The Innovation Unit
Encyclopedia
Innovation Unit is a social enterprise
committed to using the power of innovation
to help meet the major social challenges society faces, whether it’s tackling climate change
, eradicating child poverty
or making a difference to a child’s learning
.
All Innovation Unit projects are unique and have a bespoke
approach. Innovation Unit takes on the role as facilitators and facilitate at all levels, whether it’s between individuals or organisations, or facilitating projects or programmes. Innovation Unit seeks to uncover new thinking and practice that can be learned from. It does this by connecting the right people around shared problems to form supportive alliance
s that help innovation develop and grow. It also enables clients to measure the impact and success of innovation and develop practical tools that people can use.
At the core of Innovation Units approach sits a belief, that to achieve lasting change innovation must be systematic and disciplined.
Innovation Unit is not limited to working to help individual clients. As a not-for-profit
social enterprise, it aims at improving things for everyone, and seeks to influence public debate
, re-shape public policy
and transform public services
.
(DfE). After four years of experience of transforming services to improve outcomes for children and families across the UK, the Innovation Unit became an independent organisation in 2006. It is now an independent social enterprise which works across the full range of public services and is working to tackle the major social challenges society faces today.
'Schools - Achieving Success' which followed the Education Act 2002
.
For the first four years of the Innovation Units existence, the remit was very much focused on education
and children’s services. The first phase of the work concentrated on responding to innovative ideas that were sent into the Government, mainly by teacher
s and head teachers. It funded a number of these, and provided advice and practical support for many others. Alongside other innovative small-scale projects, it worked on several large-scale programmes, such as:
Between 2003 and 2008, Innovation Unit advised on The Power to Innovate (PTI), a piece of legislation
which enabled schools and Local Authorities to apply to the Secretary of State
to have regulations lifted if a strong case could be made that they were getting in the way of raising standards in education. It also played an active role in supporting and sponsoring the National Teacher Research Panel, The Research Informed Practice Site and the Teaching Awards
.
, London
.
Innovation Unit has a range of expertise and experiences – as frontline workers, leaders, consultants, researchers and policy makers. As a social enterprise it has knowledge, methods and experience in delivering innovation in health and social care, in greening public services, and in education and children's services. It has worked with other social enterprises, with charities, with regional bodies, local authorities as well as on working on public service and policy reform with national and international government.
Social enterprise
A social enterprise is an organization that applies business strategies to achieving philanthropic goals. Social enterprises can be structured as a for-profit or non-profit....
committed to using the power of innovation
Innovation
Innovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society...
to help meet the major social challenges society faces, whether it’s tackling climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
, eradicating child poverty
Child poverty
Child poverty refers to the phenomenon of children living in poverty. This applies to children that come from poor families or orphans being raised with limited, or in some cases absent, state resources. Children that fail to meet the minimum acceptable standard of life for the nation where that...
or making a difference to a child’s learning
Learning
Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning...
.
All Innovation Unit projects are unique and have a bespoke
Bespoke
Bespoke is a term employed in a variety of applications to mean an item custom-made to the buyer's specification...
approach. Innovation Unit takes on the role as facilitators and facilitate at all levels, whether it’s between individuals or organisations, or facilitating projects or programmes. Innovation Unit seeks to uncover new thinking and practice that can be learned from. It does this by connecting the right people around shared problems to form supportive alliance
Alliance
An alliance is an agreement or friendship between two or more parties, made in order to advance common goals and to secure common interests.See also military alliance and business alliance.-International relations:...
s that help innovation develop and grow. It also enables clients to measure the impact and success of innovation and develop practical tools that people can use.
At the core of Innovation Units approach sits a belief, that to achieve lasting change innovation must be systematic and disciplined.
Innovation Unit is not limited to working to help individual clients. As a not-for-profit
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
social enterprise, it aims at improving things for everyone, and seeks to influence public debate
Public debate
Public debate is a formal style of debate. Two teams of two compete through six rounds of argument, giving persuasive speeches on a particular topic.- Pre-Debate :...
, re-shape public policy
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
and transform public services
Public services
Public services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly or by financing private provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income...
.
History
Innovation Unit have been improving public services through innovation for eight years. For the first four years it was a part of what is now the Department for EducationDepartment for Education
The Department for Education is a department of the UK government responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education....
(DfE). After four years of experience of transforming services to improve outcomes for children and families across the UK, the Innovation Unit became an independent organisation in 2006. It is now an independent social enterprise which works across the full range of public services and is working to tackle the major social challenges society faces today.
The Beginning
In June 2002, the Innovation Unit was established in the DfES (Department for Education and Schools) - now the DfE - as part of the measures in the White PaperWhite paper
A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that helps solve a problem. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions, and are often requested and used in politics, policy, business, and technical fields. In commercial use, the term has also come to refer to...
'Schools - Achieving Success' which followed the Education Act 2002
Education Act 2002
The Education Act 2002 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-Main provisions:The act significantly amended legislation relating to academies, publicly-funded schools operating outside of local government control and with a significant degree of autonomy areas such as wages and...
.
For the first four years of the Innovation Units existence, the remit was very much focused on education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and children’s services. The first phase of the work concentrated on responding to innovative ideas that were sent into the Government, mainly by teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
s and head teachers. It funded a number of these, and provided advice and practical support for many others. Alongside other innovative small-scale projects, it worked on several large-scale programmes, such as:
- Leading Edge PartnershipLeading Edge PartnershipThe Leading Edge Partnership programme is an educational scheme organised by the Department for Children, Schools and Families in the United Kingdom. It was introduced in 2005 as a programme for High Performing Specialist Schools, a designation launched in 2004....
programme - Federations
- Networking and Collaboration
- Teachers TVTeachers TVTeachers TV was a website and former free-to-air Distance education television channel which provided video and support materials for those who work in education in the UK, including teachers, school leaders, governors, teacher trainers, student teachers and support staff.Its aims included raising...
- Breakthrough
Between 2003 and 2008, Innovation Unit advised on The Power to Innovate (PTI), a piece of legislation
Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
which enabled schools and Local Authorities to apply to the Secretary of State
Secretary of State (United Kingdom)
In the United Kingdom, a Secretary of State is a Cabinet Minister in charge of a Government Department ....
to have regulations lifted if a strong case could be made that they were getting in the way of raising standards in education. It also played an active role in supporting and sponsoring the National Teacher Research Panel, The Research Informed Practice Site and the Teaching Awards
Teaching Awards
The Teaching Awards is an annual teacher awards ceremony in the United Kingdom.- Process :Every year, all schools across the UK are invited to nominate their most outstanding headteachers, teachers, teaching assistants and governors. Anyone can make a nomination. Nominations are then endorsed by...
.
Innovation Unit Now
Today the Innovation Unit is an independent, not-for-profit social enterprise and receives no grant funding. It has an experienced team of Partners and Senior Associates committed to advancing practice and improving outcomes in public services, as well as a team of core staff based at their offices in Old StreetOld Street
Old Street is a street in east London that runs west to east from Goswell Road in Clerkenwell, in the London Borough of Islington, to the crossroads where it intersects with Shoreditch High Street , Kingsland Road and Hackney Road in Shoreditch in the London Borough of Hackney.The nearest...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Innovation Unit has a range of expertise and experiences – as frontline workers, leaders, consultants, researchers and policy makers. As a social enterprise it has knowledge, methods and experience in delivering innovation in health and social care, in greening public services, and in education and children's services. It has worked with other social enterprises, with charities, with regional bodies, local authorities as well as on working on public service and policy reform with national and international government.