We explain what innovation, creativity and its characteristics are in the technological, educational and business areas.
What is innovation?
Innovate It is being immersed in the new, the novel, or the avant-garde.. In fact, the word innovation is etymologically composed of several Latin voices, the central ones being in“between” or “in”, and novus“new”.
The Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy defines innovation as “action and effect of innovating” or, in the more specific field of commerce, as “creation or modification of a product and its introduction into a market.” In addition to the commercial field, it is possible to find this term in contexts as varied as technological, business or educational.
The innovation It is a constant in human history. Since the most remote times, human beings have sought to create new tools, acquire new knowledge or improve what they already have, applying their ingenuity and, of course, their most urgent needs.
This trait was even more accentuated in recent centuries, when science and human reason have given our species an immense capacity to discover the deep functioning of the universe and apply it to the resolution of our daily problems.
We should not confuse innovation with research.
Innovation characteristics
Very broadly, innovation can be characterized as follows:
- It always has to do with the discovery or invention of a new way of doing thingsor a new way of understanding what already exists.
- It can arise casually or accidental (for example, the accidental discovery of penicillin) or it may be the result of an effort sustained and systematic, that is, of research and development (for example, atomic energy took decades of theoretical testing and experimentation).
- It occurs in practically all areas of human endeavor.
It can be of two types, depending on its mode of emergence:
- Closed innovation. When all of the innovators belong to the same organization.
- Open innovation. When the discovery is the result of the synergy of the dispersed and independent efforts of many individuals belonging to different groups.
Technological innovation
Technological innovation is the invention or development of novel technologieswhich often translates into more sophisticated tools, previously impossible capabilities, and new knowledge. It is a concept typical of the contemporary approach to science and technology, the result of the great scientific-technological revolution that occurred since the second half of the 19th century and that continues to accelerate its progress to this day.
Technology allows us to adapt the world to our needs, instead of ourselves adapting to the pre-existing world. It is an important consequence of our ability to reason.
In this sense, innovation It is part of the logical process of scientific and technical advanceto the extent that a new tool allows the obtaining of new knowledge that in turn allows the manufacture of new tools and so on. This feedback loop is precisely the driving force behind innovation in the area.
Educational innovation
In the area of teaching and learning, innovation is the introduction of new physical or conceptual tools, or new transformative practices, as part of the educational process current, in order to improve, update or enhance it.
This usually occurs hand in hand with new cultural, scientific and/or technological paradigms, as a way of adapting society to new trends, since this way future generations will be able to count on an up-to-date educational process.
Educational innovation usually occurs in two different ways:
- Through the renewal of existing elements as part of the school process (updating),
- Or also as a consequence of the resolution of internal problems or the internal needs of the educational system itself.
Business innovation
In the business world, “innovation” is the implementation of a new idea or concept in the production processthus creating a service or product with added value that can be marketed within a market niche.
More simply put, business innovation has to do with the ability to introduce new ideas and concepts to economic activity, creating new goods or services or solving existing problems in the production circuit.
Innovation is a highly sought after and central element in the life of companies, which compete with each other to achieve the greatest economic benefit. An innovative concept or an innovative tool introduced into a business niche can completely transform it. For many organizations it can mean the difference between success and bankruptcy, depending on how well they adapt to change.
In the economic field, innovation can translate into:
- New goods or new services that did not exist previously.
- New tools that facilitate, make cheaper or enhance an existing economic activity.
- New economic niches or ways to anticipate upcoming niches, or even ways to transform an existing niche.
Creativity and innovation
Creativity and innovation are concepts that should not be confused. However, the difference between one and the other can be subtle, since they are closely related concepts.
In this regard, the words of North American Congressman William Coyne (1936-2013) are often quoted: “Creativity is thinking about new and appropriate ideas, while innovation is the successful application of ideas within an organization. In other words, creativity is the concept and innovation is the process.”
This means that Creativity is the exercise of the very conception of a novel ideain the abstract. On the other hand, innovation always implies a practical criterionthat is, thinking about the way in which these ideas would allow us to solve a problem. That is the difference between both concepts.
References
- “Innovation” on Wikipedia.
- “What is innovation?” (video) on Route N.
- “Innovation” in Economipedia.
- “Difference between creativity and innovation” in the Private Foundation for Creativity.
- “What exactly is Innovation?” by Michel Greenwald in Forbes.
- “Innovation” in Business Dictionary.
