Risk, Creativity and Innovation

John Ling [rtf version]

Abstract of a presentation to the 2003 Christians in Science Sheffield Conference.

The assessment of "risk" in general and technical management is important. In multinational corporations, educational systems, in meteorology and in the domestic arena, risks are constantly assessed and reassessed.

Huge costs are associated with the failure to manage risk properly. The collapse of WorldCom, Enron and the Mirror pension fund under Maxwell have vividly highlighted the risks that are taken and the importance of assessing in whom we can reasonably put our trust. The recent Higgs report on boardroom governance has highlighted recommendations for reform in the British boardroom in order to manage risk, asserting the need for newly defined roles for non-executive directors.

The development of new and emergent technologies continually brings issues of risk into technology management, for example, legal and commercial factors as well as moral, ethical and spiritual concerns. Increasingly the way these issues are considered has global impact. Companies like Monsanto, who have sought to develop genetically modified foods, have paid a heavy price for the perception of "risk".

It is often said that change involves risk. However the risks of not changing need also to be considered. For example, it is self evident that in recent years there has been a rise in the use of computers and information technology. Therefore it makes sense to include these areas in the traditional school and university curriculum. In the area of meteorology the Kyoto declaration has clearly gone some way to address the risks of standing still and has persuaded many of the need for active management where this is achievable.

Creativity and innovation are closely associated with change. This is because creativity is often seen as value generative. However it is inherently difficult to measure the value of creativity at any given time. It is also clear that not all creativity is helpful or timely. Optimism would dictate that innovation, that is, creativity leading to change in action, might be more useful. Reality, however, more usually informs that the uptake of innovation is dictated by market demand which can be fickle, unprincipled or uneducated. It is therefore argued that the process of taking an idea through development to marketing and commercialisation requires good political and social governance if it is to find a sustainable basis.

The Christian may reasonably assert that they have a moral frame that has lasted the test of time and which follows Christ's example of integrity and discipline. They look, through the hopeful expectation of grace, to implement these principles for sustained, good governance exercised in the spirit of love for the benefit of all nations.