Search

A central part of the innovation process concerns the way firms go about organizing search for new ideas that have commercial potential. New models of innovation have suggested that many innovative firms have changed the way they search for new ideas, adopting open search strategies that involve the use of a wide range of external actors and sources to help them achieve and sustain innovation. Using a large-scale sample of industrial firms, this paper links search strategy to innovative performance, finding that searching widely and deeply is curvilinearly (taking an inverted U-shape) related to performance. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a dearth of systematic evidence concerning the extent to which being located in economically advantaged regions assists firms in accessing knowledge from global sources. This paper explores the issue by utilizing data from a survey of firms in the UK. It shows that local knowledge sourcing widely assists firms in economically advantaged regions by acting as a springboard for international knowledge sourcing, whilst this is not the case for their counterparts in disadvantaged regions. The analysis suggests that the springboard effect and the geography of external knowledge networks are associated with regional economic context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning health systems (LHS) use digital health and care data to improve care, shorten the timeframe of improvement projects, and ensure these are based on real‐world data. In the United Kingdom, policymakers are depending on digital innovation, driven by better use of data about current health service performance, to enable service transformation and a more sustainable health system. This paper examines what would be needed to develop LHS in the United Kingdom, considering national policy implications and actions, which local organisations and health systems could take. The paper draws on a seminar attended by academics, policymakers, and practitioners, a brief literature review, and feedback from policy experts and National Health Service (NHS) stakeholders. Although there are examples of some aspects of LHS in the UK NHS, it is hard to find examples where there is a continuous cycle of improvement driven by information and where analysis of data and implementing improvements is part of usual ways of working. The seminar and literature identified a number of barriers. Incentives and capacity to develop LHS are limited, and requires a shift in analytic capacity from regulation and performance, to quality improvement and transformation. The balance in priority given to research compared with implementation also needs to change. Policy initiatives are underway which address some barriers, including building analytical capacity, developing infrastructure, and data standards. The NHS and research partners are investing in infrastructure which could support LHS, although clinical buy in is needed to bring about improvement or address operational challenges. We identify a number of opportunities for local NHS organisations and systems to make better use of health data, and for ways that national policy could promote the collaboration and greater use of analytics which underpin the LHS concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patients are increasingly recognized as playing important roles in improving health services. Little is known about the mechanisms by which patients develop and diffuse local innovations in a complex health‐care system. Objective: To ascertain how diffusion of an innovation, My Medication Passport, occurred and roles played by patients in it. Design: Case study: quantitative mapping of innovation's diffusion and analysis of the routes and occupations of those through whom the innovation spread; documentary analysis; reflective assessment of patient's roles. Setting and participants: NHS Trusts, third sector organizations, patients and health‐care professionals. Interventions studied: Co‐produced action to raise awareness and influence use of the innovation; order database which enabled ease of access to the innovation. Main outcome measures: Geographical spread of innovation; occupations of individuals; types of organizations using the innovation. Results: The innovation spread from initial development and use in Northwest London across the UK and beyond. Key roles played by patients were as follows: co‐producer; advocate; relationship builder; relationship broker; planner; presenter; awareness raiser; trainer; networker. Patients identified and introduced potential audiences and users to MMP, using social, organizational, sectoral, lay and professional networks to do so. They organized a range of awareness‐raising and communication activities, monitored feedback, evaluated the impact and responded to new interest. Discussion and conclusions: The roles of patients in diffusing innovations are under‐recognized. Collaborative working between patients, carers and health‐care professionals in planning and progressing the use and supporting diffusion of the innovation was important. Principles described in this study are relevant to progressing other patient‐led ideas for innovative changes relating to health service development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the research that investigates the expectations of patients and family members of new clinical methodologies in Great Britain. The topics discussed include the varied range of clinical innovative specialization showcased by the organization the Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the importance of the perspectives of patients and their families in health care evaluation.