I like to describe myself as an accidental, or incidental, innovator because I don't necessarily see myself as an innovator – I just see myself as someone who does what I think is good practice. In the context of this case study I guess I was classed as an innovator for my work in voice technologies, something which I had been doing quietly and on my own before someone else spotted that it was actually not being done by very many people and needed to be presented to a wider audience.
I think the characteristics of someone who might be called an innovator are that they tend to change things anyway; they don't like resting in one place doing the same thing all the time. They like to experiment, they don't care about the time it takes. They might spend a lot of time working after hours and they enjoy what they do. I think because of that enjoyment factor that perhaps the distinction between work and pleasure is blurred. It doesn't feel like work, hence you can spend a lot of time doing something that you actually enjoy. Perhaps an innovator also likes being a little bit apart, a bit other, outside of the mainstream. I think for an innovator the goals are not necessarily immediate; they take a longer-term view of how things might take many years to come to fruition and they have a basic interest in change.
I think an innovator does things differently instinctively; they just have an idea that they would like to change things. They see a better way of doing things and they just go ahead and do it. I think certainly on the Internet there's a generosity of spirit, or a spirit of sharing, because the Internet is the arena where I guess I have created some kind of reputation. I've done that by sharing what I know regularly, without any reservation, all along the line. Also, you need to establish an online presence, in the context of an e-learning innovator. I think you need to cultivate relationships with people who can help; you need to identify people in your organisation who can assist you in making things happen. Rather than think of yourself as a trailblazer or doing something new, really the bottom line is you just follow good practice.
I think the important thing for an organisation to support innovation is that it’s allowed and encouraged and supported to try something new. It's almost like allowing a mental space for it to happen. I think an organisation needs to trust its staff, rather than concentrating on monitoring or checking their staff. Where possible, where good ideas and good people can be encouraged by funding, you should throw money at it, because it has an enormous impact. It can boil down to having a manager with vision, who sees that someone is doing something a little bit outside the square and needs to be given some time and patience to realise that change or ambition. You need an organisation; it may be a manager or peers, who can spot someone who is doing something that is different, worthwhile and that it needs to be promoted.
What are the barriers to innovation? I think much of VET culture at the moment with its emphasis on monitoring, auditing, checking, following curriculum and training packages really has more of an emphasis on inflexibility and accountability rather than supporting, encouraging and allowing people to do things a little bit differently.