Co-Operative Inquiry as a basis for Evaluation of Knowledge Management Tools

This paper highlights the changes needed in the practice of IT evaluation when directed towards IT used to support knowledge management. The paper addresses the need for evaluation to recognise the increased emphasis on IT supporting the work of communities of practice in contrast to simply automating organisational processes. A framework that uses a form of action research (co-operative inquiry) is suggested that attempts to widen participation within the evaluation process and to enrich the purpose to which evaluation is put, especially in regard to the IS practitioner and IS users

Building Systemic Practice Into Evaluation Of Knowledge Management Tools

In the absence of any truly systemic approach to IS evaluation, an approach to evaluation of knowledge management tools is described. This uses co-operative inquiry as a participatory action research framework. Evaluation of knowledge management tools is seen as problematic due to the close coupling between the technology and the social system that is attempting to manage its knowledge. The paper first explains the rationale for why co-operative inquiry may be a useful framework for structuring a systemic evaluation. Finally several barriers to implementing the framework at the level of the individual and the group are discussed

User-led Innovation in the UK National Health Service

Healthcare services are delivered to patients using complex technology systems. Many innovative healthcare technologies are produced by industrial suppliers; however, healthcare staff are also active innovators of the technologies that they use in their own work. By assuming the role of user-innovators, they can create new technologies, procedures, processes and service-designs that improve and support healthcare provision. The focus of the research reported in this thesis is the phenomenon of user-led innovation of healthcare technology in the UK National Health Service (NHS). Exploratory research was carried out to develop a detailed understanding of user-led innovation within the NHS based on the perspectives of user-innovators. This thesis presents the results of the research in the form of four interpretive case studies, that contribute to an understanding of the enabling and inhibiting factors affecting user-led innovation. Each case presents an overview of the process of user-led innovation which was followed and the context in which it occurred. Several distinctive characteristics of user-led innovation are identified and a generic activity model of the user-led innovation process is described. Evaluation in user-led innovation processes is highlighted to have multiple purposes,beyond objective technology assessment. It is shown to support the on-going social-construction of user-developed technologies but also highlights the role of evaluation as a resource for exercising political influence within the innovation process. User led innovation is established as a theoretically useful and coherently defined mode of innovation, distinct from the lead user or open innovation paradigms. The major contribution of the thesis is an integrated model of healthcare technology systems that emphasises the role of protoinstitutions as critical products of user-led innovation. The thesis concludes that in order to maximise the benefit of user-led innovation in the NHS, innovation policy and practice should be broadened to recognise the role of proto-institutions as a valuable product of user-led innovation

NHS adoption of NHS-developed technologies

The NHS is experiencing a massive amount of technological change. In all areas of healthcare, pharmaceutical, diagnostic, therapeutic and informatics technologies are being developed that have potential to improve the efficiency and the effectiveness of the NHS. Indeed, actual improvement of NHS services is dependent on the extent to which new technologies can be adopted successfully. It is the case, however, that adoption of this new technology will inevitably lead to the need for organisational change, re-design of NHS processes and the re-definition of staff roles but unfortunately technologies are not neutral black boxes that work irrespective of the social context into which they are introduced. There has to be a fit between the social context and the technology. The people in an organisation must not only accept the technology but also be willing to change their own patterns of working.This research is concerned with whether technologies developed within the NHS have inherently different adoption characteristics compared with technologies developed outside the NHS. It is asking whether the fact a technology was developed by NHS staff, in an NHS context, makes it more or less likely to be adopted successfully in other parts of the NHS.After an initial survey of NHS developed technologies, six internally-developed technologies will be identified for further research and compared with six comparable technologies developed outside the NHS. A total of 12 case sites will be investigated, six using the internally-developed technologies and six using externally-developed. Detailed case studies will be prepared that look at adoption policy and processes.These will then be used to develop an understanding of how a technology's origin impacts on its adoption

Does the UTTO model of technology transfer fit public sector healthcare services?

Public sector healthcare services are both large users and innovators of health technologies. In the UK's National Health Service (NHS) initiatives have been developed to manage the process of technological innovation more effectively. This has two main aims, to maximize potential commercial returns from innovations developed within the NHS; and to improve levels of patient care through appropriate diffusion of innovations. The initiatives have been devised using approaches and processes already used in other public sector organizations, in particular, universities. Central to the approach taken by many universities is the setting up of a university technology transfer office (UTTO) to provide innovation management services. This paper assesses the extent to which the UTTO-based approach to technology transfer matches the needs of the NHS. Several significant factors are identified that suggest that the two sectors merit different approaches to innovation management. An agenda for further research into health service innovation management processes is suggested that emphasises issues including: the relative roles of formal and informal innovation processes; contingent variables affecting design of innovation processes; limitations of technology-push approaches to managing practice-based innovation; and cultural fit of innovation management models

Translating knowledge to build technological competence

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a review of literature that establishes the factors affecting the ability of an organisation to absorb and apply knowledge. The review aims to draw from literature on the resource-based view of the firm, dynamic capabilities, organisational learning, knowledge management and technological innovation. The paper then seeks to present a model of knowledge translation capability synthesised from the literature review. Design/methodology/approach – The model that is synthesised from the literature review draws on three streams of work. First, the work of Dorothy Leonard on technological capability; second, the I-space model of knowledge assets developed by Max Boisot; and third, other work based in the organisational learning and innovation management literature. The model is illustrated using a case study of an innovation project. Findings – The effective development of a knowledge translation capability requires attention to a network of both formal and informal structures/activities across an organisation. Together these activities constitute a dynamic capability that operates iteratively throughout the whole organisation and are an example of triple-loop learning processes. Practical implications – The paper will prove useful to other academics in the area of technological innovation and practising managers who can use the model to evaluate their own organisation's knowledge translation capability. Originality/value – The advantage of the model presented is that, unlike other discussions of dynamic capability, the link between conceptual level description and real world activities has been made more distinct. By recognising relevant organisational structures and relationships, it becomes possible to takes steps to assess their performance and then manage their improvement

Knowledge Translation Capability and Public-Sector Innovation Processes

Public sector organisations are increasingly becoming aware of the need to harness the innovative capacity of their employees. In the UK many public sector research institutes have put in place processes to increase the speed at which new technological innovations are exploited and commercialised. These types of initiatives have also been implemented into public sector service organisations. For these service organisations innovations occur not just from formal research projects but are also practice based, developed by staff in the course of their normal work. This paper suggests that practice-based innovations can be seen as relying heavily on Mode 2 knowledge production. Using the UK’s National Health Service as an example, the characteristics of practice-based innovations are characterised as tightly coupled to their development context and combining hard and soft technologies. A model of knowledge translation capability is presented that supports Mode 2 knowledge production and is then used to analyse a case study of a practice based NHS innovation. Implications for NHS innovation policy are suggested and further areas of research into public a sector innovation processes outlined

Building knowledge translation capability into public-sector innovation processes

Public-sector organisations are increasingly becoming aware of the need to harness the innovative capacity of their employees. In the UK many public-sector research institutes have put in place processes to increase the speed at which new technological innovations are exploited and commercialised. These types of initiatives have also been implemented into public-sector service organisations. For these service organisations innovations occur not just from formal research projects but are also practice based, developed by staff in the course of their normal work. This paper suggests that practice-based innovations can be seen as relying heavily on Mode 2 knowledge production. Using the UK's National Health Service as an example, the characteristics of practice-based innovations are characterised as tightly coupled to their development context and combining hard and soft technologies. A model of knowledge translation capability is presented that supports Mode 2 knowledge production and is then used to analyse a case study of a practice-based NHS innovation. Implications for public-sector innovation policy are suggested and further areas of research into public-sector innovation processes outlined

Patient and public involvement in translative healthcare research

Purpose – This paper aims to set out a framework that can be used for locating strategies for incorporating patient and public involvement (PPI) in the wider process of translative healthcare research. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is analytical and synthesizes knowledge from several disciplines in order to provide a coherent framework for understanding the scope and purpose of PPI. The framework sets out four idealised strategies for PPI based on mode and purpose of involvement. The paper concludes by summarising a range of implications for organisations involved in the governance of translative healthcare research. Findings – The framework defines four idealised strategies for PPI in translative healthcare research. The strategies range in purpose from collecting patient data, through to improving public involvement and knowledge with respect to healthcare research. Practical implications – The framework presented has direct relevance for agencies concerned with the management and governance of translative healthcare research. The framework is relevant when either designing or auditing research pathways in terms of PPI activities. The framework is also important in highlighting to healthcare leaders, researchers, patients and the wider public, the potential role of participation in healthcare research. Originality/value – This paper's value is that it combines perspectives from the wider literature on innovation, user-led design and participation, to the problem of translative healthcare research

From translational research to open technology innovation systems

Purpose - The purpose of this paper questions whether the emphasis placed within translational research on a linear model of innovation provides the most effective model for managing health technology innovation. Several alternative perspectives are presented that have potential to enhance the existing model of translational research. A case study is presented of innovation of a clinical decision support system. The paper concludes from the case study that an extending the triple helix model of technology transfer, to one based on a quadruple helix, present a basis for improving the performance translational research. Design/methodology/approach - A case study approach is used to help understand development of an innovative technology within a teaching hospital. The case is then used to develop and refine a model of the heath technology innovation system. Findings - The paper concludes from the case study that existing models of translational research could be refined further through the development of a quadruple helix model of heath technology innovation that encompasses greater emphasis on user-led and open innovation perspectives. Research limitations/implications - The paper presents several implications for future research based on the need to enhance the model of health technology innovation used to guide policy and practice. Practical implications - The quadruple helix model of innovation that is proposed can potentially guide alterations to the existing model of translational research in the healthcare sector. Several suggestions are made for how innovation activity can be better supported at both a policy and operational level. Originality/value - This paper presents a synthesis of the innovation literature applied to a theoretically important case of open innovation in the UK National health Service. It draws in perspectives from other industrial sectors and applies them specifically to the management and organisation of innovation activities around health technology and the services in which they are embedded