Digital innovation: where do you start?

Digital innovation means as much as renewal and improvement of products, work processes, and services with the help of digital tools and technology. Naturally, as a cultural organization, you want to keep up with the times. But how do you approach that?

Innovation comes from the Latin 'innovare,' which means to renew or 'put into the new.' Often, (digital) innovation involves developing something that does not yet exist. Products or services, for example. Because they do not yet exist, such a development process often starts with many questions, assumptions, ambiguities, and uncertainties. The outcome is also not precisely known. You may already have an idea of where you want to go, but not yet how to get there, nor whether the destination you currently envision is correct. You are venturing into unknown territory.

Digital innovation does not always have to mean developing something from scratch. It can also mean using existing technology better, differently, or more effectively by doing something 'new' with it. Digital innovation does not always have to be big.

When is a digital idea worth exploring further?

To explore a digital idea, there first needs to be a question, an opportunity, or a chance that is currently not being addressed. Something must be able to be 'better' or 'different.' And digital must be able to contribute. Such a question, opportunity, or chance can also arise as you get to know your audience better or because the world around you changes (and other needs arise).

The first question when starting a digital idea must be: why do we want this?

 Sub-questions/criteria* can include:

• For whom could this be interesting? Employees? Audience? Partners? Creators?
• What problem does it solve/what need does the idea fulfill?
• Is digital indeed the solution? (Why?)
• (How) can we test it (on a small scale)?

Pay close attention: always return to the question: 'What value do we want to create, and for whom?' A risk can be that at some point in the process, you focus solely on the digital solution, and the problem, question, or opportunity fades into the background (tunnel vision). So always keep the core question in mind: what are we solving here?

How do you successfully start a digital innovation project?

To successfully get a digital project off the ground, you need to do a few things:

• Define the reason (problem, need, or opportunity)
• Formulate a clear goal 
• Involve the right people 
• Agree on ownership: who leads the project, who makes decisions, who is responsible for follow-up steps?
• Involve the user target group
• Define what 'success' is (this can also mean that something is learned!)
• Ensure the technical and organizational feasibility (such as systems, budgets, work processes, and skills)
• Provide a clear decision-making moment 

How do you create space for digital innovation within your organization?

Digital innovation can be a great ambition, but if no space is created within your organization, it usually remains stuck in 'we should do something with...'. Therefore, it is important that the organization is willing to make people, resources, time, and money available for digital innovation. Additionally: a willingness to learn and room to experiment. Digital innovation must be part of the culture within the organization and encouraged from the top down. An open, curious attitude, where trial and error is part of the process, is indispensable.

Digital innovation: how do you go from incidental to structural? 

If digital innovation depends solely on coincidence or enthusiasm, it will not become a structural part of the organizational culture. By actively encouraging digital innovation and making it part of your organizational strategy, you ensure that it becomes structural. It is also important to make innovation a shared responsibility, where everyone can contribute ideas. This way, you gain many insights that you might not have otherwise. Ensure that your ideas can also be tested against criteria, as outlined earlier in this article at the *.

Digital innovation sounds big. As a result, the threshold for cultural organizations to get started with it is often high. But digital innovation is mainly about a new way of looking: what possibilities does digital offer for your way of working?

You don't have to immediately develop entirely new systems and think everything through in detail; it can help to approach digital innovation step by step. Experiment with small projects or work with pilots to test things out. The most important thing is to start. Sometimes something simple can already make a difference in how open the organization is to digital developments. And this way, people learn that the process can be not only educational but also enjoyable.