innovation noun [from late Latin innovatio -onis].
The act, that of innovating, i.e., introducing new systems, sets of rules, new
methods of production and the like.
In a concrete sense, every novelty, change, transformation that radically
modifies or otherwise causes an effective rejuvenation in a political or social
order, in a production method, in a technique.
"Innovation has become the industrial
religion of the late-twentieth century. Companies see it as the key tool to
increase profits and market shares. Governments rely on it when they try to
improve the economy. In the world, the rhetoric of innovation has recently
replaced that of welfare, present since World War II. [...]. But what
innovation is exactly is hard to say, and even harder to measure" ("Economist", 20 February 1999).
The concept of innovation
is then difficult to define and very broad; certainly it includes:
* the opening of new markets
* the recombination of existing knowledge in an intelligent way
* new forms of organization
* the application of existing products to a new type of demand
Although difficult to
measure, we are now all aware that innovation is not a choice but a necessity.
The world has changed and there are no more private means or consolidated
positions.
Only those who evolve survive; those who are not afraid to change and seize the
opportunities which abound at present.
Innovating means making breakthroughs, rethinking a whole way of doing
business, expanding one’s range of action.
Growth will be a natural consequence.
Hence we decided to call ourselves I4D,
innovation for development.