Work That Spans Boundaries
Innovation Systems
Policy analysis that understands innovation as a complex system of socio-technical change. Research that attends to what transcends professional domains: the links in between humans and institutions. A focus on transformation as “totally radical,” changing total systems to yield radical outcomes.
Futures and Strategy
Clear, compelling strategy statements: mission, vision, goals. Meaningful, measurable, appropriate performance indicators. Narratives that convey values and causal relationships. Horizon-scanning and speculative future scenarios. Foresight that connects to planning processes.
Visual Modeling
Knowledge visualization that is simple but not simplistic. Graphs and charts that are elegant, accurate, and memorable. Visual models intended to both communicate and iterate strategy. Illustrations that abide by visual grammars: logic models, strategy maps, PERT, IDEF0.
Workshop Design
Workshops that are structured and facilitated to explore experiences and beliefs. Public events moderated to generate dialog, share ideas, and build trust among diverse stakeholders. Team huddles that coordinate cross-functional work, to define priorities and track performance.
Social Science
Literature reviews to scan the environment and formulate hypotheses. Surveys and interviews that are designed and executed to delve into subjective knowledge. Qualitative and mixed-method data analysis that identifies and describes phenomena and grounds theory in evidence.
“Innovation is not an individual activity — it is a collective achievement.”
Andrew H. Van de Ven