Innovation for Innovators

Interview with Jun Matsushita. Big Picture Digital Journalism. Head of Innovation & Technology for Internews Europe in London.

How do you define innovation?

JM: We define innovation as the conscious introduction of technologies (Internet, social media, mobile, new platforms) and approaches in:

• New and, at times, pioneering exploratory, experimental contexts.
• Traditional contexts in which the adoption of existing technologies and approaches could foster new practices.

 
What kind of criteria should a project satisfy in order to be considered innovative?

JM: An innovative project should meet one or several of the following criteria:

• Aim to develop a proof of concept to solve a recognised issue which current policy or the relevant market are failing to address.
• Enable the piloting of approaches and technologies supported by a successful proof of concept.
• Allow new audiences to benefit from existing innovative practices.
• Blend approaches and technologies in order to enhance availability and adoption of those approaches and technologies.
• Capture the added value of conventional approaches to mass communications in a way that appeals to the innovative communication space in a sustainable manner.

What aspects are key elements for applications in the domain of ‘training’?

JM: A fundamental aspect in a training project is the analysis of the need and the expected impact: what are the gaps, which audiences will ultimately benefit from the project and how? A clear presentation of the various phases of the project, what they will achieve and how they will be implemented are also important to demonstrate the capacity to organize the project successfully.
 
How can a training project guarantee that the knowledge acquired by each participant will live after the project is over?
 
JM: Including follow-up activities and allowing participants to use their new skills, but also supporting them in exercising these skills in concrete projects will help ensure that the results of training are long-lasting and that the trainees are supported in applying their new knowledge and know-how. Empowering trainers to continue their activities by supporting them in finding outlets to deliver their own trainings can also be a key sustainability factor.

How would you describe a sustainable training program?

JM: Supporting local partnerships and training of trainers programs are an essential component for the overall sustainability of a training program. Promoting knowledge exchange and the publication of learning material can also allow future projects to build on what is openly available.

Future candidates would be more competitive if their training proposals include techniques to pass along what the participants will learn. What would help these potential candidates craft a proposal with such characteristics?

JM: Promoting and publicizing learning material and supporting a community of practice between the trainees are also key factors in ensuring the knowledge can be shared beyond the classroom.

Finally we would like to stress that funding agencies should also provide an environment which rewards successful programs by :
- Allocating follow-up funding to support local trainers who were part of training programs and will sustain and multiply the effects of initial funding.
- Supporting successful projects that graduated from program support activities.

Rewarding success, supporting organizations and particularly local stakeholders, beyond short term project funding, should also be part of the systemic effort to allow innovation programs to have a lasting impact. In particular, providing facilities that have built-in sustainability components could be part of a crosscutting effort allowing IPI to raise the quality of its funding programs:

• A fellowship program for the best trainees could for instance be developed to promote the NIC and its local participants, in effect supporting the continuation of training projects in the field, but also to give more visibility to the next grantees’ efforts, facilitate the recruitment of new trainees and be conducive for higher training standards.
• Small grants programs could also be part of an instrument that IPI could make available to participants to reinforce good sustainability practices. Pooling resources to administrate small grants could help smaller players benefit from these practices if they do not have the capacity to implement them.
• Open licenses (Creative Commons or other Copyleft mechanisms) on training material used and produced during the training programs could also be a selection criteria.
• Creating a common platform for participants and fellows to engage and continue exchanging could also be most effective at a cross-program level and as a facility provided by IPI.

We are looking forward to continuing to engage with IPI, but also to involving more stakeholders from donor agencies and philanthropy to advance innovation in journalism and helping structure this vibrant field. We are happy to discuss in more detail the implementation of these ideas, and Internews Europe is looking forward to helping identify local excellence during the Big Picture Digital Journalism project but also to ensuring that the platforms and resources developed can be reused to achieve more impact with upcoming IPI NICs.