What do we mean by Inclusive Innovation?
Inclusivity in innovation
Inclusivity in innovation has been approached from many different angles. For example, whilst products and services are usually designed from a commercial (technical and operational) perspective, consideration of the user’s needs has often been an afterthought. To remedy this, User Centred Design (UCD) evolved in product development to ensure that product design focuses on what users need; from the very beginning of the design process, continuing iteratively throughout development until launch. It requires a detailed understanding of every problem from the perspective of the user throughout the user-journey before an effective solution can be selected. An even more fundamental organisation-wide approach is Amazon’s adoption of “customer obsession” as it's first leadership principle - ensuring that their leaders “start with the customer and work backwards.”
In scientific research, there has been a concerted effort to involve people in study design and execution. Citizen Science is a great example of this in action; defined as "scientific work undertaken by members of the general public, often in collaboration with or under the direction of professional scientists and scientific institutions.” It is viewed as scientific research conducted, in whole or in part, by amateur or nonprofessionals who crowdsource their contributions as part of a wider research project. Current medical research also actively encourage patients and public engagement in its approach.
Focus on marginalised groups
Traditionally, definitions of Inclusive Innovation have focussed on minority, underrepresented or marginalised groups. Research by Heeks et al., looks at Inclusive Innovation in many ways, the simplest being “the means by which new goods and services are developed for and/or by those who have been excluded from the development mainstream; particularly the billions living on lowest incomes.” This has successfully shone a spotlight on the needs of people in these groups and helped to better represent their interests and meet their goals.
In terms of processes and policies, organisations like NESTA have done an excellent job actively campaigning for inclusive innovation policies to drive better social outcomes and tackle inequalities; with positive impact. Their working definition for inclusive innovation policies ensures it is “directed towards ensuring that the benefits and the risks of innovation are more equally shared.” According to Digital Promise, the process of Inclusive Innovation moves iteratively across five stages: Connect/Commit > Inquire/Investigate > Design/Develop > Implement/Iterate and Sustain and Scale. While larger organisations such as the United Nations Development Programmes (UNDP) have outlined strategies for implementing inclusive innovation through: understanding that technology has a key role to play in addressing global challenges; innovation must strengthen existing systems and enhance the quality of life and work in poor communities, sectors and regions.
Increasing scope through a broader view?
For broader application of inclusive innovation principles, we believe that underrepresentation must be put in the context of the specific products, systems or processes being implemented - even where the underrepresented group is, in the main, a majority in other areas. For example, while men are overrepresented in many walks of life, research has shown that the perception of women’s primacy in the areas of fertility, reproductive health and childbearing, means that men are largely excluded from the public health discourse. Conversely, fertility products targeted at women are often designed by men who dominate the engineering workforce (e.g. software design and mechanical engineering) but have little or no experience in actual usage of the product.
At Orishi, our aim for inclusive innovation is a broader application in society to the extent that it becomes commonplace in organisations across all sectors. To achieve this, we widen the definition of inclusive innovation to “the involvement of intended users in the design, development and deployment of new products, processes and services to bring positive change.”
Managing expectations
Finally, we believe that it is important to note that inclusive innovation may not always be feasible at every stage of product development. For example, including intended users in every step of the design, development and deployment stages can be extremely expensive or impracticable depending on the context. However, an inclusive, people-centric approach, has been shown to significantly increase customer satisfaction, organisational efficiency, business profitability and delivers a positive impact on society at large.
We believe that products and services should be designed, developed and deployed in partnership with the intended users.
We encourage organisations of all sizes, sectors and purposes to consider the potential for inclusivity in their innovation processes. Connect with us, we look forward to discussing your thoughts, perspectives and needs.
