Never before in history has innovation offered promise of so much to so many in so short a time. -Bill Gates
We want to celebrate the achievement of innovation and encourage more of it. By sharing innovations, we can inspire others to grow more ideas and innovations (and to stop reinventing the wheel!). This is a site where you can:
- Upload and share your innovations 1
- Filter, view and comment on other innovations
- Subscribe for updates on new innovations
- Copy innovations shamelessly
What is an innovation? It is something that you've done better and differently. It can be simple and small, or it can be significant and complex. Ultimately, it is an improvement, and has delivered better value.
Most great innovations in modern history don’t just happen overnight. They iterate and evolve; sometimes slowly, or in leaps and bounds. Share with us your passion for doing things better.
Tips on how to Grow Ideas
Have you ever been in a group conversation, and someone first raises a silly idea, but others start suggesting other alternatives, and suddenly that silly idea grows into a fantastic idea?
That's the concept of Growing Ideas, and you are encouraged to comment on the various innovations that are on this site, and suggest other ideas.
Here are some other tips on how to Grow Ideas within your team or business:
- Stop idea killers! An idea can die very quickly before it reaches its full potential, so instead of killing it, say, 'let's keeping growing that idea'...
- Creative space. People need creative spaces to grow their ideas. Workshops, lunch rooms, water cooler conversations, coffee catch-ups, etc, are where some inspirational ideas can be drawn from. There are products in the market place that are ‘sticker whiteboards (dry erase)’ that can be stuck to any surface, to allow people to draw mind maps or to conceptualise their ideas.
- Collaborate. This is the next gear up to grow ideas. Understanding and collaborating with your client, suppliers, stakeholders, customers, etc., will greatly increase the chance of the idea becoming successful.
- Support the Growing of Ideas . Every organisation is different, and it is important to have a a structured process that:
- Recognises that an idea is worthwhile pursuing (simple definition, business case)
- Assigns ownership and provides seed funding
- Regularly tracks and monitors the development and implementation of the idea
- Recognise the innovation. Celebrate the success! Recognition and minor incentives go a long way to motivate the individual or group to grow even more ideas.
- Park the idea. Sometimes, the timing is just not right. Maybe technology hasn’t caught up yet, it is not a strategic priority, or someone just hasn’t had the breakthrough idea yet. Park it, simmer over it overnight or a few months, and you might have that eureka moment later!
1 The Transport Agency is grateful to receive submissions, but reserves the right to decline or edit submissions for suitability.