Is it a trend?
Last month I reported the Rockefeller Foundation is soliciting new ideas for their portfolio. They've created an online portal where you can submit your best suggestions. Now the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Changemakers have created what they're calling an "online, open source competition" looking for Disruptive Innovations in Health and Health Care. To quote from their site, the project
seeks to identify ways in which the health and health care marketplace can offer services, tools and choices that consumers want—but are currently out of reach because of cost, complexity, or because the right idea hasn't come along.
What is a "disruptive innovation?" Harvard business prof Clayton Christenson calls it
a technology, process, or business model that brings to a market a much more affordable product or service that is much simpler to use. It enables more consumers in that market to afford and/or have the skill to use the product or service. The change caused by such an innovation is so big that it eventually replaces, or disrupts, the established approach to providing that product or service.
It's exciting to see foundations opening up to new ideas from beyond their circle of usual suspects - maybe this model will become a disruptive innovation for how foundations do their work. As for me, I'm putting my brain cells together to see if I can come up with something for the contest. Those of us in the workforce development field know the slashing of health care benefits is a leading issue for American workers.
Click here for all the details. Deadline is July 18.
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