Every Education System Needs A Chief Innovation Officer (ECINO)

Constant and Continuous Innovation in the Education System

Everyone is talking about the need for a substantial change in the education system with an emphasis on schools. The fact that the schools in which our children learn were invented in the 19 century has already been written about, presented in films, and spoken of in every convention, site, channel, and virtual group. Despite the overuse of the term “innovation”, the conclusion is clear, we need a change because we have changed – the reality is different, the technology is different, the challenges are different, the needs are different and so are the children. Another important aspect is the frequency of the change; the world is proceeding at a faster pace, evolving and changing more frequently than in the past.

Along with all that, we live in a world driven by technology. In the world of education, developing technology enables learners and teachers to carry out learning, research, and deep and shared thinking on various subjects. The developing technology also supports innovative teaching methods, approaches, and abilities. Moreover, technology even dictates directions in which education can develop in the 21 century, based on the development of new capabilities and their entrance into the market alongside professional requirements for the training of the future workforce (present-day students).

The advantage of the current situation is the fact that for the first time in human history we understand that a revolution is taking place as it happens. In practice, an education system that wants to keep up with the pace at which the world is going today must continually examine itself in order to change and renew. It is important to understand that this is not a one-time renewal, whose role is to lead the educational institution from the 19th to the 21st century. It is now clear that an educational institution which will make the leap in time, on a one-time basis, will become ineffective again shortly thereafter. In the current situation, every educational institution must carry out a continuous daily thinking process in order to create a consistent trend of experimentation and renewal. Already in the education system there are examples of innovative ideas that have not kept pace with the change - smart boards, laptop carts, IT infrastructures that do not support current technology, etc. Moreover, many of the study programs and software that were written only a few years ago are irrelevant today. On the other hand, and in comparison, have you noticed how many times a month you receive messages on your mobile device to update versions of the applications installed on it? In my opinion, if the education system wishes to learn and adapt to the present time, it must replicate the role of the "innovation officer" in the high-tech industry in order to realize and manage constantly the process of renewal and change in the education system.

What is a Chief Innovation Officer?

The term Chief Innovation Officer (CINO) was coined and first defined in 1998 in William L. Miller and Langdon Morris's book Fourth Generation R & D. A Chief Innovation Officer is a person in the organization who is responsible for managing the process of innovation and organizational change. Their role is to create and find new ideas, while promoting innovative ideas that come from people within the organization.

The Chief Innovation Officer focuses on implementing innovation in their organization - building and operating an efficient process of innovation in the organization. This process involves identifying new technologies, business opportunities, and strategies. Based on the identification and mapping, the Chief Innovation Officer develops new capabilities and architecture as well as business models and an organizational structure which advances these opportunities. The status of the Chief Innovation Officer in the organization is important as well as their being part of the organization's management. This is in order to institutionalize their position as responsible for motivating innovation throughout the organization, while overcoming organizational barriers (a vision which crosses organizational patterns). The Chief Innovation Officer deals with issues even beyond technology, but is also responsible for monitoring and being involved in innovations and developments in technology in the organization's areas of interest in order to ensure that the organization is a leader in its field. They do this by constantly observing the relevant market for the company and maintaining organizational awareness of evolving technology.

A wide range of capabilities and skills is required from a Chief Innovation Officer, the central of which are: the ability to keep abreast of the technology race, the ability to decide and choose the direction in which to lead the company, the ability to train and assimilate innovative technology among the employees, the ability to listen to directions and ideas which arise from within the company based on the employees’ experience at the different levels. Perhaps the most important of all, the ability to convince and create a movement of innovation even where the product seems perfect and there is a fear that change will lead to harm and loss of market debut.

Today, we know that companies in the business world in which there is a Chief Innovation Officer show impressive performance in the field of innovation. Looking at companies in which a Chief Innovation Officer exists shows that they are more satisfied: from the production process, from the ongoing product development process, and from their ability to turn ideas into a clear concept. These companies understand that most ideas fail but they investigate and learn from mistakes in order to continue to focus and encourage their employees to innovate. The bottom line is - what distinguishes companies that are leaders in innovation is the way in which they manage innovation.

Educational Chief Innovation Officer (ECINO)

We all like to say that we are innovative and groundbreaking. Many parents want their children to study in an innovative educational institution that matches the challenges of the 21st century. But what is innovation in the education system in practice? What areas should it engage with? When a school brings in more computers, does it become an innovative school? Is a division of the Ministry of Education dealing with research, development, experimentation, and innovation a satisfactory solution? Is a budget transferred from the local authority or the Ministry of Education to a school under the heading "Innovation" always redirected to the development and promotion of innovation? Does the bureaucratic system enable innovation to be implemented alongside its declarations regarding the need to promote innovation. Moreover, innovation often connects to technology and there is confusion between the two. Many see the use of technology, especially the use of computers, as educational innovation. In such a situation, it would indeed be enough to appoint a technology expert in every school and use them in order to implement educational technologies in the school. This is also the place to emphasize that in my view, technology is a supportive tool, and sometimes even outlines a road map, but it is not the goal of innovation in education. On the basis of all of these, it is important to be precise about the role of the ECINO, based on the definition of the role of Chief Innovation Officer in the business world, and emphasize that the Chief Innovation Officer should also deal with issues beyond technology.

An important area in managing and introducing innovation in an organization is the interaction with the people who work in it. A good example of this can be seen in the large gap between the discourse on innovative learning methods and the need for integrating different technologies to support the realization of other forms of learning (e.g. personalized education), and the situation in educational institutions in practice. Too many classrooms are still in the 19th century, computers are only allowed to be used in the school’s "computer lab", and teachers find it difficult to see and teach each child in his or her own way. It seems that all the good offered by the Edtech industry is not able to penetrate the brick walls of bureaucracy that prevent autonomy and flexibility on the part of the system, and are made up of lack of knowledge, lack of training, and daily difficulties among teaching staff. In an educational system in the 21st century, with all its institutions and levels, a Chief Innovation Officer (a member of the board of directors) is therefore required to spend a great deal of his time in "training hearts" in order to instill innovation among the workers.

Responsibilities of the Educational Chief Innovation Officer

So what does educational innovation actually include? One way of understanding it is to imagine a primary situation in which there is no educational institution (except the family unit) and we must approach building anew the educational system. At the core of things we will have to examine and define the purpose of that system at the present time, focusing on the function of the "student/graduate". The next stage, in my opinion, must focus on seven main areas which are the main building blocks of the future system: what is, who is and is there a need for a “teacher”? a physical educational environment, teaching methods, methods of transferring information and knowledge to students, educational vision – mentoring, content, and model curriculum.

Each of the seven areas mentioned is the responsibility the Educational Chief Innovation Officer at an educational institution. An Educational Chief Innovation Officer must see how each of the seven areas can be designed and adapted to the present time and to cope with the rapid pace of change in the world.

Therefore, the Chief Innovation Officer must develop and manage knowledge from several different content areas in order to create the innovative educational product, which changes in order to meet the needs of the various "customers" in the education system - primarily the student. In a perfect world we would like the Chief Innovation Officer to be an architect, a computer engineer, and with a master's degree in education. In reality, we will search for a person with the following abilities: integrator, creative, self-taught, courageous - who is not afraid of failure. In addition, we will look for humility and attentiveness, so that he can realize thought processes and do so bottom-up rather than top-down. Above all, it is important for the ECINO to be able to lead the process of renewal, while striving to reinvent itself every morning on the basis of daily updates in each field, and the ability to embroider a fabric which connects everyone.

Principles for Implementing Organizational Innovation

The Chief Innovation Officer in an educational institution/system must be part of the organization’s management. The importance of his or her status is due to the fact that the job is not limited to setting up a few computers, declaring the use of the P.B.L pedagogical method, or purchasing specially designed chairs. Experience and research show that there are 5 principles of success in organizations which are considered innovative. These principles must be led and implemented by the management of the educational organization, from which stems the importance of the Chief Innovation Officer’s status and the essence of his or her job.

1. Developing leadership which arouses and promotes innovation – setting goals which seem unreachable is something which makes people substantially rethink their ability to achieve goals. The Chief Innovation Officer must encourage within the organization excellence and striving for constant improvement with a willingness to accept mistakes, alongside making decisions based on facts and figures.

2.  Promoting areas of interest – creating groups/networks around areas of interest – by being motivated by personal interest, these networks develop responsibility which leads to the project’s continuance.

3. Identification and development must happen as close to the student as possible – innovative organizations understand that groundbreaking ideas can come from unexpected places and therefor encourage open discourse in the organization. Moreover, these organizations take an in-depth look at the way in which the customer (student or teacher) uses the product and ask for continuous feedback in order to create discourse which will enable the development, implementation, and adoption of the product.

4.  Encouraging the activity of individuals - providing a platform for innovative proposals from individuals within the organization.

5.  Creating a structured process of encouraging creativity in the organization - creativity in the organization will not be realized ex nihilo and not from one day to the next. We must build and encourage an organizational culture that encourages creativity, change, and renewal. Looking at the five principles above indicates the need for the Chief Innovation Officer to place at the center of his job his work with the people in the organization. The Educational Chief Innovation Officer mustn’t find himself engaged only in the constant import of innovative ideas and approaches from outside the system. We all have ideas on how to do better and each of us likes to be listened to. The same is true for teachers or other employees in the education system, but at the same time is true for students. All these people are in many different places and see a different picture than the principals see. Therefore, their ideas have tremendous value.

In practice, when management listens to employees, it not only enjoys the unique knowledge and information that each individual has, but also empowers them. The management's attentiveness and attention connects the employees to the organization's goals, makes them meaningful, and through that raises their motivation.

The greatest challenge facing the Chief Innovation Officer is the fact that the more revolutionary or "different" the idea is, on the one hand, the greater the opportunity for innovation, but on the other hand, the more resistance it may evoke. And if that were not enough, the Chief Innovation Officer must persuade professional management at the company to accept the idea that arose from the employees who ostensibly do not "understand" the professional side. True, not every idea is a "blockbuster", but innovation will almost always come only from those outside the circle of thinking and management. Those who are immersed in the process, especially if they have already succeeded, move along the familiar and paved road, and it will be difficult for them to see new paths. The greatness of managers is their openness to see and listen to "strange" ideas, "different" ideas. The role of the Educational Chief Innovation Officer is to establish these principles, to promote technological ideas and pedagogic approaches that arise from the people working in the organization itself, and also to expose the employees to a wide range of information that may serve as a platform for the development of varied innovation in the organization.

From Theory to Practice in Educational Institutions and Systems

There is no debate today about the facts and the need for change in the education system. Changing organizational frameworks is an important but painful process which must be managed correctly. More important, it must be engraved on the banner of the organization in educational systems, in the state, and in local government. As in many cases in the 21st century, an organization that wants to be relevant must know how to reinvent itself. I would like to point out in this document the need for creating a new role in educational frameworks - the Educational Chief Innovation Officer, similar to other new positions and professions created in light of the market needs in the high-tech industry. It is important that the person appointed to this position be responsible for all that relates to innovation in the management level of the organization. Appointing Educational Chief Innovation Officer is an important and significant step in the right direction but is not enough on its own. The appointment should be backed by managerial guidance, a clear strategy, and a defined budget for carrying out the task.

In order to quickly and efficiently realize the role of the Educational Chief Innovation Officer, it is necessary to see how all the factors in the various educational systems, with an emphasis on management levels, can be granted greater autonomy (within the framework of reasonable regulatory boundaries). This could enable flexibility in the standards and their conversion for the appointment of a Chief Innovation Officer. In a framework where there is no such flexibility, it is worthwhile for the directors of the institution to give the role of Educational Chief Innovation Officer to an existing employee in addition to their job as vice principal or teacher. We live in a changing world where company managers face the need to invent new roles in their organization every day. An educational system which aspires to advancement and renewal, must adopt a similar approach and to appoint an “Educational Chief Innovation Officer ", and not a moment too soon.

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