System thinking shaping innovation ecosystems

Shaping forensic science innovation

I address today's meeting as a guest. I am a guest in the sense that my disciplinary background in sociology separates me from most of today's participants who are trained in one or several of the natural sciences as well as in the forensic applications of those fields of inquiry. I am trained only in the ways of a single social science, although a science which is intensely ambitious in its ef...

Social Media and Innovation Ecosystems

Options Thinking for Leading Innovation

Innovation is the lifeblood of successful businesses. From high tech to low tech, from multinational to start-up, innovation has become every firm’s imperative as the pace of change accelerates. The challenges of this imperative increasingly require leaders to manage uncertainty and pursue learning and innovation across the boundaries of firms. A new mindset is required to understand the dynami...

Applying resilience thinking to production ecosystems

Production ecosystems typically have a high dependence on supporting and regulating ecosystem services and while they have thus far managed to sustain production, this has often been at the cost of externalities imposed on other systems and locations. One of the largest challenges facing humanity is to secure the production of food and fiber while avoiding long-term negative impacts on ecosyste...

Innovation Traps: Risks and Challenges in Thinking About Innovation

Introduction This article highlights three kinds of traps innovators face in thinking about and implementing innovations – at the level of thinking, at the level of theories, and at the level of practice. Conceptualizing innovation is bounded by many of the same problems that bracket thinking about any other social activity. It also confronts some unique challenges. This essay starts by address...