Sue Stockdale talks to innovation strategists Jennifer Wilde and Dan McClure about how to reimagine systems and navigate through the complexity that exists when addressing big challenges, such as organisational change or the aftermath of a humanitarian disaster. They explain how to avoid overwhelm, why pictures or drawings can help bring clarity, and outline the four keys that can help people understand systems innovation.

Jennifer (Jen) Wilde draws on over 15 years of hands-on experience as a senior manager in humanitarian response. She has developed strategies for fostering innovation during emergency response, in challenging, volatile contexts. Jen is currently serving as Managing Director at Innovation Ecosystem, an organisation that offers practical tools and support to deliver a step change in innovation effectiveness. She met her business partner, Dan McClure, when she was invited by the UN to speak at University of California (UC) Berkeley about the innovation lab that she set up in the middle of the earthquake response in Nepal.

Dan McClure is a specialist in disruption. Throughout his 40-year career, he has been a choreographer of ambitious messy change, reimagining complex systems in business, government, international aid, and society. His work spans multiple sectors and engages leaders in both sprawling global firms and fast-moving start-ups. Dan is a thought leader that has helped pioneer practical approaches to system innovation, drawing on insights from a wide variety of past roles such as the global innovation lead at the international consultancy ThoughtWorks, and the Chair of the Advisory Board for the UK based Humanitarian Innovation Fund. Today, Dan is right at the cutting edge of innovation and loves to talk about why systems innovation is such an important part of the future of work.

After working with Fortune 500 companies, governments and some of the world’s largest non-profits and philanthropists, Jen and Dan are looking to share some of their insights into how all types of businesses need to think outside the box to solve problems. Find out more about Jennifer Wilde and Dan McClure at Innovation Ecosystem:

Website: https://www.innovationecosystem.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovation-ecosystem
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Innovation-Ecosystem-110228147543789/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/inno_ecosystem

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Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)