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Insights on Innovation
18
For us, innovation is about finding new ways of expanding our service offer.
We are doing this in a number of ways. We are enhancing our IT systems
to deliver efficiency and value for money and we are using any surplus to
generate effective, unfunded services that meet the charitable aims of the
organisation. We are also developing systems that accurately communicate
the complex detail of the arena in which we operate.
To give an example, to address the lack of accurate data on migration and
asylum seekers that existed in the UK, we conceived, funded and developed
the UK Institute for Migration Research. Our goal was to provide the media, the
government, academic researchers and the public with accurate information on
migration issues. We also developed a digitally enhanced Asylum Help Service that
delivers a better service for half the cost. It includes a telephone help centre, an
interactive website and a wealth of information.
" I am not afraid
of storms for I
am learning how
to sail my ship."
Louisa May Alcott
For creativity to thrive, you must positively encourage it at every level and
throughout the organisation. You must develop an internal communications
framework that allows ideas to come forward. It’s important to take risks and to
do that you need to get rid of the ‘blame culture’. A certain amount of failure has
to be seen as a necessary result of innovation. However failure to perform against
achievable targets that have been set for no credible reason is unacceptable.
Perhaps most importantly, and I feel very passionate about this, you need to
develop healthy partnerships with other organisations that encourage an open and
honest engagement. You need to ban negative thinking, adopt a positive attitude,
be outward-facing and open to information that exists outside your organisation.
Prior to 2013, before I joined, Migrant Help was failing for a number of reasons. In
part, this was due to government cuts, but I am sure that without that failure there
would have been no appetite for innovation within the organisation. We became
much more creative in order to survive.
In my view, charities must consider it a necessary overhead to invest in the quality
of staff they need to achieve these goals. They need to become more businessfocused
in order to guarantee a more stable, consistently high standard of service
to their beneficiaries. To achieve this they need staff who can take this forward,
who can see the bigger picture.
Robert McCrea, CEO, Migrant Help and Clear Voice Trading.