GrowinG Future innovators - ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative ...

Executive summary
Growing Future Innovators is a
ground breaking new project that
examines how contemporary arts
institutions can work with schools to
educate for innovation. Historically,
connections across these domains
have not been readily acknowledged
let alone celebrated, however, many
fruitful intersections are being explored
between innovation (new ideas
and change), arts (creative-cultural
engagement) and education (teaching
and learning).
The dynamics of innovation
Innovation is about fostering new ideas and
ways of doings things that lead to greater
civic, economic and cultural prosperity
and wellbeing.
While innovation is as old as humanity itself,
awareness of its public value has grown
steadily over the last century, and innovation
is increasingly cited around the world as
key to addressing our current and future
challenges and opportunities.
In Australia, innovation has been an overt
preoccupation of national policy makers
from the 1990s onward. It was most recently
re-examined in the federal government’s
Review of the National Innovation System
and Venturous Australia report in 2008, both
of which culminated in the government’s
Powering Ideas agenda paper in 2009.
Historically, there has been a narrow science
and technology focus within innovation
policy. This is now expanding, however, as
other domains and stakeholders begin to
engage and contribute. The rise in debates
around creativity and the creative industries
has, for example, seen ideas within the arts
and humanities change the way we can
imagine the innovative workplace, classroom
and community. Consequently, contemporary
theoretical frameworks are being elaborated
to incorporate multiple dimensions and types
of innovation.
The ‘cycle of innovation’ is the term used to
describe the process of generating, applying
and disseminating knowledge and ideas.
The cycle of innovation is fostered by our
‘innovation system’, a varied network of
people, organizations and policies that support
and regulate aspects of innovation activity,
and which in turn is highly influenced by a
society’s wider educational and cultural milieu.
Ultimately, the goal of innovation-focused
policy and programs is to increase the capacity
of the innovation system so that we can be
more innovative, more of the time.
The role of education in innovation
The education sector can foster innovation
by developing the skills and values required
for an innovative workforce and society.
While education alone cannot produce a
more innovative society, formal and informal
opportunities for learning have a significant
part to play in building innovation cultures
and capacities.
Educating for innovation is the responsibility
of many but the contribution of schools
is especially crucial. Their reach across
society and their involvement in the early
years of learning makes them vital. In many
parts of the world, schools are recognizing
that innovation is an essential part of 21st
century learning. Further research on how
to pragmatically implement this agenda is,
however, now a priority.
The core competencies of innovation that
education can cultivate have been identified as
creativity, self-efficacy, energy, risk-propensity
and leadership. While innovation skills, it is
argued, can be developed in everyone—not
just the extremely talented or those in certain
subject disciplines, designing the delivery,
assessment and measurement of programs
that reliably foster these is likely to be a major
project for years to come.
Growing future Innovators: a scoping study 1