Facilitating Innovation: Opportunity in Times of Change

Abstract

Cultural heritage institutions have been grappling with the accelerating pace of technology-driven changes in society since the 1990s. These institutions understand well the imperative to adapt and innovate. But what is innovation? Organisations often have a narrow view of innovation, focusing on new technology or product development. Innovation touches on most aspects of an organisation, including its offerings, audiences, processes and its platforms and venues. This paper explores the nature of innovation, reviewing broader business models of the nature of innovation and how organisations innovate, and how these models may be applied to a cultural institution. The paper also explores concrete examples of fostering innovation within the Canada Science and Technology Museum Corporation, including the role of integrated strategic planning, process improvement, product development and grass-roots participation. It also looks at specific mechanisms, such as an ‘Idea Bank’ (in support of idea generation), and the internal use of ‘Web 2.0’ technologies such as Wikis.

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