One of our team’s key areas of focus is how we can create and support pathways to bring technology and innovation into the health and disability system.
While we know some of you really well, we would like to find out who the rest of our innovative colleagues are, what you are working on, how you define innovation, and most importantly… how we can support you!
What do we mean by innovation in the health sector?
To borrow the words of our colleague Robyn Whittaker (i3 Lab, Waitemata DHB + UOA)
“There are many different definitions of innovation, although most include the elements of novelty, application and benefit. In health services, innovation can be simply doing something differently and better than how it is generally done or has previously been done – it could be a new process, device, technology, system, or service. It is not just having the idea of how to do something differently (the idea or invention) but also getting it embedded into standard clinical practice (the implementation)…”
However innovation doesn’t always have to be about the new and shiny. You may not even realise you are doing it.
Who do we want to hear from?
You, given you read this far. Your job title doesn’t need to have innovation in it. If you are interested in or already fixing the problems you encounter at work in the health system we want to meet you.
You are working in or with the health sector and receive funding from the public sector or a charitable organisation. Examples of agencies providing funding could be Ministry of Health, Health Research Council, Te Whatu Ora, Te Aka Whai Ora, ACC, PHO or NGOs. You can be at a national, regional or local level.
Then what?
This helps us know you are out there doing good things - we can give you updates, provide you help if you need it and connect you to others.
The results will tell us where innovation is happening across the health and disability sector. This will help us understand what is necessary to support innovators, how we can connect innovators together, and understand the current barriers. We want to then use this to help us create a community of practice.
Link to survey
Please if you have colleagues that you think are doing innovative things - share this with them or anyone in your network who is doing cool things – we’d love to hear from them!
