Innovations
HAIRE's main contribution to innovation comes from the project's approach to innovation. As mentioned in the 'Learnings' section, HAIRE's tools produce the best results when findings and ideas are discussed collaboratively - especially when diverse individuals / groups are involved in these discussions. HAIRE structured its collaborative approach in to two phases:
i) Local workshops to form ideas and implement them. The CREATE process.
ii) Workshops that brought the entire partnership together to design a joint innovation. The SHAPE process.
CREATE
The CREATE process was implemented to take local communities on an innovation journey. Engaging sessions were structured around key issues that HAIRE's tools identified in each community, e.g. mobility, leisure, communication etc. The first step was always the same: identify and agree on what is possible!
It is important to agree on what is possible, as concentrating on an issue that is too big can act as a barrier to innovation. HAIRE worked in rural communities, where the provision of specialised health services has been an issue for decades. If this topic had dominated the CREATE activities, nothing would have been achieved. We did not have the resources to build specialised health centres and/or expert employ health professionals. Such issues were discussed and given time, as they are important, but efforts concentrated on things that were achievable. The image below summarises the journey that each community undertook:
Inspiration for innovation came from HAIRE's tools. The issues that were identified by Guided Conversations were discussed in relation to the resources that were availabe to a community (Neighbourhood Analysis) and the important connections in the community - including connections that seemed to be lacking (Social Network Analysis). Ideation happened during meetings that brought together the partners working in the communities and locals - including volunteers and Guided Conversation participants. Implementation was realised through the efforts of all parties that came together during the ideation phase - including where a co-ordinated effort was needed to engage other individuals and/or groups in realising an innovation. An example here is the engagement of local artists and/or student groups in some of the innovations that were designed in HAIRE's pilot sites.
To summarise, HAIRE's CREATE process helps to address local issues through innovations that are relevant to the experiences of a community. Innovations draw on a community's joint history, common challenges and experiences that relate to new challenges and/or challenges that create inequalities for certain individuals and groups.
HAIRE's approach to innovation becomes particularly powerful when multiple communities use the approach and share learning. The sharing of ideas and working towards a big change across multiple communities leads HAIRE's SHAPE process. Essentially, the SHAPE process helps in working towards the challenges that were 'too big' for CREATE. The next section discusses how the SHAPE process worked during HAIRE.
SHAPE
Referenties
- Actions for HAIRE's Challenge, HAIRE, University of Exeter, 27 maart 2023.