The fieldlab paradox Why brilliant innovations often fail (and how to solve this)
Knowledge institutes, governments, and the market collect data and build the most impressive field labs, yet many innovations die a quiet death before they reach society. Why is that? Professor of Innovation & Organization Hans Berends advocates a radical shift in our way of collaborating. ‘We need to stop reinventing the wheel on our own. Scientists, policymakers, and entrepreneurs must join forces in far smarter ways.’
Author: Mika Linse
Whether it concerns the energy transition, healthcare, or sustainable agriculture: complex societal problems can never be solved alone. The absolute keyword of this decade is therefore collaboration. However, a gaping divide often exists between the theory of smooth collaboration and the messy reality of practice. Within the KIN Center for Digital Innovation at the School of Business and Economics (SBE), Berends is researching how we can bridge this gap. He does this along two fascinating lines: physical experiments in so-called field labs, and the reuse of academic data.
The gap between lab and practice You have probably heard of them: field labs. In these field labs, governments, companies, and knowledge institutes pioneer together. Think, for example, of innovations in the smart industry or test farms for circular agriculture. Brilliant prototypes and robust solutions are often devised in this setting. 'Wonderful initiatives,' Berends states, 'but the tragedy is that precisely those promising experiments often get stuck in the lab.'
Together with the universities of Twente, Eindhoven, and Tilburg, Berends is investigating the hurdles in this innovation process in the Fieldlabs@Scale project. Why is it so difficult for a successful experiment to reach the broad market? 'The leap from an experimental setting to actual practice is massive,' the professor explains. 'Furthermore, you are dealing with many different parties with conflicting interests. Often, a field lab starts from a noble societal goal, but ultimately the involved companies must also get an answer to the question: what is the economic business model here? If those values clash, innovation stagnates.'
Ultimately, Berends' research should provide actionable guidelines to accelerate the transition from the lab to widespread practical application.
‘We need to stop reinventing the wheel on our own. Scientists, policymakers, and entrepreneurs must join forces in far smarter ways.’
Data filed away and forgotten The urge to collaborate better is not only present among diverse parties in society, but equally within the walls of the university. As former chair of the steering committee for the VU Amsterdam's Open Science programme, Berends saw a major pain point in qualitative research, such as in-depth interviews. 'Qualitative data is incredibly rich and valuable but often contains sensitive personal information. Because of strict privacy rules, that data ends up gathering dust in a digital archive after publication. It is simply filed away and forgotten.'
‘Often, a field lab starts from a noble societal goal, but ultimately the involved companies must also get an answer to the question: what is the economic business model here?’
In the OPEN-QUAL project, Berends and his team devised an innovative solution to this problem. 'Instead of sharing the raw data (which is complicated in terms of privacy), we bring the original researchers themselves together.'
A striking example of this is a current research project in which 27 researchers are joining forces. In the past, they all individually investigated cases on the collaboration between companies, governments, and NGOs. Now, with their own collected data, they are looking into one shared, new research question: how do you best manage such cross-sector collaboration? Berends: 'Because we are now analysing fifteen cases simultaneously instead of just one, we draw much more robust conclusions. For example, you learn in which situation a single leading organization works best, or when an open network structure is more effective.'
'Innovation rarely stagnates on technology but stands or falls with the willingness to truly collaborate.'
Innovation is a human endeavor Both of Berends' studies touch on the exact same core: to make a real impact, we must break out of our silos. Scientists must dare to share their research data, and parties in field labs must structurally look beyond their own short-term interests. By providing insight into the complex governance of collaborations, VU Amsterdam delivers the much-needed user manual for innovation. After all, whoever understands how to align different goals, data, and interests will discover the most important lesson for the workplace: innovation rarely stagnates on technology but stands or falls with the willingness to truly collaborate.
What is the KIN Center? Within the KIN Center for Digital Innovation (Knowledge, Information and Networks), independent researchers at VU Amsterdam conduct research on how digital technologies change our ways of working, innovating, and collaborating.
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