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Fostering innovation

Fostering a culture of service innovation at Rathbone

Overview

Rathbone is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of work-based learning for young people. Recognized as the experts at working with young people with low mainstream attainment and social disadvantage, the organization provides Youth Choices for 14-16 year olds who are wholly or partially excluded from school; Preparation for Life & Work for 16-19 year olds; Apprenticeships for 16-24year olds and Youth Engagement outreach work for 14-19 year olds who are not in education, employment or training.

Challenge
Against a background of changes in its external environment, including the changing needs of young people, funders and other stakeholders, the management board recognized a need to continue to evolve Rathbone's offer and delivery, in order to exploit emerging opportunities.

C&E was asked to design and support the implementation of an innovation process and to help drive a culture of innovation across the organization.

Solution
Working with the project team, C&E created an inclusive, co-creative process for the organisation. The process helped to establish and enhance the level of internal appetite for innovation. We engaged the management board and cross-functional teams, drawn from different layers of the organisation in the planning and ideas generation aspects of innovation.

By listening to a wide range of internal stakeholders and responding to their needs, the process began to enable Rathbone to make better connections between what appeared to be disparate strengths and opportunities in the areas of policy influence, service delivery and evolution, in income generation, as well as in marketing. Our support catalysed the process of fostering a culture of innovation at Rathbone.