Speaker Nick Jankel

Starting the Collaborative Revolution: Conference Speaker Nick Jankel speaks to PfH ahead of the event.

Nick Jankel BBC TV and radio presenter, expert on creativity change, social innovation and leadership will be delivering the Closing Address at the PfH Annual Conference and Exhibition 2009 entitled "Collaboration: The Mother of Invention."

Nick advocates collaboration between organisations and individuals as essential in the current economic climate but notes all kinds of obstacles to its implementation. Collaboration may be easier to talk about than to practice, but Nick advocates how a bottom up organisational culture can facilitate collaboration in action.

PfH caught up with Nick ahead of the Conference to find out more about his view on how collaboration can nurture innovation and drive growth.

Tell us about your career background. How did you get to the role you are in today?

I founded and grew one of the first global innovation consultancies in the late 90s. Then, five years ago, I had a major epiphany and moved to focus fully on social innovation and collaboration/leadership work for the public good. Since then, running two small companies that punch way above their weight, the key is to collaborate to achieve more. Much of these collaborations have failed - leading us to explore and research why, as part of our leadership and collective innovation expertise.

Tell us about one important collaboration which led to creativity or discovery.

The way the Allies won WWII through collaboration on one very clear mission - and invested a fortune in time and energy to bring the Armed Forces, politicians, leaders, business people and citizens along on the journey.

In your work you talk about the benefits of collaboration. Why is collective intelligence so important to the social housing sector? How could it help their procurement strategies?

Collective intelligence distributes information, ideas and insights across silo and organisational boundaries. Therefore it can help in any public-focused initiative save money, achieve more and do it faster and with less friction. However, to benefit from this, the manner in which decisions and investments are made must shift from consensus politics, ‘consultation' and committee-style management to co-creation.  The latter means that through multi-party innovation and contribution, sophisticated dialogue and a lot of iteration the winning innovations and strategies are collectively developed.

What would you recommend housing officers do to foster a collaborative environment? What is the key to collaborative success?

It is a mindset shift, and a cultural shift, and it has to start somewhere. If the management is not leading that transformation, then it is up to individuals to start the collaborative revolution and let it spread virally.

Tell us about an example of collaborative excellence that is already delivering innovation and ideas?

In the USA, the CIO of the Obama Administration is looking at opening public information and data up so that social entrepreneurs can take the data and use it innovatively. One such project in DC is an online app that helps people ‘Stumble Safely' home.

Collaboration and leadership. What's the link?

One cannot be truly collaborative without emotional intelligence and profound interpersonal awareness, both key facets of individual and organisational leadership. In many ways, collaboration is a subset of individual leadership development.

What is going to be your main message to social housing organisations at the Conference?

You cannot just say you are being collaborative and expect an organisation or team to suddenly be it. You need to change how business gets done, how people think and how they act everyday.