Friday, January 30, 2009

Innovation in the public sector


How innovative are our local councils?

Text books tend to look to  the private sector for examples of innovation.  The public sector usually only gets mentioned when its large-scale technology-based projects misfire. Recent examples include the NHS patient records system and the national identity card scheme.

In reality, there is quite a lot of council innovation taking place.  The Beacon scheme, for example, is an award scheme that celebrates innovative practice by councils.  This particular scheme highlights key differences between public and private sector innovation.  Firstly, in the public sector, innovators are encouraged to share their knowledge with others.  Councils awarded beacon status are expected to devote time to diffuse their innovation throughout the sector. A second distinguishing feature of public sector practice is the complex mixture of process and product innovation present in service improvement.

To take one example.  Staffordshire Moorlands established a project to improvel access to its services in rural areas.  This innovation comprised of some new products (eg information kiosks, e-bus) and some new processes (eg a joint visiting service along with the Pensions Agency and the County Council Social Servces Department).

Most local authority innovation is what Christensen  calls 'sustaining technology'. These innovations "improve the performance of established products, along dimensions of performance the mainstream customers in major markets have historically valued." (Christensen, 1997, pp. XV).  In a future blog we shall consider an example of council innovation which might be considered to be a 'disruptive' technology.






Notes 

The image at the top of this blog represents Warhol's Light Bulbs - source http://www.flickr.com/photos/zetson/3036254720/ 

Sunday, January 25, 2009

If music be the food of love, play on!


Forty years ago this week, on 31st Jan 1969, the Beatles gave their final live performance on the roof of the Apple building at 3 Savile Row, London (1). For those walking by in the streets below, taking a break from the office, on a shopping trip, or sightseeing, this must have been the ultimate free music download.

Musicians, like many others involved in the creative industries, often feel that they are driven by artistic desire, playing for love, rather than being motivated to be enterprising. It was interesting then to read an article in last Friday’s Times (2) which illustrates the innovative way in which some musicians are tackling the commercialization of their music product.

To finance their music, a new band would have traditionally approached the AR departments of the large music companies. But nowadays, faced by falling record sales and the credit crunch, music labels are not signing the number of acts that they once did.  Sellaband is a Web 2.0 website which introduces a new business model for commercializing music. Bands post their music on the site and fans are given the option to invest in them. When sufficient investors have come forward to support the music of a particular artist, the company behind the site will produce and promote the record. The band and the investing public also receive a share in any profits generated. However, not everyone is convinced that this new business model will succeed.

In a second example mentioned in the Times' article, duo Honey Ryder recognized that aspiring musicians need more than just good music, they also need a business plan. Honey Ryder took theirs to the annual music industry conference in Cannes last week looking for 100 investors to buy shares in their business.

So was Shakespeare correct when he wrote “If music be the food of love, play on” ? (3)  May be, but as the examples above illustrate, today's musicians also need to use their creative skills to explore new ways of financing their artistic endeavors.

Footnotes:

(1) It was at this performance, after playing the song Get Back, that John Lennon famously uttered the comment: "I'd like to say 'thank you' on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we passed the audition!"

(2) Sherwin A (2009) Forget autographs, what about shares in a favourite pop star? The Times, 23rd January 2009

(3) Twelfth Night