Innovation in a time of uncertainty
By: Alfred Jackson
Tags: Covid 19, Leadership, Business, Strategy, Coronavirus

Innovation in a time of uncertainty

In the age of Coronavirus, businesses and decision makers will need to think differently about how they strategise and steer their organisations through a more uncertain landscape.

Markets for transport and the built environment traditionally have exceptionally long lead times and planning cycles. Factors such as population growth, employment, economic forecasts and any number of other established metrics can all feed into decisions around the requirements for new infrastructure and services.

For years these metrics have been relatively stable and to some degree, predictable. Not so today.

Our nation, government and organisations will need to examine closely things that until recently would have been considered gospel. We have not historically needed to question official population projections from the Office for National Statistics or congestion forecasts from the Department for Transport when developing plans. However, in the short to medium term at least, we could be looking at a situation in which we have to completely rethink our modus operandi as a country and how we support innovation for UK Plc.

What might the advent of COVID-19 mean for the innovation economy?

The widely forecast economic slowdown is likely reduce the appetite for risk across a number of sectors. Innovations, particularly early stage applications of research, inevitably come with a greater element of risk than established technologies. Non-traditional approaches to procurement (explored in greater detail in our Challenging Procurement initiative) can help manage risk for buyers and should be encouraged to avoid a general retreat from investment in new, innovative solutions.

Just as there is a tendency for firms to gravitate towards established solutions and players in tough times, we may also see companies slashing R&D budgets and retrenching back to core offerings in order to weather the storm. This would be bad news for innovators. However, as organisations face difficult times and tighter than ever operating margins, they also face a greater than usual need to do things differently. Innovators who can evidence that their solution can deliver greater efficiency and productivity from existing assets stand to benefit.

What should innovators do to navigate the current complexity?

Plan for different outcomes

This is not the time for linear cause and effect planning. Businesses and place leaders alike need to consider a far wider number of impacts, outcomes and problems and opportunities in order to be ready for them as and when they occur.

Reconsider your offerings

The environment and challenges facing organisations are changing and fluid. Business seeking to seize opportunities that arise need to listen carefully to understand the new market needs and adapt offerings accordingly. Pulling the levers that worked pre-Coronavirus will not necessarily solve the problems places now face. In some cases, this might mean looking at solutions from completely the opposite direction: for instance, services designed to track and maximise the smooth flow of people through a space may now be repurposed to reduce crowding and help maintain social distancing.

Flexibility in everything

Things are likely to continue changing rapidly and will be difficult to predict. Businesses and place leaders alike will need to operate in collaboration with others, harness data and indicators to track change and be ready to adapt rapidly as the situation evolves. In a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world, planning will only get us so far; leaders will also need to be prepared to respond as things develop.

Danger/Opportunity

Even after four months of lockdown, uncertainty about the future remains. The coming months will present further challenges, but the strategies outlined above will help maintain the ‘high flex’ approach necessary to tackle the challenges and leverage the opportunities as they arrive.