Creativity and Innovation

Much has been written over the years on how to create the correct climate in which creativity and innovation will flourish. A great deal of this material is of an academic nature and tends to dwell on abstract themes rather than concrete ones. Section C, whilst not ignoring these intangibles is designed to offer practical advice on the steps which can be taken by an R D Manager, in order to foster a creative climate and to assist the process of innovation. Included is a description 

---

Computers are no better than human judgments in early discovery they don t possess creativity and innovative capacity. 

Fuel Cell Technological Research Network (PACo network) to foster creativity and innovation needed for the commercial development of fuel cells. 

In 1999, the Ministry of Research, in association with the Ministry of Industry, created the Fuel Cell Technological Research Network (PACo network) to contribute to French energy policy for the development of new energy sources. The purposes of the network were to foster creativity and innovation needed for the commercial development of fuel cells and to encourage public-private partnerships and facilitate interdisciplinary cooperation. In July 2000, the government launched CNRT (Centre National de Recherche Tech nolog ique) in Belfort-Montbeliard, involving the construction of a fuel cell test platform dedicated to transport applications. The fiiel cell test capacities have demonstrated power up to 200 kW. 

Money, available for example through special project budgets or savings on existing budgets which can be used to buy in extra resources or staff help, is perhaps the most advantageous of all the sources of freedom. However, it is a source that tends to come and go with economic cycles and changing buoyancy of revenues. In my own personal experience, when money is available to buy help, creativity and innovation flourish. 

At the collective level, we believe that some cultural crises are the result of truncated consciousness. These crises might be overcome by rethinking, and ultimately removing, some of the prohibitions that currently constrict creative and innovative thought. 

Conununication among pairs of individuals can be a source of creativity and innovation, or it can be a source of conflict. Imagine we are considering the possibihty of conflict, and call the quantity p the probability of a conflict between a pair of individuals. The probabihty that there will be conflict between in at least one relationship on a team of size n may be given by the following expression ... 

Purification A variety of creative and innovative open-access LC/MS formats were developed to address throughput needs within the industrial laboratory. As the preparation of large libraries for lead discovery became routine, the burden placed on analytical techniques focused mainly on throughput and quality (Kyranos and Hogan, 1998 Van Hijfte et al., 1999). Biological assay requirements, however, normally required pure compounds. Thus, the focus shifted toward the use of automated high-throughput purification methods applied to libraries of discrete compounds (Weller, 1998-99). 

Since the organisation plays a crucial role in stimulating creativity and innovation it is important to understand the nature of organisations, especially their culture, before being able to understand why some are more receptive to creativity, innovation and hence change. 

Table B1 Role and influence of Cultures on Creativity and Innovation...

The role and influence of these various cultures on creativity and innovation are shown in Table Bl. 

B-6] El RMA Workshop Report, Stimulating Creativity and Innovation, Paris, 1993 [B-7] Trott, P., Innovation Management and New Product Development, 2nd edn., Prentice Hall, Harlow, 2002... 

It would be a very poor R D organisation that was not both creative and innovative. That said, creativity and innovation are easily stifled or destroyed even in formerly effective groups. Like tender plants they only flourish in a suitable environment and are in need of constant nourishment, as is discussed in Section B. There are many actions that a Manager can take to help nurture the process of creativity and innovation and create the right climate in which chemists and other scientists can operate. To assist in this process the Manager needs to understand the characteristics of creative individuals and also the various pathways from creativity to innovative products or processes. A description of these and the techniques and aids involved forms the body of the first part of this Section. 

The words creativity and innovation are often confused, or used interchangeably, so it is worthwhile spending a little time clarifying the nature of and differences between these two activities. 

This black and white separation of creativity and innovation is fine in theory, but in practice is false. Creativity is required at all stages in the innovation chain leading to the development and introduction of new products processes and services. Creativity represents the birth ofideas, innovation the process by which those ideas reach fruition. 

For many years creativity and innovation was achieved in a rather ad hoc manner, only engaging those parts of the organisation as they were required, often in a linear way as this was seen as a logical progression. The more successful companies realised that this was inefficient. Blocks in the innovation pathway were only cleared as they appeared and often this lead to a resistance to change, particularly from those not involved from the start in the process of innovation. 

It is possible to draw up a matrix of the main factors that stimulate creativity and innovation [C-l]. Those factors affecting creativity centre on the individual and the environment whilst those influencing innovation are more concerned with teamwork and organisation. There is a strong overlap in many areas, represented by the top right hand box in Figure C2. The themes of this section will cover many of these factors, whilst others will be covered in the other sections. 

These elements are seen as specific in helping to create the very special climate that allows creative work to flourish. However, there are several other factors which are common to both the creative and innovative climate, and these are described below. 

Creativity and innovation carry with them the need for the individual to be able to communicate their new ideas to others. Presenting their ideas fluently, both verbally and/or in writing, to other members of project teams during the innovation process is essential if they are to be acted upon. Conversely the individual must be able to listen to other people, understanding and responding to their feelings, needs and concerns about new ideas and changes of procedures. 

C-l] EIRMA Workshop Reports IV. Stimulating Creativity and Innovation. EIRMA, Paris 1993. 

In this respect, the chemical industry should not be viewed as a producer of chemical risks or as a product manufacturer. The chemical industry is creative and innovative. It applies the most up-to-date science and technology to meet societal needs and demands. 

Usually KJ Method directs participants to generate ideas via classic brainstorming. However, given the many other powerful ideation tools in this book, we recommend you use KJ Method to help you organize and prioritize the highly creative and innovative ideas you ve already generated. 

---