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Innovation and emerging technologies

The Importance of Innovation

HSC Outcome: H3.1 Analyses the factors that influence innovation and the success of innovation.

Innovation in Design and Technology
Importance of Innovation
Further Issues to Consider in Innovation

Innovation in Design and Technology

The Macquarie Dictionary (2nd ed.) defines innovation as 'something new or different introduced'.

Although innovations are sometimes based on discoveries or inventions, they differ from these because they must have been 'introduced'.

Current writers about technology emphasise that this word is used to refer to at least three kinds of things:

objects, eg toothbrushes, computers, toys
knowledge, eg recipes, standards, programs, know-how, skills, attitudes
organisations and industries, eg biotechnology, personal computer (PC) industry.

For the purpose of this Design and Technology syllabus, innovation includes product designs, manufacturing and marketing processes, and organisational changes that:

are either new or significantly improved
have been introduced, widely used
have changed what many people do, experience, or value.

Refer to the introductory chapter in Making It: Innovation and success in Australia's industries, published by the Powerhouse Museum in1993.

Importance of Innovation

Most public discussion on the importance of innovation focuses on its economic outcomes:

survival or growth of organisations
employment
increased exports leading to national prosperity.

One of the most important economic considerations is that innovation is much more important for international success in manufacturing industries than in commodity production. In the past, much of Australia's export earnings came from commodity (resource-based) production, but the value of commodities in world trade has declined from about 80% a century ago to about 20% today.

Another vital economic consideration for Australia is the extent to which process innovations allow ways to add value to commodities by further processing and differentiation.

Social, cultural, and environmental changes are also important outcomes of innovation:

new ways of working
opportunities for leisure
access to facilities and information
environmental monitoring and protection
new standards for safety, performance, quality
changing perceptions and values.

In assessing the significance of an innovation, it is useful to consider its outcomes for:

its users
the organisation(s) introducing it
the region, industry, or nation where it was introduced
other regions,industries, nations.

Further information may be found in chapters 1 and 9 of Making It: Innovation and success in Australia's industries, published by the Powerhouse Museum in 1993.

Some Further Issues to Consider in Innovation:

restricted notions of technology and innovation, eg belief that if it involves computers.
technological determinism, eg belief that innovations 'evolve' naturally
technological utopianism, eg belief that innovations are always in everyone's interests
Aboriginal innovation, eg belief that Aboriginal technologies were simple, local, unchanging, individually made. See chapter 2 Making It: Innovation and success in Australia's industries, published by the Powerhouse Museum in 1993.
ownership of ideas and innovations, eg belief that the place of manufacture (Australian made) is all important ; but ownership of ideas (intellectual property) is not
cultural identity and innovations, eg belief that the way Australia/Australians are represented to us and to the world is not important.

Robert Renew, Chief Curator Engineering and Design, The Powerhouse Museum, Sydney,

Rob Renew is author of the textbook Making It: Innovation and success in Australia's industries, published by the Powerhouse Museum in 1993.
Also see the Powerhouse Museum CD-ROM Know-how.