Innovation

Innovation is more than creativity – it’s a combination of creative ideas developed into sustainable products, services, processes, and/or business models.

Something can be considered innovative when it’s both new and useful –  and it’s most effective when it’s aligned with an organization’s strategic needs or goals.  Innovation can also be relative – something new and useful for Group A may be old-hat for Group B, but for Group A it’s still innovative.

For OIT, when we refer to innovation, we mean something new and useful aligned with UCI and OIT organizational strategic needs and goals.

Types of Innovation

Innovations can generally be categorized into these three types:

Products/Services: Easier to achieve – easier to copy – lower general impact – may be driven by known-possible improvements, customer demands or competitive features

Processes: Harder to achieve – harder to copy – higher general impact – may be more effective in changing culture

Business Models: Hardest to achieve, but big payoffs – hardest to copy – highest general impact – disruptive –more likely to drive a secular change (sets a new baseline and we never go back)

Some innovations represent multiple types simultaneously – For example, Uber is an innovative product (their mobile app), an innovative service (on-demand rides), an innovative process (“I wanna go somewhere, someone come pick me up” vs reserve a ride or wait-for/hail a taxi), and an innovative business model (“I’ve got some free time and a car – anyone want to pay me for a ride?”)