Ten practical innovation tips for not-for-profits

1. If you test the impact of a new program or product and it is not working as it should, be prepared to kill it.

2. Aim for 80% not 100% quality as a prerequisite for launch. This way, you can protect against “investment bias”, whereby you put so much into a product, program or service that you keep it going even if you can see it isn’t working.

3. Think about the many talents you have in-house to make a prototype or pilot version of what you would like to take mainstream. Ask staff about skills they have outside their usual job tasks.

4. Always invest time in asking customers about the problem you have identified, to inform the design of your innovation from the outset. This could be through surveys, focus groups or targeted individual interviews.

5. Allocate time in the leadership team’s calendars to consider long-term beneficiary or organisational needs that are not immediate and urgent.

6. To keep the board on side, communicate openly with board members about the need to innovate. This will also ensure that the managed risks associated with innovation match the board’s governance obligations and appetite for risk.

7. If staff lack the expertise that is required for a particular innovation to proceed, consider how to identify skilled volunteers who would be willing to donate their skills – for example, via volunteer-matching websites.