Leadership Development Institute Innovation Presentation

Tom Finnegan

November 16, 2012

CIE Director

MBA, BS in Finance and Real Estate

Ex- Wall Street Investment Banker

Life Sciences Professional- Public and Private

Who Am I?

Venture Capitalist

Entrepreneur

Austin Angel Founder

MUSC Children’s Hospital Board Member

Who Am I?

What is the definition of innovation?

The process by which an idea or invention is translated into a good or service for which people will pay, or something that results from this process.

Good Definition

Innovation seeks to improve the systems that already exist, making them better, faster, cheaper.

Better Definition

Innovation is people creating value by implementing new ideas.

Best Definition

Why Innovate?

Grant funding ????

State funding is becoming scarce

Corporate/Private funding sources are getting smaller and more competitive

Your job depends on it

Why Innovate?

It gives you more control

Discoveries will increase

The quality of care/healthcare will improve

Every other university has been/is doing it

Why Innovate?

From basic to applied research, academia’s contribution to advances in life sciences, economics, national security, technology, the environment and other strategic initiatives is becoming significant.

  Governments and industries across the globe now recognize the synergy between the basic research carried out in institutions of higher learning and the applied research undertaken by commercial entities. And with good reason - In the US, the American Association of Universities estimates the immediate employment impact of academic R&D shows that every $1 million in R&D expenditure supports roughly 36 jobs.

Why Innovate?

During his State of the Union address on January 24, President Barack Obama urged Congress, among other things, to “support the same kind of research and innovation that led to the computer chip and the Internet; to new American jobs and new American industries. Don’t gut these investments in our budget. Don’t let other countries win the race for the future,” he pleaded.

Support!

President Proposes NIH Budget Freeze, Cuts to Health Professions TrainingPresident Obama’s fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget, released Feb. 13, proposes to freeze funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and cut funding for health professions training and children’s hospitals graduate medical education (CHGME).  The budget includes $78.3 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a cut of $6.6 billion (8.4 percent).

But Actually

With the exception of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the federal research budget has been largely flat for years, with well-publicized detrimental effects on the approval rate for NIH grant applications.

Nature September 2012

And Unfortunately

Your division, unit, department is a small business

Limited, finite resources

Colleagues are employees/co-workers

You are required to produce something

You are evaluated on it

Isn’t Innovation for Businesses?

New ideas are cultivated in an environment where employees are empowered, where they feel ownership of their organization’s future, and where the freedom to explore their creativity and innovation is invited and celebrated

What does an innovative environment look like?

Ideas should come from anyone

Ideas should be encouraged, not ridiculed

Follow through/up

Fully integrated into your group

Everyone should share in benefits

More realistically

Examples

School

Intern at medical clinic

Texas Collaboration

Other Examples

Nobody is asking you to do something you don’t feel comfortable doing

Little steps and solutions often lead to big rewards

But small rewards are just as good

Key Points

“The Fiscal Cliff”

Debt is reaching close to $16 trillion or over 100% of GDP

Split Congress

NIH funding rates

Innovate

Correlation between published papers and funds received

Ideas should be encouraged, not ridiculed

Follow through/up

Fully Integrated into your group

Everyone should share the benefits

More realistically