Over the last few months I have used this space in the newsletter to create a picture of what it takes to foster innovation.
November 2023 newsletter: Innovation is a team sport. It requires diverse perspectives and experiences to find a creative solutions. It requires courage to try things out and be willing to learn what won’t work as much as what will work. It requires tenacity to keep going and going and going.
March 2024 newsletter: Ideas create the "spark" that fuels innovation. Good ideas... bad ideas... ideas that need time to marinate... etc.
Today I want to add another facet to this picture: Trusting collaborations are the foundation to innovation. One of the roles the Innovation District plays is as a facilitator of collaboration. We excel in situations that require more than one entity to come together. This starts before the idea sparks and creative solutions are found. It begins with the questions of "Who are you?", "Do I trust you?", "Do I want to work with you?" Sometimes these questions are answered immediately - things just click. Sometimes it takes a little back-and-forth. This foundation must be laid before anything else.
Three examples of our latest work to create collaborations are:
Alison Barlow
Executive Director
Join us for a Trolley Tour of the District on Friday, April 18th from 1:30pm-4:30pm. This popular event is offered 2-3 times a year. It begins at the Maritime and Defense Technology Hub. You will board a trolley with other Innovation District partners and community members. As we travel throughout the District, you will learn about the history and future plans for the area. We will make several stops for an insider view of the research and collaborations underway. The tour will conclude back at Hub with a networking happy hour.
The Innovation District hosts a quarterly breakfast series called Morning Sparks: Innovation X-change. At each session we explore emerging technologies, invite District partners to share their current related efforts, and engage in thoughtful (and hopefully spirited) discussions that will spark future innovation.
Each month our team confers about what to include in the District newsletter. We lament how to share all the amazing stories while not creating an encyclopedia (yes, I am showing by age with an old school reference). We are fortunate to have so many things going on in the District.