Innovation

(Baldrige Glossary for Business, Government (Public Sector), Military, and other Nonprofit

The term 'Innovation' was first introduced in the Baldrige Glossary in 1999.

Innovation

The term “innovation” refers to making meaningful change to improve products, processes, or organizational effectiveness and to create new value for stakeholders. Innovation involves the adoption of an idea, process, technology, product or business model that is either new or new to its proposed application. The outcome of innovation is a discontinuous or breakthrough change in results, products, and processes.

Successful organizational innovation is a multi-step process that involves development and knowledge sharing, a decision to implement, implementation, evaluation, and learning. Although innovation is often associated with technological innovation, it is applicable to all key organizational processes that would benefit from change, whether through breakthrough improvement or change in approach or outputs. It could include fundamental changes in the organizational structure or business model to more effectively accomplish the organization’s work.

If you read the following excerpt from the Baldrige definition for innovation, it reads that you can adopt (copy an existing) idea, process, technology, product or business model and only propose to implement it and you receive earn a score in the highest scoring ranges:

OFI comment: The above definition for innovation needs to be significantly improved. As it stands now, it is not contributing to improving the competitiveness of organizations using it because it dilutes the value of innovation. It also detracts from the prestige of the Baldrige Award.

Thank you for using the only truly integrated Baldrige Glossary available anywhere. Paul Steel

Baldrige Glossary - Innovation