I founded Innovation People back in May 2008 as a research-based consultancy holding to the vision it will seek to empower businesses to flourish by connecting people to ongoing performance improvement and development.

Fulfilling a Mission to Create Accessible, affordable and Efficient Tools for Businesses

As some reading this will know, through this research the business developed the SPICE Framework as a resource for understanding the development of people and organisations where they are working and developing.  From this, Innovation People has gone on to develop a whole ecosystem of connected applications that integrate that connect people wherever they are on demand integration tools for the assessment and development of people, for the evaluation of such development and for the measurement of its impact on performance.  This is in line for the mission we established for the business to put affordable, efficient and accessible tools into the hands of any business connecting people to performance and development.

I’m pleased to say, Innovation People has been true to its purpose, its vision and its mission.

Six Stages in Research and Development

Standing back from our experience within Innovation People, it is possible to see that since 2008 when I set the business up we’ve implemented a six stage process.:

• We began by seeking to find answers to questions we were curious about.
• Our questions were addressed through primary research, working with many clients.
• We applied our research, developing a resource in the SPICE Framework itself.
• We then tested this research working with both further clients
• We went on to ask Sheffield Hallam University to critique the resource we had created and to advise on its development.
• We took that advice and tested it, going on to develop a technology product that further interprets the SPICE Framework in the form of an application ecosystem.

To summarise the process generally, it works like this:

• Observe the world and come up with a question you don’t have an answer to.
• Seek an answer to your question.
• Work with others to test your answer.
• Find some outside body or agency to further test and challenge you.
• Ask new questions and possibilities to emerge.
• Follow up on these new possibilities.

This six-stage process may seem laborious, even a little boring.  It is in standing back from experience that we really see the process at work and its effect.

Developing Habits that Lead to Innovation and Development

As a business we have the habit of seeing the world through the ‘lens’ of this six-stage process. Standing back reveals what is the Patterns – the ‘P’ of SPICE – in the habits, in the process.

Every one of us forms slightly different patterns – shortcuts or habits – in viewing and acting the world.  –  Ours is summarised in this six-stage process. How would you sum up the habits or patterns with which you or your business sees the world and acts within it?

Distinguishing Between Planned and Emergent Strategies

We have developed with a clearly articulated purpose, vision, and mission that we have sought to implement – the ‘S’ of SPICE – a Strategy or stated intention which we seek to implement by means of Patterns – the ‘P’ of SPICE –, working with what emerges – the ‘E’ of SPICE – in what actually happens.

Undoubtedly, for Innovation People, it has been an amazing privilege and experience to see what began with questions emerge as a technology ecosystem (that was never planned or imagined at the start of the process).

Looking for Outcomes

So, we began with the founding of the business as a research-based consultancy, working with clients and seeking answers to questions.  We generated two outcomes, one being the SPICE Framework itself and the other what has become the SPICE Ecosystem, the technology platform that has emerged from it.

The SPICE Framework is the intellectual property, copyright to Innovation People and protected as a registered trademark.  And now the SPICE Ecosystem is also protected by trademark as an approach and product developed by Innovation People.  The original business has seen develop its intellectual property (the SPICE Framework) and a specific product (the SPICE Ecosystem).

Applying Methods that Work

At the heart of our experience is a method we can deploy to support any business develop and innovate through its people for, at our core is an consultancy. That supports innovation through people with a tried and tested approach that is proved in our own work.  As such, Innovation People is able to support you and your business to develop people and increase levels of sustainable innovation.  Get in touch for more information through our strategic development product at [email protected] or visit, www.spiceframework.com

Written by Michael Croft

July 21, 2023