Large Scale Innovation

Recently I’ve begun to get acquainted with Dr. John Kao, and a project he has begun to encourage “large scale innovation” in the world.

Dr. Kao is a former Harvard Business School professor, best known for his books Jamming: The art and discipline of business creativity, and Innovation Nation. His new project, the Institute for Large Scale Innovation, is sponsored by Deloitt LLP. The focus is on developing innovations that can be harnessed to address complex global challenges, as compared to the way we often think of innovation as an exciting new product. Large scale innovations do not have to be huge projects, but rather should have widespread effect and be “appropriately inclusive.”

The Institute plans to develop core programs that include…
…Supporting the emergence of a network of significant innovation leaders with the influence to provide a meaningful stewardship function for innovation at national and international levels.


…Developing agenda-setting intellectual capital that defines large-scale innovation and leads to the development of meaningful tools and best practices.


…Creating high quality learning experiences relevant to the next generation of innovation leaders.


…Underwriting research that documents the emerging global innovation economy, key innovation flows as well as new competitive dynamics and opportunities.

An initial conference was held last week in the Bay Area, a “Global Innovation Summit of the I20.” The Institute invited a group of innovation leaders from around the world to “create an agenda for global stewardship and collaboration regarding large-scale, societal innovation issues.”

We look forward to a report of the results of this summit meeting, and we continue conversations with Dr. Kao and the Institute regarding possible collaborations with Futurist.com.