The Hexagon for Public Innovation (HIP) is a model to accelerate the systemic change of organizations that conceives innovation as networks of conversations, shared wishes, visions and affections. Six vectors summarize the key dynamics to transform a classic institution into a dynamic organization. It was launched in the Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State, benefiting key players in 22 countries from public and private sector, as well as civil society.
Innovation Summary
Innovation Overview
Six vectors summarize the key dynamics to transform a classic, hierarchical and closed institution into a network, open, dynamic and democratic organization:
- Open: Open organizations, expand collaborator networks, have two-way conversations, connect it to the demands of society
- Trans: Work in a transversal way, promote interdisciplinary teams, mix and hybridize ideas, overcome bottlenecks in the hierarchy
- Fast: Introduce agile dynamics in the organization, reduce distances between actors, make intensive use of available time, increase the time dedicated to productive conversations
- Proto: Work focused on the production of prototypes, pilots or minimal products, reduce the level of abstraction, align visions and inspire change with examples
- Co: Encourage collaboration and cooperation, co-creation and collective intelligence, enhancing the feeling of belonging and the creation of communities
- Tech: Promote digitization and other technological tools that multiply connectivity, allowing more and better conversations
Based on the analysis of 105 methodologies and the science of networks (nodes, links, hubs, communities...), the HIP model simplifies something as complex and abstract as the creation of an innovation ecosystem, inviting us to think differently about our environment and giving us clues to take action.
The HIP Model has been boosted by the Government of Aragon, a region in Spain. The tools that are part of the model facilitate innovation to any project and institution that want to auto-evaluate improvements to their capacity.
Any organization or project can enter into the HIP Model platform in order to auto-evaluate their performance in the six vectors, as well as to deep into the tools. Thanks to a community of 100 fellows, organization can receive free support to accelerate innovation and improve along the HIP Model.
Innovation Description
What Makes Your Project Innovative?
The HIP Model is an innovation in public organizations because:
1) It is an agile method to identify what are the key elements for an organization or a project to improve their ability to innovate.
2) It involves a great community of fellows who support each other to expand the model and to accelerate the performance in the vectors that are most needed.
3) It emphasizes the importance of conversations, network and dialogue between public sector and other sectors and actors, and all of them can easily apply the HIP model.
What is the current status of your innovation?
As of this date of submission in 2021, this project has already been presented in the Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State being considered as essential to boost public innovation within the 22 countries.
The HIP toolkit has been physically delivered to 20 countries where the community of fellows are already working on implementing the HIP Model in their organizations.
So far, 105 methodologies have been analysed to determine the 6 vectors in the HIP Model.
Furthermore, 131 projects are part of the HIP database and 1300 people have improved their abilities in these six vectors thanks to a MOOC (massive open online course).
Now, the team is also developing a spin-off and pilots to create a special toolkit to improve innovation in specific sectors or territories: cities, public education, third sector and social economy.
Innovation Development
Collaborations & Partnerships
The Aragon Government launched this initiative together with the General Secretary for Ibero-America (SEGIB).
The community of fellows brings 100 organizations to the HIP ecosystem, with more than 120 projects from different organizations that are currently part of the database. Both are ways to collaborate and build partnerships to innovate in the 22 Ibero-American countries.
Users, Stakeholders & Beneficiaries
The HIP Model is benefiting public servants and society more generally by identifying easy ways to open organizations and to promote systemic change to make Ibero-American organizations more innovative, open, dynamic, collaborative and democratic
Innovation Reflections
Results, Outcomes & Impacts
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Spain, the open government Laboratory in Aragon decided to implement HIP Model creating a new initiative called "Frena La Curva". This initiative was able to channel social energy against the crisis and ended up impacting more than 20 countries, creating 18 national nodes, involving more than 2,000 people from 300 organizations, producing more than 100 pilot projects with social impact, constituting the largest repository of social innovation against the pandemic in Spanish speaking countries and drawing up several maps that facilitated the organization of solidarity networks for the most vulnerable.
It was an extraordinary example for the current phase in which many organizations from the community of fellows and projects are implementing the HIP Model to improve their innovation capacity.
Challenges and Failures
The HIP Model faced challenges relating to scarcity of time when fellows and institutions contribute on a voluntary basis. The high level Summit in which it was presented also brings an additional challenge related to the expectations of its implementation.
Conditions for Success
Support from fellows and institutions which are applying the model in the same sector is needed to root significant results. Co-creating with stakeholders has been useful to adapt the model to every context and country.
Replication
At this point in time, the HIP Model is a key opportunity to redefine new professional roles that broaden the field of action and impact of public services. What should these professional roles of the future look like? If we think of institutions as potential innovation ecosystems, can HIP inspire these new roles? Can the project identify current professional roles with the necessary competencies to influence each of the six vectors? Can the project configure teams with balanced roles, vectors and competencies? These reflections led to the “HIPer teams”, a line of research and work replicating the model in the human resources field.
Lessons Learned
The creation of the community (fellows and projects) gave the team insight into institutions’ preferences in the different vectors when working with the Model. The majority of fellows and project did not need additional support to apply the model in their organizations. Nevertheless, other people and institutions needed this support and were able to easily obtain it thanks to the great community and website that the HIP model has.
Status:
- Implementation - making the innovation happen
- Diffusing Lessons - using what was learnt to inform other projects and understanding how the innovation can be applied in other ways
Innovation provided by:
Media:
Date Published:
8 September 2021