Radical Efficiency a Practical Guide - Nesta

PART 4: LESSONS FOR INNOVATORS 325. Manage risks,don’t just avoid themThe risks of innovation are many and varied. And yet veryfew ‘radically efficient’ innovators start off by talkingabout the riskiness of their initiatives. They talk aboutmission and goals. This is not because they are irresponsibleindividuals, gung-ho about the significance and scale of thechallenges they face. In fact, they have all considered andassessed the risks they face – and use the rigour of theirdevelopment process to mitigate it and to help raise thefinancial and human capital to start work.Managing risks means including the following design features indeveloping radically efficient innovations:• Empathy: really understanding your service user needsincreases the likelihood of effective, suitable provision.• Prototyping: iterative development of solutions so that‘failure’ is learning to be built on quickly, rather than theend of the road. Formal, ongoing evaluation can supportprototyping and means feedback can be incorporatedquickly.• Openness: transparency and openness allow for quickunderstanding of problems and maximum brainpower ondeveloping solutions.• Adequate time and space: independent and realistictimelines for development and action are critical to allof these innovations, as is the space to ask fundamentalquestions and think afresh.