Human resource issues in a world of constant change

1. Human resource issues in a world of constant change Presentation to the Club of Amsterdam Summit for the Future Richard Hawkins, Senior Advisor and Strategist TNO Science, Technology and Innovation Programme Human rescource issues in a world of constant change

2. Three interactive questions • How can enterprises gear up to extract more value from the production of scientific and technological knowledge? • Which human resource profile best equips enterprises to create this value in a dynamic scientific and technological environment? • Can we really increase levels of innovation if we recruit different kinds of people and organise them in different ways? Human rescource issues in a world of constant change

3. Organization Science & technology Human resources Value creation arena Human rescource issues in a world of constant change

4. BELIEFS Innovation drives growth Knowledge drives innovation More scientific and technical know-how is essential for innovation There are optimal ways to organise and manage for innovation REALITIES Average investment in R&D has not increased and sometimes decreases Investment in basic research is relatively low and un-coordinated Science and technical qualifications in serious decline Costs and risks of research spiral upwards regardless A Paradox of innovation? Human rescource issues in a world of constant change

5. ... some ways around the paradox • levels of RTD investment may be structural • the term ‘innovation’ is applied too indiscriminately • innovation and RTD are not the same thing - innovation and knowledge production - innovation and new technology Human rescource issues in a world of constant change

6. Innovation and knowledge production have a strange relationship: • knowledge is highly fungible – virtually a commodity • research is not an attractive career path for the brightest and best • advancement is almost always by re-orientation • the problem is not just finding researchers but keeping them active in research Human rescource issues in a world of constant change

7. Investing in knowledge production has many risks • costs always rise – the ‘cost disease’ • costs of producing knowledge are unrelated to its productivity • all knowledge investments are hostage to fortune • increasing incentives to procure research capacity in the market Human rescource issues in a world of constant change

8. VALUE CREATION New technology and the creation of value TECHNICAL IMPROVEMENT INNOVATION • RADICAL • PARADIGMATIC • SYSTEMIC • SCOPE BIASED • INCREMENTAL • SITUATIONAL • INSTRUMENTAL • SCALE BIASED Human rescource issues in a world of constant change

9. INNOVATION IMPROVEMENT Human rescource issues in a world of constant change

10. INNOVATION IMPROVEMENT Lock-in ? Human rescource issues in a world of constant change

11. Renewal ? NEW IMPROVEMENT CYCLE IMPROVEMENT NEW INNOVATION CYCLE Human rescource issues in a world of constant change

12. SCOPE BIAS IMPROVEMENT INNOVATION • Human resource pool: • Interdisciplinarity • Professional diversity • Integration and coordination skills • Risk-takers Human rescource issues in a world of constant change

13. SCALE BIAS INNOVATION IMPROVEMENT • Human resource pool: • Compartmentalised • Expert problem solvers • Task focused • Risk minimisers Human rescource issues in a world of constant change

14. ? INNOVATION IMPROVEMENT Human rescource issues in a world of constant change

15. If the goal is innovation: • a profile focused too narrowly on technology is less likely to succeed • huge resource commitments, market leverage and coordination capabilities • innovation does not respect the company gates Human rescource issues in a world of constant change

16. If the goal is improvement: • a profile not focused specifically enough on technology may be less successful • poor improvements may lead to pressure for a new cycle of innovation to begin Human rescource issues in a world of constant change

17. ? SCOPE BIAS Universities and PRIs SCALE BIAS Companies Human rescource issues in a world of constant change

18. Outcomes of confusing scale with scope • Knowledge producers seek to compete with knowledge appliers • The rise of the ‘solution’ and the decline of the ‘question’ • The emerging concept gap • Project managers rather than innovators • The ‘next’ orthodoxy’ rather than the ‘next but one’ orthodoxy Human rescource issues in a world of constant change

19. Conclusions - What next?Improvement goals? • Why change anything? • Production already likely outstrips demand Human rescource issues in a world of constant change

20. Innovation goals? • Everything needs to change • Innovation in the lab has to be coordinated with innovation in the the firm. • Not quantity of knowledge, but diversity • The skills to translate, transpose and coordinate technology acquire a premium. Human rescource issues in a world of constant change

21. Food for thought • Do you know where your company is situated on the innovation-improvement continuum? • Do you really know in which direction you want it to go? • Do you know who in your company is an improver and who is an innovator? • Are you prepared to support the innovators – to take the risks and provide the resources? Human rescource issues in a world of constant change