone, with enough determination, there is almost always a way around them.

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Section 6. Innovation in action: Case studies from the voluntary sector Whatever its barriers and shortcomings, there can be no doubt that there are some very innovative ideas and projects coming out of the homeless sector. In order to provide inspiration for project managers, we highlight five of these in the following section. Case Study One: Revolving Doors Link worker Scheme (Innovation based on research) John is a 46-year-old man who was referred to the Link Worker scheme after being arrested for alleged deception and outstanding warrants for motoring offences. When seen in custody by the Link Workers he presented as being very suspicious and thought disordered. John was living in a squat with chaotic drug users who physically abused him and stole his money. It was difficult to engage with John because the Link Workers were unable to gain access to the property. John had not previously been diagnosed with a mental health problem and had failed to attend a duty social work appointment at his local CMHT. The Link Workers managed to arrange a referral to a Day hospital, which accepted him as a day patient. After a month of ongoing assessment he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The diagnosis provided the evidence of “vulnerability” required by the Homeless Persons Unit and he was given priority housing by the local authority. When John’s placement finished at the day hospital he was allocated an ASW and is now on CPA level 2. The Link Worker Scheme is designed to engage people who fall through the net and end up in the criminal justice system. It brings together ‘link workers’ - practitioners from different backgrounds e.g. Social Work, supported housing, housing advice, occupational therapy, psychiatry etc. - who all share responsibility for each client. The scheme was conceived in response to a report revealing a number of areas where vulnerable people were falling through the net. It attempts to close some of the identified holes in a number of ways: The client is given ready access to a range of support and expertise (rather than just one key worker) The link workers know the system very well and are therefore able to advocate more effectively for the client The scheme uses very broad criteria so that clients cannot ‘not qualify’ for services Cases are never closed, so clients do not have to deal with the beaurocracy and red tape of coming in and out of services The link workers are community-based but go into the criminal justice system – this means that they are not lost to the client once they are released from prison It enlists the support of local services by providing them with regular information and feedback about the scheme. It provides long term support for “as long as it takes” so that people are not continually being assessed Since the scheme’s inception in 2000, Revolving Doors has worked with 1156 clients across 4 boroughs. An assessment of clients who had been on the Link Workers’ long-term caseload for one entire year revealed: 100% success in moving clients out of Bed and Breakfast into stable tenancies A doubling of GP registrations A decrease in wasted visits to Accident and Emergency A reduction in criminal convictions  nfpSynergy

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So that other projects can emulate the success of the link worker scheme, Revolving Doors have set up a partnership scheme to provide training, support, consultancy and evaluation. Speaking about the programme, Crispin Truman, CEO of Revolving Doors comments: “We will work with our clients as long as it takes and on their own terms. The whole scheme is very well linked into local services and we try to replicate what we’ve learnt with partner agencies.” Case Study Two: Thames Reach Bondway’s ‘Safe as houses’ peer education programme (Innovation based on service users feedback) After being re-housed in 1992, Janette spent the next ten years severely depressed and unable to hold down a job. After slowly rebuilding herself and coming off anti-depressants, she enrolled with the Peer Education Programme in May 2003. After successfully completing the training aspect of the Programme in the Buzz Room at Hudson House, she presented a series of workshops for homeless and formerly homeless people throughout a variety of day centres and hostels. Annette is enthusiastic in describing the benefits of the programme: “I am now ready to continue into further education and I have already enrolled at City Lit to do the E.C.D.L. computer course which starts on the 16.September 03. I will also be enrolling in a micro teaching course, which starts in January 2004. Due to my lack of self-confidence and extremely low self-esteem I would not have even considered this three years ago. Now I am ready to pick up the pieces and get on with the things I never had the opportunity to do prior to taking up the Peer Education Programme.” The Thames Reach Bondway ‘Safe as Houses’ peer education programme was born out of the user suggestion that it would be useful to get tips from those who had successfully negotiated the rigmarole of homelessness and re-housing. Through a partnership with City Lit, the programme provides accredited training and support for ex-homeless people who in turn provide training and support for their peers. There are two recruitment support workers who are actively engaged in finding potential peer educators (and students) through a network of team meetings, interagency meetings, newsletter articles and one-to-one meetings with clients. With the assistance of the City Lit tutor, Peer educators complete a ‘Social Skills for Work’ certificate, which has 4 units: communication skills; teamwork; interpersonal skills; and facilitating workshops. During this time they design & deliver a programme of workshops as part of their assessment. Thirteen peer educators have now been accredited, and during the last programme, 7 peer educators delivered workshops to 76 people. (Programmes run for four months.) Project Manager, Kath Dane, comments that what makes the project so innovative is the high level of user ownership. Rather than being taught to administer pre-fabricated training packages, peer educators are equipped with the necessary skills to design workshop programmes that they feel address the issues faced by their peers. (Past topics have included ‘Beating loneliness’, ‘Living on a low budget’ and ‘Steeping out and about – Seeking Work’). The other advantage of the ‘Safe as Houses’ model is that it combines the structure of an accredited training programme (the City Lit aspect) with a flexible and supportive approach to training (the TRB component). Ms Dane comments “Our joint expertise means that we are able to work with more marginalized people. Although it’s a very structured programme, we are able to cater to chaotic lifestyles. For example, if an educator drops out of the course they can come back in at any time.”  nfpSynergy

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The programme recently won the national Charity Award in the education and training category. Earlier this year, they also won the Pavilion Award for the Best Training Programme involving Service Users, where judges remarked that one of the model’s strengths is that it could cross sectors. The ESF* and the LSC^, London Central have now provided funding so that the ‘Safe as Houses’ programme can continue for another 16 months and so that Thames Reach Bondway and The City Lit can disseminate and provide consultancy around the model. There is now a new pilot programme being developed where ex-peer educators go on to run focus groups with homeless people about their experiences of health services in three south London boroughs. Case Study Three: Crisis Skylight (Innovation based on imagining how the client feels, consultation with peers and an overseas visit) If we were to look at Day Centres in terms of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (Fig.1), it could be said that while standard day centres satisfy the bottom, fundamental levels, (physiological needs and safety), Crisis skylight encourages users to move up the ladder towards self-actualisation. (Shaks Ghosh, CEO at Crisis stresses that they wouldn’t be able to focus on the higher levels, such as esteem, if it weren’t for the foundational work being done by other agencies in regards to physiological needs.)

Crisis Skylight; TRB Peer Education; Business Action on Homelessness ‘Homelessness and loneliness’ (Crisis); ‘Dreams Deferred’ (TRB); Streetfriends.org (Groundswell) RSI focus; Hostels; Traditional day centres; Soup runs

Selfactualisation Esteem/self-efficacy Love/social needs Safety Physiological (Food, place to sleep)

Fig.1 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs Skylight has been open for nearly a year now, and offers homeless people a vast range of activities designed to increase their skills and self-esteem. Activities include music lessons, karate, bike maintenance, art, IT, Acting, Film and video making, dance, Tai Chi and even circus skills - see www.crisis.org.uk/skylight for a detailed timetable. The centre is open until late, seven days a week and there is only one rule of entry, anyone who walks through the door must participate. When asked about the impetus for setting up an activity centre that is such a departure from regular day centres, Shaks Ghosh, CEO replied, “I started to think about what I would want if I were homeless. This led me to the conclusion that I would be depressed in a day centre - all that smoke, passive TV, people sitting around and feeling sorry for themselves. I thought that I would * ^

European Social Fund Learning and skills Council

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prefer someplace to keep me busy, try out new things, build my skills, forget about my problems, stay active and out of trouble. John Downey from St Botolph's was a real inspiration. He encouraged me to think about a new space, devoted to positive thinking and positive energy, a place of real equality. My US visit to Times Square inspired me too - keep people busy, build self esteem, focus on the way forward rather than essential services of today (these of course are an essential as well). In keeping with the vibrant, encouraging atmosphere at Skylight, achievement is celebrated regularly through functions, such as Jazz nights and awards ceremonies. Shaks Ghosh, CEO comments Since Skylight opened nearly a year ago, Shaks Ghosh (CEO) comments that they have witnessed huge potential and growth in talent. “At skylight, yes we are meeting targets - but let me tell you the story about Will*, who 8 weeks ago had never picked up a paint brush and is now going to art school. Let me tell you about Samuel* and his stutter. When he came in, he never took his earphones off. He did the art class and basically told all the staff to leave him alone – he just wanted to paint. He slowly developed a relationship with the art tutor, then looked around and decided to try karate, bike workshops and dance. The other night, we had a non-drinking jazz night and he sang with this magnificent voice - and whilst he’s singing (and for a little while afterwards) he doesn’t stutter.” Not content with the current level of innovation, Crisis has plans to draw non-homeless people (from the city and from the local community) into Skylight. Should this move be successful, it could result in a seismic change in the way that homeless people and day centre services are perceived. We could end up talking about ‘community services’ rather than ‘homeless services’ and many of the stereotypes surrounding homelessness would be challenged. Crisis report small steps in this respect… “Last week I watched 7 people get their first karate belts – amongst them was one of our staff who had been training alongside our clients for weeks.” (Shaks Ghosh) There can be little doubt that skylight is an innovative and progressive response to meeting homeless people’s daytime needs. Every week, Shaks has a new and exciting story about a skylight user - this is one of the best: “Last week Matt*, a Skylight member, said to me "I've come to say good bye and thanks. On Tuesday I become a taxpayer thanks to Crisis. I have a job earning £17k and £5 for lunch! It's good bye to homelessness". Case Study Four: Turning Point’s ACAPS Brixton Youth Services (Innovation based on questioning service effectiveness: “How can we increase staff ability to influence clients?”) The ACAPS youth services work with 10 to 25-year-olds in some of London’s most culturally and socially diverse boroughs, including Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham. What is unique about the Brixton arm of the ACAPS service is that clients are not just supported by the ACAPS network of services, they are also trained to act as drug workers within their own estates. To do this, they complete a college course in drug working and accompany ACAPS youth workers on various projects. There are currently 18-20 young people from Brixton estates undergoing this form of training. According to staff at Turning Point, the advantage of this approach is that estate members are more likely to trust and respect drug-workers from their own community with whom they already have a relationship and whose experiences they can relate to. The drug-workers themselves are also better positioned to understand a client’s background and situation. The programme is also innovative in that:  nfpSynergy

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♦ Services are client centred. Rather than offering a network of ‘take it or leave it’ type services, programmes are developed around the areas that best suit client’s needs, e.g. mental health, education and training, substance use and the criminal justice system. Gary Thomas, assistant service manager comments, “At ACAPS, we have a broad base of skills and expertise. Whatever the issues are for a young person we can always attend to their emotional, substance, family, social or personal problems” ♦ It has a strong commitment to ‘growing’ effective staff. The ACAPS programme recognises that the quality of the message bearer is often as important as the message itself. If they are to be taken seriously by clients, staff need to demonstrate appropriate levels of expertise regarding a variety of complex issues. Staff are therefore provided with extensive training across a vast range of areas including management, race, gender and presentation skills. They are also encouraged to identify their own training needs in response to their specific work with service users. Quotes “Our investment in staff improves the quality of the service we give to users and makes staff feel part of a team”. (Gary Thomas, Assistant Service Manager) “I enjoy going to the programme because the youth workers always help me with my problems. I've been out of school for three years because I was getting into a lot of fights and trouble, but since I started the project the workers have helped me so much to control my behaviour problem and given me the attention I felt I needed. Since attending ACAPS, I have improved on my basic numeracy and literacy skills and have learnt new things. If it wasn't for the project I would still be behind on my work.” (Gill – 16 years old) “These young people learn skills that are transferable to any sector. We are basically growing up a community of drug workers. They would definitely be drifting out into the street and into drugs if this program wasn’t there.” (Victor Adebowale – CEO, Turning Point) Case Study Five: The Camden Society’s ‘Platform 1’ Innovation based on a service review Before she joined Platform 1, Joyce had been a regular at her local day centre for 25 years. After two years of working at Platform 1 she has gained her NVQ, Food Hygiene Certificate and Health and Safety Certificate and now works part time in the local Sainsbury's staff restaurant. She says "I feel like a different person now - I feel like a normal person. I love going to work and earning my own money and making friends" Platform 1 is a café/restaurant that opens from 9am to 2:30pm Monday to Friday. It provides many of the facilities and services that you would find in any other high street café or restaurant like a meeting space for business clients and a professional catering service for functions of up to 400 people. So what is so special about Platform 1? It is staffed completely by people with learning disabilities. The idea for Platform 1 was born out of the findings of the Wandsworth Day Care Review, which revealed that local people with learning disabilities could benefit from vocational training in catering. Rather then setting up a traditional training facility, which would have been expensive to maintain, The Camden Society launched a profitable business that provides simultaneous training and work experience.  nfpSynergy

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The project provides 30 training places at a time and offers participants the opportunity to gain an NVQ in catering and food service, the Basic Food Hygiene Certificate and the Basic Health and Safety Certificate. Most Platform 1 employees take about two years to obtain their qualifications. Upon completion of their initial training, they are then provided with the skills and support to move on. They are taught interview skills and presentation skills and are supported in the search for work - be it paid, voluntary or work experience. Sarah Roberts, Service Manager at Platform 1 says, “The café is very successful and very popular with local people, who are all so supportive of what we are trying to do”. Quotes from Platform 1 trainees "I love working at Platform One." "Serving customers is my favourite part of being at Platform One." "When we get really busy I go home really tired but feel like I’ve done a real days work." Quotes from customers "It's the most friendly cafe I’ve been to." “I recommend the jerk Chicken to everyone at the office.”

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Summary of Key Points Innovation: ♦ Involves examining the way things are currently done with a view to finding new and better ways of doing them. ♦ Means “Never having to say you’re sorry as long as the learning is greater than any of the mistakes you have made”. (Victor Adebowale, Turning Point) ♦ Allows organisations to respond more effectively to changes in both the external environment and users needs. ♦ Has the potential to empower homeless people, improve service delivery and increase employee satisfaction and retention. ♦ Does not need to be about discovering the ‘next big thing’ – it may be as simple as overhauling an administrative process. ♦ Belongs to the entire organisation – each staff member has the potential to be innovative in the way they address their role Systematic innovation: ♦ Involves systematically examining the ways in which the running or services of an organisation could be made more effective. ♦ Will be most successful if staff are encouraged to question what they see going on around them – Why is it done that way? Is it really the best way? What are the alternatives? ♦ Has 6 key stages 1. Investigation involves questioning the way things are being done and defining the possible problems and challenges. 2. Preparation involves doing some research and generating ideas. 3. Incubation is the part where you ‘sleep on it’. 4. During illumination, possible solutions start to appear. 5. Verification is where the feasibility and appropriateness of a solution is considered carefully 6. Once you have a viable solution it is time to roll it out – this is the application phase. ‘Natural’ innovators: ♦ Have confidence in their own ideas. ♦ Will often be impassioned by their cause (e.g. improving the lives of homeless people). ♦ Tend to be intellectually restless, challenging any preconceived ideas that cross their paths. ♦ Strive for growth and improvement in everything they do. ♦ Are able to make links that are not immediately obvious to others. ♦ Are prepared to take calculated risks (as long as the risk is justified by the possible rewards). ♦ Tend to be intrinsically motivated - seeing ideas come to fruition is often their greatest reward. ♦ Are not the only ones who can come up with good ideas!

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An ideal environment for organisational innovation will: ♦ Encompass all four stages of the encouragement and diversification of ideas process 1. The CEO (or other key authority figure) is excited by ideas and invites all staff to contribute 2. Staff have ready access to information from within and outside the organisation, e.g. good knowledge sharing, research capabilities and networking 3. Staff are actively engaged in strategic planning and solution finding, e.g. brainstorms etc. 4. The organisation holds formal events to encourage the exchange and flow of ideas and information. For example, ideas days, blue sky days, knowledge sharing events. ♦ Allow staff to customise the physical space around their workstations in a way that maximises their creativity and productiveness. (See Workshops in appendix three for more information.) ♦ Involve a wide range of staff members, including the CEO, idea generators, idea evaluators and general practitioners, to ensure maximum commitment and success along the various stages of idea implementation. ♦ Give each staff member a certain degree of autonomy to do their jobs in the way they believe to be most effective. ♦ Have flattened hierarchies so that there is optimal cross-fertilisation of knowledge and ideas between all levels of staff. To ensure organisational enthusiasm for innovation is maintained: ♦ Staff should have access to a non-threatening ‘ideas receptacle’, e.g. a section on the intranet or an approachable ‘ideas manager’. ♦ Staff ideas should be treated with care - ideas are closely tied up with self-esteem. ♦ Idea generators should be kept in the loop as much as possible – they will often provide impassioned support. ♦ Ensure that staff can see that ideas are being implemented. The homeless Sector: ♦ Is undergoing a period of rapid change and is therefore having to be more and more innovative. ♦ Is considered to have a good history of innovation. ♦ Could be more innovative if it became more joined-up and outward looking (according to our interviewees). ♦ Can at times fall victim to a number of ‘innovation traps’ including: ⇒ Conservatism amongst staff when it comes to what is best for a homeless person ⇒ Being discouraged by funding regimes ⇒ Insufficient knowledge sharing (both within and outside the sector) ⇒ A reluctance to take calculated risks ⇒ Rigid structures like the benefits system

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Recommended Resources Chopra, A.J. (1999). Managing the people side of innovation: 8 Rules for engaging minds and hearts. Kumarian Press incorporated: Conneticut If you want to increase the level of innovation within your organisation, then read this book! It lays down 8 rules that will help you get the most out of your people and their ideas. Hermann, Ned. (1996). The whole brain business book. McGraw-Hill: New York An engaging and easy-to-read book that describes how you can increase your organisation’s effectiveness through understanding your own/your employees dominant thinking styles. Michalko, Michael. (1991). Thinkertoys. Ten Speed Press: California Thinkertoys will challenge the way you think about problem solving. It presents a range of creative thinking techniques and divides them into linear, intuitive and group styles. Michalko, Michael. (1994). Thinkpak. Ten Speed Press: California The Thinkpak is a card deck designed to enhance your brainstorming sessions. It tends to be most effective once you have a number of ideas that you are trying to refine. Best for organisations that hold regular brainstorms. The Harvard Business School. (2001). Harvard ManageMentor: Managing for creativity and innovation. Harvard Business School Publishing: Boston For those with limited time, the Harvard ManageMentor can be installed on your PC to provide fast and easy information about some of innovation’s core concepts. (And at £15, it won’t break the bank.) http://www.innovationtools.com/ A website with all the latest innovation news. Readers can sign up for weekly e-mail updates http://members.ozemail.com.au/~caveman/Creative/Techniques/ A useful directory of creative thinking techniques.

Other Useful Resources Drucker, Peter F. (1994). Innovation and Entrepreneurialship. Butterworth Heinmann: Oxford King, N & Anderson, N. (2002). Managing Innovation and change: A critical guide for organisations. Thomson: United Kingdom Buzan, Tony and Barry. (2003). The Mind Map book. BBC Worldwide Limited: London Allan, D. Kingdon, M. Murran, K. & Rudkin, D. (1999). ?What if! How to start a creative revolution at work. Capstone Publishing Limited: Oxford

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Appendix One: Interviewee credentials Lord Victor Adebowale – Chief Executive, Turning Point Victor began his career in Local Authority Estate Management and then joined the housing association movement. He was Director of the Alcohol Recovery Project and then Chief Executive of youth homelessness charity Centrepoint before taking up his current post as Chief Executive of Turning Point in 2001. He is a member of the National Employment Panel, the DEMOS Advisory Council, the New Economic Foundation Board and the Institute for Fiscal Studies Council. He is a Trustee of the RNID and has an honorary PhD from the University of Central England in Birmingham. In 2000, Victor was awarded the CBE in the New Year’s Honour List for services to the New Deal, the unemployed, and homeless young people. In 2001, Victor was in the first group of people to be appointed as People’s Peers. John Crawford – Director of Services, The Camden Society John has 18 years experience working in the voluntary sector, primarily working with housing, education, vocational training and employment services for those with learning disabilities. He has 12 years experience as a strategic director and has developed new and innovative approaches to organizational development, community business and employment agency services for people with learning disabilities. His career in community work began in West Africa where he worked for four years, after returning to England in the early 1980’s he moved into further education programmes for people with learning disabilities. In the 1990’s he began working in housing services and until he became director of services at the Camden Society in 1996. Stephen Dawson – Chairman, Impetus Trust One of the first venture capitalists in the UK, Stephen has had considerable experience both as chief executive and chairman; his last 18 years have been at ECI, a venture capital company specialising in mid-market buy-outs. He has been a non-executive director of five companies which achieved a stock market quotation, including Guardian iT, ECI's most successful investment. He is Chairman of the newly set up Impetus Trust, which is believed to be the UK’s first general venture philanthropy charitable fund. Impetus helps to fill a gap in funding by focussing entirely on long term, hands on financing of charities’ core costs across a wide range of charity sectors. As well as the impetus to charities, it is intended to provide an impetus to new donors and to new people joining the sector from the business world. Shaks Ghosh – Chief Executive, Crisis Shaks was brought up in India where she took her first degree in Geography. Following a MSc in Urban Studies, Shaks had a number of jobs in local government and the voluntary housing movement. She has also worked for the National Housing Federation, Centrepoint, Community Housing Association and the London Borough of Islington. In May 1997, Shaks took over as Chief Executive of Crisis. The charity works year-round across the UK helping single homeless people overcome personal problems such as addictions and mental health issues, fulfill their potential and reintegrate into society. The charity’s policy work and innovation developments are of particular importance as homeless patterns evolve. Adam Sampson – Director, Shelter Mr Sampson has worked as a probation officer and as Deputy Director of the Prison Reform Trust. In 1994, he joined the Home Office to help establish the Office of the Prisons Ombudsman and is the author of a number of books and articles about criminal justice. In 1997 he became Chief Executive of RAPt, a national drugs charity, which subsequently won a number of awards, including an international community safety award for innovation. Mr Sampson has represented the UK on three official trips to Iran to discuss drug policies. He has been appointed to the  nfpSynergy

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Government Task Force on Home Ownership, and has chaired the Users group sub-committee. He was appointed Director of Shelter in January 2003. David Gold – Chief Executive, Prospectus David worked at the Guardian Royal Exchange and then at Philips and Drew Fund Management. In his time at P&D he set up their Global equities and Derivatives Desk and was on the Management Committee and venture capital partnerships boards. He later joined Business in the Community, where he was responsible for the London Region and was also on the Board of London Accord. David bought ProspectUs, a recruitment company (temporary and permanent) exclusively for the not for profit sector (formerly Prospect Temps) in 2000 and took the company through a radical change process. The company now serves many more markets. He is Chair of the grant making trust, A Glimmer of Hope (UK), which makes higher risk grants and is on the board of Aspire. He works hard at promoting Social Enterprise and has been invited to a number of panels. Jeremy Swain - Chief Executive, Thames Reach Bondway After completing an honours degree in Modern History, Jeremy became a full-time volunteer with the homelessness organization, the Cyrenians and worked in a hostel for young homeless people. He joined Thames Reach as an outreach worker in 1984 and later became the resettlement team manager and then the Housing Services Manager. He was appointed Director of Thames Reach in February 1999 and became Chief Executive of Thames Reach Bondway when Thames Reach and Bondway merged in October 2001. Jeremy chairs an ACEVO group that is developing the concept of a Leadership Centre. He also chairs a group comprising Chief Executives of the big seven homelessness service providers in London and is member of the London Housing Foundation's Impact Programme steering group. Crispin Truman – Director, Churches Conservation Trust Crispin has studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics and completed his Certificate of Qualification in Social Work and MSc in Applied Social Studies. He has worked in social services, housing and the voluntary sector, combining frontline practice with research and policy work. He is Chair of the London Cycling Campaign and is active in environmental and social campaigning. He was Chief Executive of the Revolving Doors Agency from 1997 until September 2003 and was involved in setting the Agency up and devising its unique approach to working with mental health and criminal justice. He is now Director of the Churches Conservation Trust. Julia Unwin - Deputy Chair, Food Standards Agency, OBE Julia Unwin was appointed Deputy Chair of the Food Standards Agency in July 2003. She has worked in the voluntary sector, local and central government and in the private sector, and was Charity Commissioner from 1998 to April 2003. She served on the Board of the Housing Corporation for 10 years and was Chair of its Investment Committee. She was chair of the Refugee Council until 1998. She is the Independent Adjudicator for the Audit Commission, a member of the Committee of Reference for Friends Provident and a Board member of the National Consumer Council. She is also an independent Board member of the DTI, and a member of the Audit Committee there. She has been an adviser to grant making trusts and to companies and has researched and published on the funding of the voluntary sector. As a consultant she has specialised in issues of governance and organisational strategy. As a Senior Associate at the Kings Fund she chaired the recent inquiry into the role and recruitment of care and support workers.

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Appendix Two: Innovation Workshop

“Maximising organisational capacity for innovation” Someone within your organisation could be sitting on an idea that will change the face of homelessness. So what are you going to do about it? ‘Maximising organisational capacity for innovation’ is a half-day workshop designed to help those responsible for development and new solutions to increase their organisations generation of innovative solutions and approaches. It will tackle the three main ways in which an organisations capacity for innovation can be increased: 1) By fostering the appropriate skills in individual staff members 2) by developing a ‘culture of innovation’ and 3) by implementing structures and procedures that encourage innovative behaviour. In this highly interactive workshop participants will also: Discover how their dominant thinking style affects the way they approach problem solving Apply creative thinking techniques to a current homelessness problem Explore which environments are most conducive to innovation Design appropriate structures and procedures for their organisation Practise breaking down some of the barriers typically associated with innovation Workshop details Prices:

Places will be charged at £50.00 for the first delegate from an organisation. Subsequent delegates from the same organisation will be entitled to a discount rate of £25.00

Location:

‘The Gallery’ 70 Cowcross Street Farringdon EC1M 6EJ (Nearest tube – Farringdon)

Dates:

Please contact Elisha Evans at nfpSynergy regarding available dates ([email protected] / 020 7250 3343)

Time:

2:30 – 5:30pm

In order to ensure a productive environment, there will be a limit of 20 attendees per workshop. Please register promptly to avoid disappointment.

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Appendix Three: The Contents of the Innovation Toolkit At the back of this booklet you will find the ‘Innovation Toolkit’ CD, which contains practical guidelines and exercises through which an organisation can increase the quantity and quality of its innovative solutions. Feel free to reproduce the contents of the Innovation Toolkit for the use of your staff. ♦ Brainstorming Guidelines If there is one creative thinking technique that is commonly used by businesses all over the world, it is brainstorming. However, due to ineffective techniques most brainstorming sessions are not as productive as they could be. The brainstorming guidelines will help you to ensure that your brainstorming session stays on track and avoids being undermined by people’s egos*. ♦ The innovation identikit The innovation identikit will encourage you to challenge your organisations status quo and will trigger ideas about how your organisation could be more innovative. ♦ Applied creative thinking: Challenging your service elements One popular creative thinking technique, ‘slice and dice’* requires users to dissect the issue at hand into its individual attributes. The idea is to then focus on each attribute separately, challenging the accepted belief about what it involves. The hope is that through pointedly challenging the status quo, new and improved ways of doing things will emerge. This exercise will help homeless agencies apply this techniques to service delivery. ♦ Personal Job Development The overall effectiveness and dynamism of an organisation can be increased by allowing individual staff members greater efficacy in their day-to-day work. If encouraged to question, challenge and reform the way that things are done on their own turf, staff will become generally more innovative and will tend to feel more empowered and satisfied within their roles. All staff, from Chief Executives to administrators, can begin to identify ways in which they can improve their services and increase their impact by answering the personal job development questions. ♦ Identifying your innovative team There is little doubt that some people have a natural flare for innovation. These are the people who are full of good ideas and have the drive and determination to make them happen. As a result, when we talk about innovation, we tend to put all the emphasis on the ‘ideas people’. It would, however, be a mistake to assume that these are the only people an organisation needs in order to create systematic innovation. If an organisation wants to be well positioned for innovation, it will need to involve and cultivate the skills of not just its ‘ideas people’ but also its leaders, planners, negotiators and frontline workers.

*

In his book, ‘Managing the people side of innovation’, Jeet Chopra argues that people people’s ideas are subconsciously integral to their perception of self. If these ideas are criticised or dismissed they will react either by withdrawing (holding back any further ideas) or counter attacking (finding fault with other people’s ideas). * See Michael Michalko’s ‘Thinkertoys’ (1991) for more details.  nfpSynergy

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