Week 2 – Discussion 2: Purposeful Innovation

Purposeful Innovation
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Abstract
Purposeful innovation is created out of innovation. It is imperative to appreciate the purpose of innovation as most of the technological equipment, goods, and services are an outcome of ideas put into action to become useful in the environment. Without innovation, most of the resources on or beneath the earth would remain unused. Consequently, some defining factors are generating innovative ideas. More importantly is the emphasis on research and vision to realize the potential in one’s ideas or looking at resources as solutions to an existing problem. As described in the paper, these factors include the unexpected outcome, demography, change in perception, and new knowledge. Additionally included among these elements are incongruities, industry and market structure, and process need. Discussed herein is the development of a community project focusing on one of these factors. The project presented involves the setting up of a community garden. The choosing of the project is based on the current need of establishing food security and observing healthy living through a balanced diet. The degradation of the environment also presents a need for the society and all individuals to take up a personal responsibility in protecting it.

Purposeful Innovation
Innovation implies the generation of new ideas or thoughts. It also includes the application of better solutions in tackling or addressing a common problem or need.

According to Drunker (2014), innovation creates resources, which when put into use create economic value. Alternatively, invention creates purposeful innovations. This invention is an outcome of research involving an analysis of the present situation or the current and ongoing challenges. Thus, according to Drunker (2014), seven elements are contributing to purposeful innovation. These are the unexpected inclination (which could be either success or failure), the incongruity of what is against what should, process need, changes in industry or the market, lifestyle changes, change in perception, and the development of new knowledge.
As an entrepreneur, having considered the seven elements contributing to purposeful innovation, I would focus on a project based on the assessment of need. Regarding Robert, Hughes, and Kertbo (2014), need drives successful innovation. Currently, information on health emphasizes the need to practice healthy living through proper feeding of balanced diets, exercising, and taking care of the environment. Based on these important aspects of health, I would establish a community garden to grow different types of vegetables as a source of food. Vegetable crops contain high nutritional value and are known to prevent a vast number of diseases including chronic diseases. The profits of the project would include providing health information, a source of food, care for the environment through encouraging people to shift to consuming plant-based food rather than animals and their products. Additionally, the garden would provide the community with an opportunity to grow locally unavailable but nutritious crops and also reduce the cost of purchasing some of these products. This opportunity would enhance the sharing of information and ideas, thus, contributing to the growth and development of the community.

References
Drunker, P. (2014). Innovation and entrepreneurships. New York, NY: Routledge.
Robert, D., Hughes, M., & Kertbo, K. (2014). Exploring consumers’ motivation to engage in innovation through co-creation activities. European Journal of Marketing, 48(1/2), 147-169.